Networking Utilities

Most networking utilities are somewhat standard across operating systems. Table A.13 contains the most commonly used Linux networking utilities.

Table A.13. Networking Utilities

COMMAND	GENERAL USAGE	DESCRIPTION
dig	dig HOST	Utility used to look up DNS information for the specified host.
ftp	ftp HOST	File Transfer Protocol client utility used to transfer files to and from FTP servers.
ifconfig	ifconfig [OPTIONS]	Utility used to display and configure network interface cards. Common options include -a Display all configured devices
ifdown	ifdown INTERFACE	Script used to stop the specified network interface card.
ifup	ifup INTERFACE	Script used to start the specified network interface card.
netstat	netstat [OPTIONS]	Displays network statistics. Common options include -r Show routing table -n Do not resolve host names -s Display network statistics
ping	ping HOST	Utility used to test network connectivity using ICMP packets directed to the specified host.
route	route	Displays or modifies the current IP routing table.
ssh	ssh HOST	Secure shell client used to open a terminal session on a remote SSH server.
tar	tar [OPTIONS] FILE	Tape or disk archive utility used to combine multiple files into one single archive. Common options include -c Create new archive -t Test archive -x Extract archive contents -z Create archive using gzip compression -j Create archive using bzip2 compression
telnet	telnet HOST	Insecure method used to open a terminal session on a remote server.
TRaceroute	traceroute HOST	Utility used to test network connectivity and trace paths used to reach remote hosts.