Linux Networking Commands

1. Introduction

In this comprehensive guide, we will provide an overview of some essential Linux networking commands. Moreover, these are useful for troubleshooting connectivity issues, transferring files, and managing remote servers.

Specifically, we will cover ping, whois, dig, wget, curl, and ssh – extremely valuable Linux utilities for any tech professional. Furthermore, understanding these critical network commands will save time and effort in managing Linux systems.

2. ping

The ping command sends ICMP echo request packets to a specified host or IP address. It then lists the response times from that system. This is helpful to quickly verify basic network connectivity between the Linux system and another target.

Here is the syntax:

ping host

For example:

ping google.com

In short, this will ping the google.com domain and print out round-trip stats.

3. whois

The whois command queries Internet registry databases for information on a specific domain name’s availability. Also, it shows ownership details.

To use it:

whois domain

For example:

whois facebook.com  

Eventually, this prints registration info, name servers, and contacts for the facebook.com domain.

4. dig

The dig command performs DNS lookups. It then returns detailed DNS records for a domain or host. This further helps troubleshoot DNS issues or check a domain’s configuration.

To use it, simply use the below format:

dig domain

Shows the DNS details for a domain.

We can also do reverse lookups with:

dig -x host

Consequently, this performs a reverse DNS query on the IP address of host.

5. wget

The wget command downloads files from web servers. Moreover, it supports HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP.

To use:

wget file

This downloads the file from the web server.

We can also resume interrupted downloads with:

wget -c file

Indeed, we can recursively download an entire site with:

wget --recursive url 

6. curl

curl transfers data to or from a server. It supports FTP, FTPS, HTTP, HTTPS, SCP, SFTP, TFTP, LDAP, MQTT, POP3, IMAP, SMTP, RTSP, and more.

To use:

curl url

As a result, this outputs the content of the webpage at the URL.

We can save the output with:

curl -o file url  

This saves the output to the file.

7. ssh

The ssh command provides secure encrypted connections between Linux systems for remote administration.

To connect as a user, run:

ssh user@host

We can also specify a custom port:

ssh -p port user@host

And we can even tunnel other traffic through an SSH connection for added security.

8. Conclusion

Learning essential Linux networking commands like ping, whois, dig, wget, curl, and ssh is critical for Linux admins and power users. Additionally, utilizing this network toolbox will enable diagnosing connectivity issues, gathering intel on domains/IPs, securely transferring files, and managing remote servers.

Try interacting with Linux systems on a deeper network level today!