As with both the hardware and software posts, you may need to run some of these as root and your mileage may vary, since not all distros are alike.

Show a list of recent logins
# last

Process list (check out additional switches)
# ps -A

Current performance and PIDs (you can use kill to end a runaway process)
# top

Current memory usage
# free

Disk usage (shows directories by size, based on your current location, usually best to start from root /)
# du -sh *

Network status (lots of switches to drill down with)
# netstat -a

Time since last reboot
# uptime

I’ll add to these lists as I come across more useful commands. Thanks to O’Reilly for the command directory.

List version of Red Hat/Fedora/CentOS
# cat /etc/redhat-release

List version of SuSE
# cat /etc/SuSE-release

List verion of Ubuntu
# cat /etc/lsb-release

Kernel info
# uname -a

View network info
# ifconfig

DNS servers
# cat /etc/resolv.conf
 
Hostname and Gateway
# cat /etc/sysconfig/network

Shell being used
# echo $SHELL

Check cron jobs (scheduled tasks)
# crontab -l

The final Linux command installment will cover some troubleshooting commands.

In many instances the request has been to survey a Linux box, and as usual I’m searching Bing and Google for commands. Here’s the first of three parts, starting with hardware, in which I share my compiled list for getting info from a Linux system. BTW, you may need to run some of these as root and your mileage may vary, since not all distros are alike.

CPU Information
# cat /proc/cpuinfo

Amount of Memory
# cat /proc/meminfo

Hard Disks
# df -h

Check PCI Buses and Devices
# lspci

Check USB Buses and Devices
# lsusb

Crazy amount of Hardware Data
# dmesg | less

Next up, software (as related to the OS and configuration).

The latest versions of Fedora, and most modern Linux distributions, have come a long way since the painfully slow and complex installations. Hardware support, especially with the Fedora Project, has been constantly improving. The user interface has greatly improved over time and there is a nice package of productivity tools included (read: M$ Office alternative).

Many of the apps included don’t have the same polish as in Mac OS or Windows, but for free, you get an amazing operating system. It is also a secure alternative to Windows and Mac OS, just based on the quantity of malware written for Linux, it’s virtually non-existent.

Download it today and give it a try. It’ll run on new and old hardware alike, 32-bit and 64-bit, and can easily be used in a virtual machine. Have fun!

Just install the small app on each of the computers you wish to keep synchronized and it does the rest. I really wish I would’ve found this earlier; years of copying and sorting on numerous computers left my bookmarks a mess.

After one long flight to Chicago I cleaned up most of the redundant and disorganised mess. Once I got back online, Xmarks replicated the changes to its online database and updated my two other computers within minutes of bringing them online.

And did I mention it’s free for Windows, Mac and Linux?

I’m downloading it as I type, can’t wait to give it a try. Get it here.

Give it a try and have fun; as always it’s Open Source and free.

Viva la penguin!