15 Advance Linux Commands Every Devops Should Know

Every DevOps engineer must be aware of these commands because most production servers run on Linux operating systems. These Linux commands will help you to immediately gain insights into system health, monitoring and performance.

1) htop

Usage: Interactive process viewer that’s much more advanced than top.

Command: htop

Description: Shows processes, memory, and CPU usage in a user-friendly, color-coded layout.

2) nmap

Usage: Network mapping and discovery.

Command: nmap -sP 192.168.1.0/24

Description: Scans a network range to identify active devices.

To install on Linux, install the nmap package e.g. apt-get install nmap

To install on macOS or Windows, see the nmap.org Download page.

3) rsync

Usage: Syncs directories and files locally or across networked systems.

Command: rsync -av /source /destination

Description: Great for backups and maintaining directories across systems.

4) tmux

Usage: Terminal multiplexer allowing multiple sessions.

Command: tmux

Description: Enables you to switch between several programs in a single terminal.

5) awk

Usage: Text processing and data extraction from files.

Command: awk '{print $1}' oneclick.txt

Description: Powerful for extracting and formatting text data.

6) dig

Usage: DNS lookup tool.

Command: dig oneclickitsolution.com

Description: Provides DNS information for domain troubleshooting.

7) tcpdump

Usage: Packet sniffer for network troubleshooting.

Command: sudo tcpdump -i eth0

Description: Allows monitoring of incoming and outgoing packets.

8) lsof

Usage: Lists open files and the processes using them.

Command: lsof -i :80

Description: Essential for diagnosing file locks and network usage.

9) jq

Usage: Processes JSON data.

Command: jq '.' oneclick.json

Description: Parses and formats JSON data from files or APIs.

10) strace

Usage: Traces system calls and signals.

Command: strace -p <PID>

Description: Useful for debugging by tracing system calls from a process.

11) iftop

Usage: Monitors bandwidth usage per IP.

Command: sudo iftop

Description: Real-time network traffic monitoring by IP address.

12) grep -r

Usage: Searches text within files recursively.

Command: grep -r 'search-term' /path/to/directory

Description: Locates specific text across directories, useful for log analysis.

13) ip a

Usage: Displays network interfaces and IP address configuration.

Command: ip a

Description: Essential for managing network settings on modern Linux systems.

14) iostat

Usage: Monitors CPU and I/O statistics.

Command: iostat -x 1

Description: Helps in understanding disk and CPU usage patterns over time.

15) atop

Usage: Monitors system performance.

Command: atop

Description: Provides a detailed look at processes, memory, disk, and network.

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