Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What is Networking in Linux?
- Core Networking Commands
- Real-World Scenario: Networking Command
- Conclusion
- Let's Connect
Introduction
Welcome back to Day 24 of this practical Linux challenge! Today, we are diving into networking commands.
Networking is at the heart of everything in Linux, from connecting to the internet, reaching APIs, to managing remote servers.
What is Networking in Linux?
Networking in Linux enables systems to communicate with each other over a LAN, WAN, or the internet by configuring interfaces, IP addresses, routes, DNS, and other related settings.
Imagine you are setting up a cloud server on AWS or managing a VM. You will need to check its IP, confirm connectivity, troubleshoot DNS, or even check which ports are open. These tasks all rely on basic but powerful networking tools.
Core Networking Commands
More commonly used Networking command options are listed in the table below.
| Networking Command | Description |
|---|---|
ip a |
Shows all IP addresses assigned to interfaces |
ip r |
Displays the routing table |
ping <host> |
Sends test packets to a host to check connectivity |
nmcli |
Manages Network Manager settings (create, modify, check connections) |
nmcli connection show |
List network connections) |
nmcli device status |
Show status of devices |
nmcli con up <connection-name> |
Activate a connection |
curl <URL> |
Makes requests to a web server and returns response |
ss -tuln |
Shows open TCP/UDP ports and listening services |
hostname |
Show system's hostname |
hostnamectl |
Manage system hostname |
hostname -I |
Displays the IP address(es) of your system |
dig <domain> |
Fetches DNS information for a domain |
traceroute <host> |
Traces the path packets take to reach a host |
ifdown / ifup
|
Brings network interfaces down/up (used in some RHEL setups) |
Real-World Scenario: Networking Command
You just launched your very first RHEL 9 virtual machine (VM) on a cloud platform like AWS, Azure, or GCP. You are supposed to install some packages and set up a web server. But… nothing is loading. You can’t even install updates.
Let's diagnose the problem.
- First check the network interface has an ip address .
ip a # you should see an output like 192.168 .....
- Now check your if you have internet access
ping 8.8.8.8
# If this fails then there is no internet. You can also try
ip r # to check the default route
# You should see something like "default via 192.168.1.1 dev eth0" if this does not show then you have your answer to the ping failure
- Check Status
nmcli device status # checks the status
nmcli device connect eth0 # to connect to internet
ip a - # to confirm it has connected and active
- Let's test a DNS (Domain name server like Google)
ping google.com
# always use Ctrl + C to stop the commands from running
- Now test outbound access. If it loads HTML content, your network is up and DNS works!
curl https://www.google.com
Conclusion
Understanding and using networking tools like ip, ping, ss, curl, and nmcli gives you control over your Linux system’s connectivity. You will be able to diagnose problems faster, automate network tasks, and support your team more confidently, especially in cloud environments.
Keep practicing. And remember: The terminal is your friend.
If this is helpful to you, feel free to bookmark, comment, like and follow me for Day 25!
Let's Connect!
If you want to connect or share your journey, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn.
I am always happy to learn and build with others in the tech space.
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