Open a cache of riches with lsof
Treasure Trove
© Lead Image © Scott Rothstein, 123RF.com
In Linux, everything is a file – directories, devices, pipes – so lsof (list open files) reveals what's happening on your system.
Few Linux utilities are as popular as netstat, a fantastic tool used to display network connections, routes, and bandwidth statistics gleaned from network interfaces. Not only is netstat very effective and full of features, but I can't count the number of Linux books and Linux training courses that cover its stock commands as must-have knowledge for any newcomers to Linux.
Don't get me wrong, netstat certainly has its place within those tutorials for both advanced and novice users, but I like to think I can turn to a more powerful tool sometimes. You could say that I've neatly slotted netstat into a place where I know I can use it if I want, but I can achieve the same results in most cases with one of its counterparts – and usually much more efficiently.
If I were making a package comparison and using DNS clients, I might say that netstat is the nslookup to my host command. That said, I will now backtrack a little and state that my alternative to netstat lacks many of its features and, in fact, isn't really a network information tool at all. However, because of this mighty command's formidable capabilities, I rarely turn to netstat at all.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.