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.
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