5 Essential Linux Commands Every Sysadmin Should Run on First Login
After five years as a system administrator, the author shares the five essential Linux commands—w, history, top, df, and netstat—that should be run immediately upon logging into any server to quickly assess uptime, user activity, system load, disk usage, and network status.
After five years as a system administrator/SRE, the author explains the first things to do when connecting to a Linux server, providing a concise list of commands that help you quickly diagnose the system.
w command
The w command shows the server's uptime, which indicates how long it has been running, lists the users currently logged in, and displays the load average to give an overview of the system's health.
history command
The history command reveals what commands previous users have executed, helping you understand what tasks were run, what errors may have occurred, and where to start debugging.
top command
The top command displays all currently running processes, allowing you to sort them by CPU or memory usage and identify which processes are consuming the most resources.
df command
The df command shows disk space usage, an essential metric because running out of disk space is a common cause of server problems.
netstat command
The netstat command reveals which ports the server is listening on, the associated IP addresses, and the processes using them, which is crucial for understanding network activity.
This list can evolve based on your specific debugging goals; for example, Netflix uses a custom set when troubleshooting performance. Feel free to share any other useful commands in the comments.
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