Top 20 Linux Networking Commands

Linux provides a powerful collection of networking commands that help students, software testers, developers, DevOps engineers, system administrators, and network engineers inspect connectivity, troubleshoot DNS problems, analyze packets, manage interfaces, and communicate with remote systems. Learning these commands gives university students a practical understanding of how computer networks operate from the command line.

TestingDocs.com contains a number of Linux networking command tutorials as well as broader networking and diagnostic-tool guides. The list below combines the most useful commands for students with links to the relevant TestingDocs pages wherever a matching article is available.

 

1. ip

The ip command is the modern tool for inspecting and configuring Linux network interfaces, IP addresses, routes, and neighboring devices.

ip addr
ip link
ip route

Student use: Understand IP addressing, interfaces, routing, and network configuration.

TestingDocs: TestingDocs discusses ip route as the modern replacement for the older route command. Linux route Command with Examples

2. ping

ping checks whether a destination is reachable and measures round-trip response time using ICMP.

ping google.com
ping -c 4 google.com

Student use: Test basic connectivity, latency, and packet loss.

TestingDocs: The TestingDocs Linux Network Diagnostic Tools guide includes ping examples. Linux Network Diagnostic Tools

3. traceroute

The traceroute command shows the network hops between your Linux machine and a destination.

traceroute google.com
traceroute -I example.com

Student use: Identify routing paths, delays, and possible network bottlenecks.

TestingDocs: Linux traceroute command

4. mtr

mtr, commonly associated with “My Traceroute,” combines ideas from ping and traceroute to provide ongoing hop-by-hop network statistics.

mtr google.com

Student use: Study latency and packet loss across individual network hops.

TestingDocs: The Linux Network Diagnostic Tools page covers mtr. Linux Network Diagnostic Tools

5. ss

The ss command displays network sockets, active connections, listening ports, and TCP or UDP information. TestingDocs describes it as a faster and more modern alternative to netstat.

ss -l
ss -tuln
sudo ss -tulpn

Student use: Find listening services and understand socket-level communication.

TestingDocs: Linux ss Command with Examples

6. netstat

netstat displays network connections, listening ports, routing information, and interface statistics.

netstat -tuln
netstat -r

Student use: Learn about ports, services, connections, and routing tables.

TestingDocs: Linux Network Diagnostic Tools includes netstat examples.

7. ifconfig

ifconfig displays and, on supported systems, configures network interfaces.

ifconfig
ifconfig eth0

Student use: Inspect interface addresses, MAC addresses, MTU, and network statistics.

Important: TestingDocs notes that ifconfig has been deprecated on many Linux distributions in favor of ip.

TestingDocs: Linux ifconfig command

8. nmcli

nmcli is the command-line interface for NetworkManager. It can inspect devices, show connection profiles, configure networking, and connect to Wi-Fi.

nmcli device status
nmcli connection show
nmcli device wifi list

Student use: Learn practical network configuration on modern Linux systems.

TestingDocs: Linux nmcli Command with Examples

9. ethtool

ethtool queries or controls network-driver and Ethernet hardware settings. It is especially useful for examining link speed, duplex settings, capabilities, and interface statistics.

sudo ethtool eth0
sudo ethtool -S eth0

Student use: Understand the relationship between Linux network interfaces, drivers, and physical Ethernet hardware.

TestingDocs: No dedicated TestingDocs command article was located during this review.

10. arp

The traditional arp command displays the ARP cache, showing mappings between IPv4 addresses and MAC addresses.

arp
arp -n

Student use: Connect the concepts of IP addressing, MAC addressing, and local-network communication.

Important: TestingDocs notes that arp is an older utility and recommends ip neigh on modern Linux systems.

TestingDocs: Linux arp Command with Examples

11. dig

dig, short for Domain Information Groper, performs detailed DNS queries and displays DNS records.

dig example.com
dig example.com MX
dig @8.8.8.8 example.com

Student use: Study DNS resolution, A, AAAA, MX, NS, CNAME, and TXT records.

TestingDocs: Linux dig Command with Examples

12. nslookup

nslookup is a DNS troubleshooting utility that can perform forward and reverse lookups and query particular record types.

nslookup example.com
nslookup -type=MX example.com
nslookup 8.8.8.8

Student use: Understand how DNS maps domain names to IP addresses.

TestingDocs: Linux nslookup Command with Examples

13. host

The host command performs concise DNS lookups and can also perform reverse lookups.

host example.com
host 8.8.8.8
host -t MX example.com

Student use: Quickly verify DNS resolution and examine common DNS record types.

TestingDocs: Linux host Command with Examples

14. curl

curl communicates with servers using URLs and supports protocols such as HTTP and HTTPS. It is extremely valuable for web development and API testing.

curl https://example.com
curl -I https://example.com
curl -X POST https://api.example.com/users

Student use: Test APIs, inspect HTTP responses, download resources, and troubleshoot web connectivity.

TestingDocs: Linux curl Command with Examples

15. wget

wget downloads files from network resources and is particularly useful in scripts and remote-server environments.

wget https://example.com/file.zip
wget -c https://example.com/large-file.iso

Student use: Practice command-line downloading, automation, and handling interrupted transfers.

TestingDocs: Linux wget Command with Examples

16. nc

nc, or Netcat, is a versatile networking utility that can act as a client or listener and communicate using TCP or UDP.

nc example.com 80
nc -zv example.com 80
nc -l 5000

Student use: Experiment with sockets, ports, listeners, client-server communication, and controlled network testing.

TestingDocs: Linux nc Command with Examples

17. telnet

telnet establishes TCP connections and is often used today for simple connectivity and port testing rather than secure remote administration.

telnet example.com 80
telnet 192.168.1.50 443

Important: Telnet sends information in plain text and should not be used for secure remote administration. SSH is the preferred secure alternative.

TestingDocs: Linux telnet Command with Examples

18. ssh

ssh stands for Secure Shell and is used to securely access and administer remote Linux systems.

ssh student@192.168.1.20
ssh -p 2222 student@server.example.com

Student use: Learn remote administration, secure client-server communication, and cloud-server access.

TestingDocs: No dedicated TestingDocs SSH command page was located during this review.

19. scp

scp stands for Secure Copy. It securely transfers files and directories between local and remote Linux systems using SSH.

scp report.txt student@192.168.1.20:/home/student/
scp -r project/ student@192.168.1.20:/home/student/

Student use: Practice secure file transfer between Linux machines and understand SSH-based administration.

TestingDocs: Linux scp Command with Examples

20. tcpdump

tcpdump is a command-line packet analyzer that captures and displays network packets. It is one of the most important tools for understanding what is actually travelling across a network.

sudo tcpdump -i eth0
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 port 80
sudo tcpdump -i eth0 port 53

Student use: Analyze TCP, UDP, DNS, HTTP, ICMP, and other network traffic at packet level.

TestingDocs: Linux tcpdump Command with Examples

These commands cover the major layers of practical Linux networking. ping and traceroute help with connectivity and routing. ip, ifconfig, nmcli, and ethtool expose network-interface configuration. ss and netstat help students understand sockets and listening ports. dig, nslookup, and host make DNS concepts practical. curl, wget, nc, telnet, ssh, and scp demonstrate client-server communication and remote access, while tcpdump lets students inspect packets directly. TestingDocs’ Linux networking material similarly emphasizes connectivity testing, route analysis, DNS investigation, socket inspection, and packet analysis.