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1. System Information |
Understanding your system's hardware and software configuration is the first step in diagnostics.
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uname -a # Displays kernel version and system architecture. lscpu # Provides detailed information about the CPU. lsblk # Lists all available block devices. lsusb # Shows USB devices connected to the system. lspci # Lists PCI devices. |
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uptime # Shows how long the system has been running and load averages.Load average reflects the average number of processes waiting to run or use CPU resources over different time intervals, typically 1, 5, and 15 minutes. |
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CPU and Memory Diagnostics |
Monitoring CPU and memory usage helps in identifying performance bottlenecks.
Commands:
top/htop: Real-time process monitoring.
vmstat: Reports virtual memory statistics.
free -h: Displays memory usage.
mpstat: Reports CPU usage.
htop is an interactive system monitor process viewer and process manager. It is designed as an alternative to the Unix program top. It shows a frequently updated list of the processes running on a computer, normally ordered by the amount of CPU usage.
Installation: on Ubuntu or Debian-based systems via command apt install htop or sudo yum install htop on CentOS
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htop |
vmstat -s # Provides a detailed breakdown of memory usage and other related metrics since the last system boot.
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vmstat -s
980492 K total memory
480208 K used memory
132040 K active memory
582364 K inactive memory
67924 K free memory
21724 K buffer memory
410636 K swap cache
0 K total swap
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free -h # Displays memory usage in "human-readable" format
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free -h
total used free shared buff/cache available
Mem: 7.7G 1.9G 3.9G 487M 1.9G 5.0G
Swap: 2.0G 0B 2.0G |
mpstat # Reports CPU usage. ( requires install sysstat package on Ubuntu or Debian-based systems via command apt install sysstat or sudo yum install sysstat on CentOS ).
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mpstat
Linux 5.15.0-112-generic (testhost) 06/21/24 _x86_64_ (1 CPU)
10:37:12 CPU %usr %nice %sys %iowait %irq %soft %steal %guest %gnice %idle
10:37:12 all 1.68 0.11 1.38 0.14 0.00 0.04 1.16 0.00 0.00 95.49 |
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Disk Usage and Health |
Keeping track of disk usage and health is crucial for preventing data loss and ensuring efficient storage management.Commands:
df -h
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# Shows disk space usage in "human-readable" format
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df -h Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on udev 3.8G 0 3.8G 0% /dev tmpfs 783M 1.7M 781M 1% /run /dev/sda2 233G 25G 197G 12% / tmpfs 3.9G 39M 3.8G 1% /dev/shm tmpfs 5.0M 4.0K 5.0M 1% /run/lock tmpfs 783M 80K 783M 1% /run/user/1000 |
du -sh /path/to/directory: # Displays the size of a specific directory.
fdisk -l: Lists all partitions.
smartctl -a /dev/sda: Checks the health of a disk (requires smartmontools).
iostat: Reports CPU and I/O statistics.
bash
df -h
du -sh /path/to/directory
fdisk -l
smartctl -a /dev/sda
iostat
4. Network Diagnostics
Network issues can significantly impact system performance and connectivity.
Commands:
ifconfig: Displays network interfaces and their configurations.
ip addr: Shows IP addresses assigned to the network interfaces.
ping google.com: Checks connectivity to an external site.
netstat -tuln: Lists open ports and services.
traceroute google.com: Traces the route packets take to a destination.
dig google.com: Performs DNS lookup.
bash
ifconfig
ip addr
ping google.com
netstat -tuln
traceroute google.com
dig google.com
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du -sh /path/to/directory
1.1G /path/to/directory |
fdisk -l # List all partitions
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fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 20 GiB, 21474836480 bytes, 41943040 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: XXXXXX-XXX-XXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXX
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 4095 2048 1M BIOS boot
/dev/sda2 4096 41940607 41936512 20G Linux filesystem |
iostat # Reports CPU and I/O statistics ( requires install sysstat package on Ubuntu or Debian-based systems via command apt install sysstat or sudo yum install sysstat on CentOS ).
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iostat
Linux 5.15.0-112-generic (testhost) 06/21/24 _x86_64_ (1 CPU)
avg-cpu: %user %nice %system %iowait %steal %idle
1.68 0.11 1.41 0.14 1.16 95.50 |
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Process and Service Management |
Managing processes and services is essential for maintaining system stability.
Commands:
ps aux : # Lists all running processes
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ps aux USER PID %CPU %MEM VSZ RSS TTY STAT START TIME COMMAND root 1 0.0 0.0 168800 10944 ? Ss Jun12 0:02 /sbin/init root 2 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? S Jun12 0:00 [kthreadd] root 3 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? I< Jun12 0:00 [rcu_gp] root 4 0.0 0.0 0 0 ? I< Jun12 0:00 [rcu_par_gp] ... |
systemctl status service_name: # Checks the status of a service.
journalctl -u service_name: Views logs for a specific service.
kill -9 process_id: Forces termination of a process.
nice and renice: Adjusts process priority.
bash
ps aux
systemctl status service_name
journalctl -u service_name
kill -9 process_id
nice -n 10 process_name
renice -n 10 process_id
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systemctl status apache2
● apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2024-05-29 16:06:04 UTC; 2 weeks 5 days ago
Docs: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/
Process: 1000205 ExecReload=/usr/sbin/apachectl graceful (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 40385 (apache2)
Tasks: 55 (limit: 1013)
Memory: 8.8M
CPU: 1min 55.654s
CGroup: /system.slice/apache2.service
├─ 40385 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
├─1000209 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
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systemctl restart service_name # Restarts a service.If a service is not behaving correctly, stopped responding, restarting it can often resolve the issue without needing a full system reboot. Also, when you modify a service config file, using systemctl restart applies the changes immediately.
systemctl enable service_name # Enables a service to start at boot.
kill -9 process_id(PID) # Forces termination of a process.
#(No output unless there is an error, the process is terminated forcefully) |
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Logs and Monitoring |
Analyzing logs and monitoring system activities can help in identifying issues and tracking system performance.Commands: dmesg: Prints kernel ring buffer messages.
journalctl: Views systemd logs.
tail -f
Linux log files are stored in plain-text and can be found in the /var/log directory
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journalctl -f # will show you the latest system logs and keep updating the display with new log entries as they are created, which is useful for monitoring live system activity. |
Essential Linux Log Files:
1. System logs:
/var/log/syslog: Continuously displays system log updates.
sar: Collects, reports, and saves system activity information (requires sysstat).
uptime: Shows how long the system has been running and load averages.
bash
dmesg
journalctl
tail -f /var/log/syslog
sar
uptime
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or /var/log/messages - Stores all activity data across the global system. Activity for Redhat-based (CentOS or Rhel) stored in messages, while Debian-based (Ubuntu) systems are stored in syslog.
/var/log/dmesg
dmesg allows reviewing messages stored in the Linux ring buffer, providing insights into hardware errors and startup issues. How To Use dmesg
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dmesg -T
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] Run /init as init process
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] with arguments:
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] /init
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] with environment:
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] HOME=/
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] TERM=linux
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.15.0-97-generic
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] biosdevname=0
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] netcfg/do_not_use_netplan=true
[Wed May 29 14:46:00 2024] piix4_smbus 0000:00:01.3: SMBus Host Controller at 0x700, revision 0 |
2. Service Logs:
/var/log/daemon.log - Tracks services running in the background that perform important tasks, but has no graphical output
journalctl # Views systemd logs and allows filtering Linux system logs to extract relevant information for monitoring and troubleshooting. How To Use journalctl
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Pinging veesp.com [104.22.74.140] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 104.22.74.140: bytes=32 time=ms TTL=56
Reply from 104.22.74.140: bytes=32 time=ms TTL=56
Reply from 104.22.74.140: bytes=32 time=ms TTL=56
Reply from 104.22.74.140: bytes=32 time=ms TTL=56
Ping statistics for 104.22.74.140:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1ms, Maximum = 2ms, Average = 1ms |
...
journalctl
-- Logs begin at Tue 2024-06-18 10:55:23 UTC, end at Tue 2024-06-18 12:06:19 UTC. --
Jun 18 10:55:23 hostname kernel: Linux version 5.4.0-74-generic (buildd@lcy01-amd64-013) (gcc version 9.3.0 (Ubuntu 9.3.0-17ubuntu1~20.04)) #83-Ubuntu SMP Thu May 6 10:34:06 UTC 2021 (Ubuntu 5.4.0-74.83-generic 5.4.101)
Jun 18 10:55:23 hostname kernel: Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-74-generic root=UUID=5d7f5dcd-1234-5678-9abc-def012345678 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
... |
journalctl -u service_name # Views Logs for a Specific Service
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journalctl -u apache2
-- Logs begin at Tue 2024-06-18 10:55:23 UTC, end at Tue 2024-06-18 12:05:19 UTC. --
Jun 18 11:56:19 hostname systemd[1]: Starting The Apache HTTP Server...
Jun 18 11:56:19 hostname apache2[1342]: AH00558: apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1. Set the 'ServerName' directive globally to suppress this message
Jun 18 11:56:19 hostname systemd[1]: Started The Apache HTTP Server. |
3. Authentication Logs:
/var/log/auth.log or /var/log/secure - Stores authentication logs, including both successful and failed logins and authentication methods. Debian/Ubuntu information is stored in /var/log/auth.log, while Redhat/CentrOS is stored in /var/log/secure.
4. Application Logs(examples):
/var/log/apache2/ - Apache HTTP server logs (access, error).
/var/log/mysql/ - MySQL database server logs.
5. Package Management Logs:
/var/log/apt directory - contains several log files that provide important information about apt-related activities on Debian-based systems.
/var/log/yum.log - Red Hat-based systems store the yum and dnf package manager logs, file provides information about the results of a specific command, such as any errors or warnings that were generated. For example, if a package update fails
6. Event Logs:
var/log/wtmp - Records of user logins and logouts.
var/log/lastlog - Information about the last logins for all users. This binary file can be read by command lastlog.
| CSS Stylesheet |
|---|
.home-banner {
background: #459df0;
color: #fff;
font-size: 20px;
padding: 20px;
}
.home-banner h2 {
color: #fff;
}
.title-box {
border: 1px none #459df0;
padding: 10px;
}
.title-box > h2 {
background: #459df0;
bottom: 10px;
color: #fff;
margin-left: -10px;
margin-right: -10px;
padding: 2px 10px;
position: relative;
} |