Linux Network Monitoring

If you manage a network, you realize that when it comes to energy, steadiness & server up time, nothing matches a Linux network. If you're Linux network is up & running smoothly life is fairly good. You have a great deal of time for growth & new responsibilities and do not have to concern your self with lots of minor network issues. As good as Linux networks are, though, they do run into problems & have instances where the network is just not operating like anticipated. When these times occur, it is really beneficial for Linux admins to possess the proper network monitoring equipment. You would like to get to the root of the issue quickly & stop little network issues from turning into huge resource drainers. Solid expertise in and about Linux network monitoring empowers you to keep your networking thriving.


Linux is well-known as one of the most stable operating systems. When you have a network built on Linux boxes, you know that you have a robust network that usually exceeds expectations. Even though you count on a stable network, you still need to keep things monitored. Don't wait until problems escalate to start regular monitoring. Develop the habit of running regular monitoring to keep your network running like a well-oiled machine.

Other operating systems get a bad rap for security vulnerabilities and networking issues more often than Linux and Unix-based networks do. A good Linux admin should be prepared to run the built in monitoring commands to keep their network trouble-free. There are quite a few built in tools that can help you to keep tabs on all the comings and goings on your company's network. It is always helpful to be able to spot and fix bottlenecks on the fly. To do this, you need a thorough knowledge of the everyday utilities that are there to help you out. Here are some of the typical utilities that you should be well-versed with:

·The vmstat command - you can use this utility to get most of the basic network and machine-specific information that you need.

·The ps command - to keep an eye on network processes, you need to use this command frequently.

·The iostat command - if you want to keep an eye on CPU and NFS issues, you will want to keep this command fresh in your memory.

If you maintain a good working knowledge of the basic network monitoring commands you will be ready to handle any problem that comes your way. There are some problems that will surface more frequently than others. Here are a few of the common networking problems that Linux administrators typically deal with:

·Networking and Traffic Bottlenecks

·Storage and Disk Space Bottlenecks

·CPU and Memory Bottlenecks

If you are familiar with these types of issues and can use the right command utilities in conjunction with software dedicated to network monitoring, your Linux network monitoring will be less of a chore. Any network can run into big trouble. It helps to be prepared with the tools you need to spot problems and implement fixes. You may get so good at this skill that you will be fixing problems before users even notice that they happened.




By: Eugene Rykervick