network interface

As network administrators or just curious users, it’s vital to keep an eye on the bandwidth usage to ensure efficient network operations. Whether you're troubleshooting a slow network or ensuring no unauthorized traffic is consuming your bandwidth, knowing what's happening on your network interface is essential. This is where iftop becomes an indispensable tool. iftop is a real-time console-based network bandwidth monitoring tool, perfect for visualizing network traffic as it shows a list of network connections from or to your system. In this blog, we'll explore how to install and use iftop on various Linux distributions using apt, dnf, and zypper package managers, and provide a quick guide on how to interpret the data it presents.

In a world where networks are increasingly complex and essential to business operations, ensuring that data flow remains smooth and efficient is crucial. Network traffic monitoring is not just about tracking how much data is being sent or received, but also about identifying potential issues, understanding network performance, and securing the future of your networks against unauthorized access. Luckily, Linux offers powerful tools accessible via Bash that can help system administrators keep an eye on network traffic in real-time. Here, we will explore how to utilize these tools and effectively monitor network traffic on different Linux distributions using package managers like apt, dnf, and zypper.

In the realm of managing network interfaces on Linux and Unix-like systems, two significant command-line tools reign supreme: ifconfig and ip. Both are essential for network administrators and those interested in network configuration and troubleshoot. Despite their common goals, there are distinct differences between the two, making each uniquely suited to specific tasks. This article explores the functionalities, usage, differences, and transitioning tips from ifconfig to ip. ifconfig, which stands for "interface configurator," is an old utility that has been used since the early days of UNIX. It is used to configure, manage, and query the network interface parameters from the command line.