Gathering system information

Describing a computer system requires many sets of data. This data includes network information, the hostname, kernel version, Linux distribution name, CPU description, memory allocation, disk partitions, and more. This information can be retrieved from the command line.

How to do it...

1. The hostname and uname commands print the hostname of the current system:

$ hostname

Alternatively, they print the following:

$ uname -n
        server.example.com

2. The -a option to uname prints details about the Linux kernel version, hardware architecture, and more:

$ uname -a
        server.example.com 2.6.32-642.11.1.e16.x86_64 #1 SMP Fri Nov 18   
        19:25:05 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

3. The -r option limits the report to the kernel release:

$ uname -r
        2.6.32-642.11.1.e16.x86_64

4. The -m option prints the machine type:

$ uname -m
        x86_64

 

5. The /proc/ directory holds information about the system, modules, and running processes. /proc/cpuinfo contains CPU details:

$ cat...