1. ping

Purpose: Check connectivity between your computer and another host (e.g., website or IP address).

Usage:

Sends packets to the specified host to check if it's reachable.

Shows time taken for each packet (latency).

ping [hostname or IP]

Example :

C:\Users\Atul>ping google.com

Pinging google.com [142.250.199.174] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 142.250.199.174: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=60
Reply from 142.250.199.174: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=60
Reply from 142.250.199.174: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=60
Reply from 142.250.199.174: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=60

Ping statistics for 142.250.199.174:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 5ms, Maximum = 7ms, Average = 5ms

2. traceroute / tracert :

Purpose: Trace the route packets take to reach a destination.

traceroute is used in Linux/Mac.
tracert is used in Windows

Usage:

Shows each hop (router) on the way to the destination.
Helps diagnose where network slowdowns or failures occur

traceroute [hostname or IP]        # Linux/Mac
tracert [hostname or IP]           # Windows

Example :

C:\Users\Atul>tracert google.com

Tracing route to google.com [142.250.71.110]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1     3 ms     3 ms     2 ms  192.168.0.1
  2     4 ms     2 ms     3 ms  10.70.0.1
  3     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  4    32 ms     5 ms     4 ms  94-31-241-43.intechonline.net [43.241.31.94]
  5    11 ms     4 ms     4 ms  142.251.76.23
  6     7 ms     3 ms     3 ms  192.178.86.249
  7     5 ms     3 ms     3 ms  pnbomb-ad-in-f14.1e100.net [142.250.71.110]

Trace complete.

3. netstat

Purpose: Display network statistics and active connections.
Usage:

netstat [options]

Common Options:

-a: Show all active connections and listening ports.
-n: Show numerical addresses instead of resolving hostnames.
-t: Display TCP connections (Linux/Mac).
-u: Display UDP connections (Linux/Mac).
-b: Show executable involved in creating each connection (Windows).
-p: Show the PID and program name for each connection (Linux/Mac).

Example :

PS C:\Users\Atul> netstat -an

Active Connections

  Proto  Local Address          Foreign Address        State
  TCP    0.0.0.0:135            0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
  TCP    0.0.0.0:445            0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
  TCP    127.0.0.1:49669        127.0.0.1:49670        ESTABLISHED
  TCP    127.0.0.1:49670        127.0.0.1:49669        ESTABLISHED
  TCP    192.168.0.107:62483    20.198.119.84:443      ESTABLISHED
  TCP    192.168.0.107:62583    64.233.170.188:5228    ESTABLISHED
  TCP    192.168.0.107:62669    4.153.25.42:443        CLOSE_WAIT
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63355    23.206.173.48:443      CLOSE_WAIT
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63356    40.99.31.162:443       ESTABLISHED
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63357    23.206.173.48:443      CLOSE_WAIT
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63365    13.107.246.254:443     CLOSE_WAIT
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63378    66.33.60.193:443       ESTABLISHED
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63461    204.79.197.203:443     TIME_WAIT
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63462    204.79.197.203:443     TIME_WAIT
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63474    151.101.153.51:443     ESTABLISHED
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63476    192.168.0.1:53         TIME_WAIT
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63477    192.168.0.1:53         TIME_WAIT
  TCP    192.168.0.107:63487    172.175.234.12:443     CLOSE_WAIT
  TCP    192.168.56.1:139       0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING
  TCP    [::]:135               [::]:0                 LISTENING
  TCP    [::]:445               [::]:0                 LISTENING
  TCP    [::]:3306              [::]:0                 LISTENING
  TCP    [::]:49678             [::]:0                 LISTENING
  UDP    0.0.0.0:53             *:*
  UDP    0.0.0.0:123            *:*
  UDP    0.0.0.0:5050           *:*
  UDP    0.0.0.0:5353           *:*
  UDP    0.0.0.0:52273          142.250.192.36:443
  UDP    0.0.0.0:60051          142.250.70.110:443
  UDP    127.0.0.1:1900         *:*
  UDP    127.0.0.1:57589        127.0.0.1:57589
  UDP    127.0.0.1:58410        *:*
  UDP    172.21.240.1:137       *:*
  UDP    172.21.240.1:138       *:*
  UDP    172.21.240.1:1900      *:*
  UDP    [::]:123               *:*
  UDP    [::]:5353              *:*
  UDP    [fe80::b34a:e375:3e21:99b7%19]:1900  *:*
  UDP    [fe80::b34a:e375:3e21:99b7%19]:2177  *:*

4. curl

Purpose: Make HTTP requests and interact with web servers (GET, POST, etc.).
Usage:

curl [options] [URL]

Common Options:

-I: Fetch HTTP headers only.
-O: Save the output to a file.
-d: Send POST data.
-X: Specify HTTP method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).

Example :

PS C:\Users\Atul> curl https://example.com

StatusCode        : 200
StatusDescription : OK
Content           : <!doctype html>
                    <html>
                    <head>
                        <title>Example Domain</title>

                        <meta charset="utf-8" />
                        <meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
                        <meta name="viewport" conten...
RawContent        : HTTP/1.1 200 OK
                    Alt-Svc: h3=":443"; ma=93600,h3-29=":443"; ma=93600,h3-Q050=":443"; ma=93600,quic=":443";
                    ma=93600; v="46,43"
                    Connection: keep-alive
                    Content-Length: 1256
                    Cache-Control: max-age=274...
Forms             : {}
Headers           : {[Alt-Svc, h3=":443"; ma=93600,h3-29=":443"; ma=93600,h3-Q050=":443"; ma=93600,quic=":443";
                    ma=93600; v="46,43"], [Connection, keep-alive], [Content-Length, 1256], [Cache-Control,
                    max-age=2745]...}
Images            : {}
InputFields       : {}
Links             : {@{innerHTML=More information...; innerText=More information...; outerHTML=<A
                    href="https://www.iana.org/domains/example">More information...</A>; outerText=More
                    information...; tagName=A; href=https://www.iana.org/domains/example}}
ParsedHtml        : mshtml.HTMLDocumentClass
RawContentLength  : 1256

curl https://example.com           # Perform a GET request
curl -I https://example.com        # Fetch headers
curl -X POST -d "name=John" https://example.com/form

5. dig / nslookup

Purpose: Perform DNS lookups and get domain information.

dig is more advanced and commonly used in Linux/Mac.
nslookup works on both Windows and Linux/Mac.

Usage:

dig [options] [hostname]           # Linux/Mac
nslookup [hostname]                # Windows/Linux/Mac

Common Options for dig:

+short: Display brief output.
-t [record type]: Specify DNS record type (A, MX, NS, TXT, etc.).

Examples:

dig google.com                     # Get DNS records
dig google.com +short               # Brief IP address output
dig google.com -t MX                # Get mail server records
nslookup google.com                 # Basic DNS lookup

PS C:\Users\Atul> nslookup google.com
Server:  UnKnown
Address:  192.168.0.1

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    google.com
Addresses:  2404:6800:4009:82e::200e
          142.250.199.174

Summary Table:

Command	Purpose	Platform
ping	Check connectivity	All (Linux/Mac/Win)
traceroute / tracert	Trace packet route	Linux/Mac / Windows
netstat	View network connections & stats	All (Linux/Mac/Win)
curl	Make HTTP requests	Linux/Mac/Win
dig / nslookup	DNS lookup	dig (Linux/Mac), nslookup (All)

Conclusion:

Networking commands like ping, traceroute/tracert, and netstat help check connectivity, trace routes, and monitor connections. curl tests web requests, while dig/nslookup resolves domain names. Mastering these tools is crucial for effective network troubleshooting and analysis.

Networking Commands Guide

Table of contents

1. ping

2. traceroute / tracert :

3. netstat

4. curl

5. dig / nslookup

Subscribe to my newsletter

Atul Bobade

Atul Bobade