LINUX
PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND NETWORK
MANAGEMENT
LORDSON DAVID R
LORDSONDAVID.WORK@GMAIL.COM
Linux
Process Management
Introduction
Process management in Linux is about
observing and controlling the execution of
programs (processes). Linux provides various
commands to monitor CPU/memory usage,
manage running processes, and terminate them
if needed.
Let’s Get Dive into
Commands
ps – View Running Processes
1.Purpose
The ps (process status) command is used to
display information about active processes
on a Linux system. It provides a snapshot of
the current processes, unlike top, which
updates dynamically.
2.Syntax
ps [options]
3. Common Options
Command Meaning
aux List all running
processes from all
users, showing user,
PID, CPU, memory
usage, and command.
-ef Show full format
listing with detailed
information.
-u username Display processes
belonging to a
specific user.
-eo pid,cmd Show only the Process
ID (PID) and the
command name.
3. Examples
Command Meaning
ps Show current shell
processes
ps aux List all running
processes
ps -ef Display full-format list
of processes
ps -u username Show processes for a
specific user
ps -eo pid,cmd Display only PID and
command columns
top – Real-Time Process
Monitor
1.Purpose
The top command is used to monitor
real-time system performance, including
CPU usage, memory usage, and details of
currently running processes. It provides a
dynamic view of the system's resource
usage, which updates every few seconds.
2.Syntax
top [options]
3. Examples
Command Meaning
top Show dynamic
real-time process list
with CPU and memory
usage.
top -u username Show processes
belonging to a
specific user
dynamically.
free – Check Memory Usages
1.Purpose
The free command displays information about
the system's memory usage, including:
●Total memory (RAM),
●Used memory,
●Free memory,
●Shared memory,
●Buffers/cache,
●Swap space (used and free).
It provides a quick snapshot of how much
physical memory and swap space your system
is currently using or has available, helping you
monitor system performance and troubleshoot
memory-related issues.
2.Syntax
free [options]
3. Examples
Command Meaning
free Show memory and
swap usage.
free -h Show memory in
human-readable
format
free -m Display memory in
megabyte.
free -g Display memory in
gigabytes
kill – Terminate a Process by
PID
1.Purpose
The kill command is used to send signals to
running processes, most commonly to terminate
(stop) a process by specifying its Process ID
(PID). While its primary use is to end processes,
it can send other signals for different actions.
2.Syntax
kill [signal] PID
3. Examples
Command Meaning
kill 1234 Terminate the process
with PID 1234
kill -9 1234 Forcefully kill process
with PID 1234
kill -15 1234 Gracefully stop
process with PID 1234
pkill – Kill by Process Name
1.Purpose
The pkill command is used to send signals to
processes by matching their names or other
attributes rather than specifying the process ID
(PID). It is commonly used to kill all processes
whose names match a given pattern.
2.Syntax
pkill [options] process_name
3. Examples
Command Meaning
pkill firefox Kill all processes
named firefox
pkill -u root Kill all processes
belonging to user root
pkill -f server.py Kill processes by full
command match
swapon/swapoff – Manage
Swap Space
1.Purpose
The swapon and swapoff commands are
used to enable or disable swap areas
(partitions or files) on a Linux system. Swap
space acts as an overflow area on disk
when physical RAM is fully used, helping
maintain system stability.
2.Syntax
swapon [options] [file/device]
swapoff [options] [file/device]
3. Examples
Command Meaning
swapon -s Show active swap
areas
swapon /swapfile Enable a swap file
swapoff /swapfile Disable a swap file
nice & renice – Change
Process Priority
● Purpose
●nice is used to start a new process with a
specified priority (also called niceness),
influencing how the Linux scheduler
allocates CPU time.
●renice is used to change the priority
(niceness) of an already running process.
● Syntax
nice [options] command
renice [priority] -p PID
3. Examples
Command Meaning
nice -n 10 command Run command with
lower priority
renice +5 1234 Lower the priority of
process 1234
Linux
Network Management
Introduction
In Linux, network management tools are
essential for monitoring, configuring, and
troubleshooting network-related components.
These tools help administrators understand the
state of the system’s network interfaces,
bandwidth usage, open ports, and traffic flow.
This section covers practical commands such as
netstat, iostat, ifconfig, and more.
1. Viewing Network
Connections
netstat - (Network Statistics)
1.Purpose
The netstat command displays network
connections, routing tables, interface
statistics, masquerade connections, and
multicast memberships.
2.Use Case
●Check open ports and listening
services.
●Monitor incoming and outgoing
connections.
●View routing information.
3. Common Options
Command Meaning
-t Show TCP
connections.
-u Show UDP
connections.
-l Show only listening
sockets.
-n Show numerical
addresses.
-p Show the PID and
name of the program.
4. Examples
Command Meaning
netstat -tun Displays all active TCP
and UDP connections
with numerical IPs
and ports.
netstat -tuln
Lists all TCP/UDP
ports the system is
currently listening on
(useful for server
diagnostics).
sudo netstat -tulpn | Find which process is
grep :80 using port 80 (HTTP).
netstat -i Displays statistics
about each network
interface (like packets
sent/received).
netstat -r Displays the kernel IP
routing table (similar
to route -n).
netstat -g Useful for analyzing
multicast traffic and
group memberships.
netstat -a
Lists all active
sockets, including
UNIX domain sockets
(e.g., inter-process
communication).
netstat -at
-at: Show only TCP
netstat -au
connections
-au: Show only UDP
connections
2. Monitoring Disk and
I/O Stats
iostat - (Input/Output
Statistics)
1.Purpose
The iostat command provides CPU statistics
and I/O statistics for devices and partitions.
It helps to monitor system performance,
especially in diagnosing disk I/O
bottlenecks.
2.Use Case
●Monitor disk read/write throughput
●Identify high disk usage devices
●Check CPU wait time caused by I/O
delays
●Understand the load distribution
between CPU and I/O operations
3.Syntax
iostat [options] [interval] [count]
4.Common Options
Command Meaning
-x Show extended
statistics, including
utilization, IOPS, and
latency
-d Display only device
statistics
-c Display only CPU
statistics
-p Show stats for all
partitions
-k / -m Show Values in kB or
MB
Interval count Report stats at
specified intervals
and repetitions
5. Examples
Command Meaning
iostat -xd 2 5 Monitor extended I/O
stats (e.g., %util,
await, r/s, w/s) for
each disk every 2
seconds, five times.
iostat -c
View how much time
the CPU spends in
user, system, idle, and
I/O wait modes.
iostat -d View read/write rates
for devices without
CPU stats.
iostat -m -p View I/O statistics in
megabytes per
second, including for
all partitions (like
/dev/sda1,
/dev/sda2).
iostat -xd 1 Live monitoring of
extended disk I/O
stats every second
(press Ctrl+C to stop).
3. Configuring Network
Interfaces
ip - (IP Routing & Network
Device Configuration)
1.Purpose
The ip command is used to display,
configure, and manage network interfaces,
IP addresses, and routing rules. It replaces
the older ifconfig, route, and related tools.
2.Use Case
●Display IP address and MAC address
for interfaces
●Assign or delete IP addresses
●Enable or disable network interfaces
●View or modify routing tables
●Inspect link status and statistics
3. Syntax
ip [OBJECT] [COMMAND] [OPTIONS]
4. Common Objects
Command Meaning
addr Manage IP addresses
link Manage network
interfaces
route Manage routing
tables
5. Examples
Command Meaning
ip addr show Displays IPv4/IPv6
# or simply addresses, MAC
ip a addresses, interface
names and states.
ip addr show dev eth0
Shows IP
configuration of the
eth0 interface only.
sudo ip addr add Assigns an IP to eth0
192.168.1.100/24 dev (will not persist after
eth0 reboot unless added
to config files).
sudo ip addr del Removes the assigned
192.168.1.100/24 dev IP from the interface.
eth0
sudo ip link set eth0 Enables the interface
up (equivalent to ifconfig
eth0 up).
sudo ip link set eth0
Disables the interface.
down
ip link show
Shows MAC address,
MTU, and operational
status of all
interfaces.
sudo ip link set dev
Temporarily change
eth0 address
the MAC address of
00:11:22:33:44:55
the interface.
ip route
Lists current routes
configured on the
system.
4. Resolving Hostnames
and Testing Connectivity
ping
1.Purpose
The ping command is used to test the
reachability of a remote host over a
network. It also helps measure packet loss
and network latency (round-trip time).
2.Use Case
●Check if a host is online or reachable
●Diagnose DNS resolution issues
●Measure round-trip time and latency
●Detect packet loss or high network
delay
3. Syntax
ping [options] <hostname or IP>
4. Common Options
Command Meaning
-c Number of packets to
send
-i Interval between
packets
-s Packet size in bytes
-D Print timestamps
-f Flood ping (root only)
-q Quiet mode, only
summary output
5. Examples
Command Meaning
ping google.com Tests internet
connectivity and DNS
resolution. You'll see
responses with
latency in
milliseconds.
ping 8.8.8.8
Verifies network
connectivity without
relying on DNS.
ping -c 4 google.com Sends exactly 4 echo
requests and stops
automatically (useful
in scripts).
ping -s 128 Sends packets of 128
google.com bytes instead of the
default 56 (to test
MTU or bandwidth
stability).
sudo ping -f Sends packets as fast
google.com as possible (use
carefully, only for
internal testing).
ping -D google.com
Each line will be
prefixed with a
timestamp — useful
for logging and
analyzing patterns.
traceroute
1.Purpose
traceroute maps the path that packets take
from your system to a remote host. It shows
each hop (router or gateway) along the way
and measures the delay (latency) at each
step.
2.Use Case
●Identify where network delay or
failure occurs
●Trace routing problems (e.g., wrong
path, unreachable node)
●Detect long hops or ISP issues
●Understand how data travels across
the internet or within your LAN
3. Syntax
traceroute [options] <hostname or IP>
4. Common Options
Command Meaning
-n Show only IP
addresses (no DNS
lookup) - Faster
-m Set maximum hop
count (default: 30)
-w Set wait time (in
seconds) for each
reply
-I Use ICMP ECHO
instead of UDP
-T Use TCP SYN packets
instead of UDP (useful
for firewalled targets)
5. Examples
Command Meaning
traceroute google.com This shows each
router your request
passes through on its
way to Google.
traceroute 8.8.8.8
Helpful if DNS
resolution is down or
you're testing a raw
IP connection.
traceroute -n Faster output with
google.com raw IPs only.
sudo traceroute -I This behaves more
google.com like ping and works
better on some
networks.
sudo traceroute -T -p This sends TCP SYN
80 google.com packets to port 80,
useful if ICMP/UDP is
blocked.
nslookup
1.Purpose
nslookup (Name Server Lookup) is a network
utility used to query DNS servers to get:
●IP addresses from domain names (forward
lookup)
●Domain names from IP addresses (reverse
lookup)
●DNS record details (like A, MX, NS, etc.)
2.Use Case
●Check if a domain resolves correctly
●Diagnose DNS resolution issues
●Identify mail servers (MX records) or
name servers (NS records)
●Perform reverse lookups to verify
hostnames from IPs
3. Syntax
nslookup [hostname or IP]
4. Common Options
Record Type Meaning
A IPv4 address record
AAAA IPV6 address record
MX Mail exchange record
NS Name Server
CNAME Canonical name(alias)
PTR Pointer for reverse
DNS
5. Examples
Command Meaning
nslookup example.com This command queries
your DNS server to
find the IP address
associated with
example.com.
nslookup 8.8.8.8
Gets the domain
name mapped to the
IP (if available).
nslookup example.com Queries Cloudflare's
1.1.1.1 DNS instead of your
system default.
nslookup Look up Mail
Then, at the prompt: Exchange (MX)
records for a domain.
> set type=MX
> gmail.com
