How to Determine Unique Commands for Your Linux Server

Most commands in Linux work the same as their counterparts in other UNIX applications. However, there are some commands unique to Linux that extend its functionality. In this example we are using Red Hat Linux, a popular Linux distribution that shares qualities of most other Linux variants. Here is how to determine unique commands for your Linux server.

Step1 Change your default shell to the Bourne-again shell (Bash). Bash is the most advanced UNIX-like shell, with the most capabilities.

Step2 Burn CD-ROM with the command-line driven “cdrecord” utility. It can utilize any SCSI CD writer or any IDE writer using Linux ide-scsi emulation.

Step3 Use the “md5sum” command to compare any two files. Two identical files will return the same md5 checksum.

Step4 Use the “rpm” command to install, remove and manage software packages. It is feature-filled and has become a standard for Linux systems.

Step5 Use the “up2date” command to automatically log in to a remote rpm server and apply package and security updates, as well as others.

Step6 Formatting the hard disk with the Linux ext3 file system, with its “chattr” and “lsattr” commands, can apply extended file attributes above and beyond the standard UNIX ufs attributes. For instance, “chattr +i” sets the immutable bit on a file, meaning the file cannot be deleted or changed, even by root.

Step7 Use the "chkconfig" and service commands to cleanly manage the /etc/rc.d run control directories and services. The alternative, on non-Linux systems, is to manually manage startup files and the run levels in which they start and stop.