5.9.3. Displaying Connections
netstat supports a set of options to display active or passive sockets. The options –t , –u , –w , and –x show active TCP, UDP, RAW, or Unix socket connections. If you provide the –a flag in addition, sockets that are waiting for a connection (i.e., listening) are displayed as well. This display will give you a list of all servers that are currently running on your system.
Invoking netstat -ta on vlager produces this output:
$ netstat -ta
Active Internet Connections
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address (State)
tcp 0 0 *:domain *:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 *:time *:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 *:smtp *:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 vlager:smtp vstout:1040 ESTABLISHED
tcp 0 0 *:telnet *:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 localhost:1046 vbardolino:telnet ESTABLISHED
tcp 0 0 *:chargen *:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 *:daytime *:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 *:discard *:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 *:echo *:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 *:shell *:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 *:login *:* LISTEN
This output shows most servers simply waiting for an incoming connection. However, the fourth line shows an incoming SMTP connection from vstout , and the sixth line tells you there is an outgoing telnet connection to vbardolino .[1]
Using the –a flag by itself will display all sockets from all families.
Notes
You can tell whether a connection is outgoing from the port numbers. The port number shown for the calling host will always be a simple integer. On the host being called, a well-known service port will be in use for which netstat uses the symbolic name such as smtp , found in /etc/services .
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