Now that the ESX Server installation out of the way, you need to look at a few Linux survival
commands. If you're accustomed to Linux operating systems, this section will be a snore;
however, if you're new to the world of Linux, this section should offer some much needed
information. Table 5-4 is a quick reference for the commands you can use at the Service
Console. A complete discussion of Linux and its wealth of commands are beyond the scope
of this book.
| Command |
Purpose |
Example |
| man |
Displays extended help |
man reboot (the letter q quits help) |
| --help |
Displays basic help |
reboot --help |
| clear |
Clears console screen |
clear |
| su |
Switches to superuser or between users |
su su or su <userid> |
| Is |
Lists files in a directory
Lists long listing with hidden files
Lists scrollable long listing |
ls /
ls –al
ls –l | less |
| pwd |
Reveals present working directory |
pwd |
| cd |
Changes to new directory |
cd <directory> |
| mkdir |
Makes a directory |
mkdir <name> |
| rmdir |
Removes an empty directory |
rmdir <directory> |
| rm |
Removes a file (or directory) |
rm <filename>,rm –r <directory name> |
| mount |
Attaches to media, as in CD-ROM mount
Mounts CD-ROM
Mounts floppy drive |
mount <device> <destination>
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
mount/dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy |
| mount |
Attaches to media, as in CD-ROM mount |
mount <device> <destination> |
| eject |
Ejects CD-ROM |
eject |
| cp |
Copies a file or directory |
cp <source><destination> |
| mv |
Moves a file or directory |
mv <source><destination> |
| find |
Locates a file or directory |
find / –name <name> |
| tar |
Creates a compressed file
Extracts a compressed file |
tar –czvf <source><destination>
tar –xzvf <source><destination> |
| tar |
Creates a compressed file |
tar –czvf <source><destination> |
| umount |
Disconnects from media or partition
Unmounts floppy drive
Unmounts CD-ROM |
umount <directory or device>
umount /mnt/floppy
umount /mnt/cdrom |
| umount |
Disconnects from media or partition
Unmounts floppy drive
Unmounts CD-ROM |
umount <directory or device>
umount /mnt/floppy
umount /mnt/cdrom |
| fdisk -l |
Lists disk partitions |
fdisk –l |
| service |
Controls system services and stops
Starts system services
Restarts system services |
service <service> stop
service <service> start
service <service> restart |
| passwd |
Manages passwords |
passwd <user ID> |
| ps |
Lists system processes |
ps –efa | less |
| free |
Displays memory statistics |
free –m |
| ifconfig |
Reveals IP addressing information |
ifconfig –more |
| uname |
Reveals host name |
uname –a |
| ping |
Stands for Packet Internet Groper |
ping <IP address> |
| reboot |
Restarts the ESX host server |
reboot |
