Networking Tools

✅ What are Networking Tools?

Networking tools are software applications or hardware devices used by IT professionals to analyze, troubleshoot, secure, and manage network connections and devices. These tools help ensure networks are running efficiently and securely.

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🔑 Types of Networking Tools & Their Functions:

Category	Purpose	Example Tools
Troubleshooting & Diagnostics	Identify and solve network issues	Ping, Traceroute, Nslookup, Netstat
Network Monitoring	Monitor network performance and traffic	Wireshark, PRTG, Zabbix, Nagios
Bandwidth & Traffic Analysis	Analyze network usage and data flow	SolarWinds, ntopng, NetFlow Analyzer
Security & Vulnerability	Detect and prevent threats, check for vulnerabilities	Nmap, Nessus, OpenVAS, Snort
IP Address Management (IPAM)	Manage IP addresses, DHCP, DNS	Infoblox, BlueCat, phpIPAM
Remote Access & Control	Remotely access and manage devices	PuTTY, Remote Desktop, TeamViewer, AnyDesk
Packet Analysis	Inspect and analyze packets flowing in the network	Wireshark, Tcpdump

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🌐 Common Networking Tools & Commands (Details):

1. Ping

• Purpose: Check if a host is reachable and measure round-trip time.

• Command:

cssCopyEditping [hostname/IP]

• Example:

nginxCopyEditping google.com

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2. Traceroute (Windows: tracert)

• Purpose: Trace the path packets take to reach a destination.

• Command:

scssCopyEdittraceroute [hostname/IP] (Linux/Mac)
tracert [hostname/IP] (Windows)

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3. IPconfig / Ifconfig

• Purpose: View and manage IP address configurations.

• Windows:

bashCopyEditipconfig /all

• Linux/Mac:

nginxCopyEditifconfig

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4. Nslookup / Dig

• Purpose: Query DNS records.

• Commands:

nginxCopyEditnslookup google.com
dig google.com

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5. Netstat

• Purpose: View network connections, routing tables, interface stats.

• Command:

nginxCopyEditnetstat -an

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6. Wireshark (Graphical Packet Analyzer)

• Purpose: Capture and analyze packets in real-time.

• Usage: Deep inspection of traffic for troubleshooting and security.

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7. Nmap (Network Mapper)

• Purpose: Network discovery and security auditing (port scanning, detecting services).

• Command:

cssCopyEditnmap [target IP or hostname]

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8. PuTTY (SSH Client)

• Purpose: Secure remote access to devices using SSH/Telnet.

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9. Tcpdump (Command-line Packet Sniffer)

• Purpose: Capture packets and analyze them from terminal/CLI.

• Command:

cssCopyEdittcpdump -i eth0

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10. Netcat (nc)

• Purpose: Read and write data across networks, useful for testing and debugging.

• Command:

cssCopyEditnc [options] [hostname] [port]

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🖥️ Graphical Tools & Software:

Tool Name	Purpose	Platform
Wireshark	Packet capture and analysis	Windows, Mac, Linux
PRTG Network Monitor	Network monitoring and alerting	Windows
Nagios	Server and network monitoring	Linux (mainly)
Zabbix	Monitoring and analytics	Cross-platform
SolarWinds	Network performance and security	Windows
NetFlow Analyzer	Traffic analysis	Windows, Linux

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🔐 Security and Vulnerability Tools:

Tool Name	Purpose
Nmap	Port scanning, network mapping
Nessus	Vulnerability scanning
OpenVAS	Vulnerability assessment
Snort	Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (IDS/IPS)

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🌍 IP Address & DNS Tools:

Tool Name	Purpose
phpIPAM	IP Address Management (open-source)
Infoblox	DNS, DHCP, and IP address management
BlueCat	Enterprise-level IPAM and DNS

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🧑‍💻 Remote Access & SSH Tools:

Tool Name	Purpose
PuTTY	SSH and Telnet client for remote access
TeamViewer	Remote desktop access
AnyDesk	Fast remote desktop tool
MobaXterm	SSH client with tabbed terminal

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⚙️ Network Simulation Tools (for Learning & Testing):

Tool Name	Purpose
Cisco Packet Tracer	Network simulation and training tool
GNS3	Graphical Network Simulator (advanced)
EVE-NG	Network emulation platform

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✅ Summary Table of Essential Tools:

Tool/Command	Function
Ping	Check connectivity
Traceroute	Trace route to destination
Nslookup/Dig	DNS resolution
Netstat	View network connections
Wireshark	Packet capture and analysis
Nmap	Network discovery and security auditing
PuTTY	SSH/Telnet client
Tcpdump	Packet capture (command-line)
PRTG	Network monitoring
Nagios/Zabbix	Network and system monitoring