Linux Hardware Components and Device Utilities
Overview
Linux provides extensive tools and utilities for hardware detection, monitoring, and management. Understanding these components and utilities is essential for system administration, troubleshooting, and performance optimization.
System Information Utilities
General System Information
# Complete system overview
neofetch # Stylized system info
screenfetch # Alternative system info display
inxi -Fxz # Comprehensive hardware info
hwinfo --short # Hardware detection summary
lshw # List hardware (detailed)
lshw -short # Concise hardware list
dmidecode # DMI/SMBIOS information
# Kernel and OS information
uname -a # Kernel version and system info
hostnamectl # System hostname and OS info
cat /etc/os-release # OS distribution info
cat /proc/version # Kernel version details
cat /proc/cmdline # Kernel boot parameters
Hardware Detection and Enumeration
# PCI devices
lspci # List PCI devices
lspci -v # Verbose PCI information
lspci -nn # Show vendor/device IDs
lspci -t # Tree view of PCI devices
lspci -s 00:1f.2 -v # Specific device details
# USB devices
lsusb # List USB devices
lsusb -v # Verbose USB information
lsusb -t # USB device tree
usb-devices # Detailed USB device list
# Block devices
lsblk # List block devices
lsblk -f # Show filesystem information
blkid # Block device attributes
fdisk -l # Partition tables
parted -l # Partition information
# Other device types
lscpu # CPU information
lsmem # Memory ranges
lsinitrd # Initial ramdisk contents
CPU Information and Monitoring
CPU Details
# CPU architecture and features
lscpu # Detailed CPU information
cat /proc/cpuinfo # Raw CPU data
nproc # Number of processing units
getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN # Online processors
# CPU capabilities
cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep flags # CPU feature flags
lscpu | grep Flags # Feature summary
CPU Monitoring
# Real-time CPU usage
top # Process and CPU monitor
htop # Enhanced process viewer
btop # Modern resource monitor
atop # Advanced system monitor
# CPU statistics
iostat # CPU and I/O statistics
vmstat 1 # Virtual memory statistics
sar -u 1 10 # CPU utilization report
mpstat 1 # Multi-processor statistics
# CPU frequency and scaling
cpufreq-info # CPU frequency information
cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep MHz
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_cur_freq
# CPU temperature monitoring
sensors # Hardware sensors
cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone*/temp
CPU Performance Tools
# CPU stress testing
stress --cpu 4 --timeout 60s # CPU stress test
stress-ng --cpu 4 --timeout 60s # Advanced stress testing
sysbench cpu --threads=4 run # CPU benchmark
# CPU profiling
perf top # Real-time profiling
perf record -g ./program # Record with call graphs
perf report # Analyze recorded data
Memory Information and Management
Memory Details
# Memory overview
free -h # Memory usage (human readable)
cat /proc/meminfo # Detailed memory information
lsmem # Memory range information
dmidecode -t memory # Physical memory details
# Memory mapping
cat /proc/*/maps # Process memory maps
pmap -x PID # Process memory map
cat /proc/*/smaps # Detailed memory mapping
Memory Monitoring
# Memory usage monitoring
vmstat 1 # Virtual memory statistics
sar -r 1 10 # Memory utilization
cat /proc/slabinfo # Kernel slab allocator info
cat /proc/buddyinfo # Memory fragmentation info
cat /proc/pagetypeinfo # Page type information
# Memory pressure indicators
cat /proc/pressure/memory # Memory pressure (if enabled)
dmesg | grep -i "killed" # OOM killer messages
cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness # Swappiness setting
Memory Testing
# Memory testing tools
memtest86+ # Boot-time memory test
memtester 1G # Runtime memory test
stress --vm 2 --vm-bytes 1G # Memory stress test
Storage Devices and Management
Storage Device Information
# Block devices
lsblk -f # Filesystem info
blkid # Block device UUIDs
fdisk -l # Partition tables
parted -l # Partition information
cat /proc/partitions # Kernel partition table
# SCSI/SATA devices
lsscsi # SCSI devices
cat /proc/scsi/scsi # SCSI device info
ls /sys/block/ # Block device sys entries
# NVMe devices
nvme list # NVMe device list
nvme id-ctrl /dev/nvme0 # Controller information
nvme smart-log /dev/nvme0 # SMART data
Disk Usage and Monitoring
# Disk usage
df -h # Filesystem usage
du -sh /path/* # Directory sizes
ncdu / # Interactive disk usage
duf # Modern df alternative
# Disk I/O monitoring
iostat -x 1 # Extended I/O statistics
iotop # I/O usage by process
iotop -o # Only active processes
atop # Advanced system monitor
Storage Performance Testing
# Disk performance testing
hdparm -tT /dev/sda # Read performance test
dd if=/dev/zero of=testfile bs=1G count=1 oflag=direct
fio --name=random-write --ioengine=posixaio --rw=randwrite --bs=4k --size=4g --numjobs=1 --iodepth=1 --runtime=60 --time_based --end_fsync=1
# SMART monitoring
smartctl -a /dev/sda # SMART attributes
smartctl -t short /dev/sda # Short self-test
smartctl -H /dev/sda # Health status
Network Hardware
Network Interface Information
# Network interfaces
ip link show # Network interfaces
ip addr show # IP addresses
ifconfig # Interface configuration (deprecated)
cat /proc/net/dev # Network device statistics
# Ethernet information
ethtool eth0 # Interface details
ethtool -i eth0 # Driver information
ethtool -k eth0 # Feature flags
ethtool -S eth0 # Statistics
mii-tool eth0 # Media information (deprecated)
Wireless Information
# Wireless interfaces
iwconfig # Wireless configuration
iw dev # Wireless devices
iw list # Wireless capabilities
rfkill list # Radio frequency kill switches
# Wireless monitoring
iwlist scan # Scan for networks
wavemon # Wireless monitor
cat /proc/net/wireless # Wireless statistics
Network Hardware Monitoring
# Network traffic monitoring
iftop # Interface traffic
nethogs # Process network usage
vnstat # Network statistics
ss -tuln # Socket statistics
netstat -i # Interface statistics
# Network performance testing
iperf3 -s # Server mode
iperf3 -c server_ip # Client mode
speedtest-cli # Internet speed test
Graphics and Display
Graphics Hardware Information
# Graphics cards
lspci | grep -i vga # VGA controllers
lspci | grep -i 3d # 3D controllers
glxinfo | grep -i vendor # OpenGL information
xrandr # Display information
cat /proc/fb # Framebuffer devices
# GPU-specific tools
nvidia-smi # NVIDIA GPU information
radeontop # AMD GPU monitoring
intel_gpu_top # Intel GPU monitoring
Display Configuration
# X11 display information
xdpyinfo # Display information
xwininfo # Window information
xvinfo # X-Video extension info
xrandr --listmonitors # Connected monitors
# Wayland display information (if applicable)
wayland-info # Wayland protocol info
swaymsg -t get_outputs # Sway outputs (if using Sway)
Audio Hardware
Audio Device Information
# Audio devices
lspci | grep -i audio # Audio controllers
cat /proc/asound/cards # Sound cards
aplay -l # Playback devices
arecord -l # Capture devices
cat /proc/asound/devices # Audio devices
# ALSA information
amixer # Audio mixer
alsamixer # Interactive mixer
alsactl store # Store ALSA settings
Audio Monitoring
# Audio system status
pulseaudio --check -v # PulseAudio status
pactl info # PulseAudio information
pactl list sinks # Audio outputs
pactl list sources # Audio inputs
# Audio performance
cat /proc/asound/card*/pcm*/info # PCM information
Input Devices
Input Device Information
# Input devices
cat /proc/bus/input/devices # Input device list
ls /dev/input/ # Input device files
xinput list # X11 input devices
evtest # Event testing tool
# Keyboard and mouse
setleds -caps # Keyboard LED status
xset q # X11 settings
xinput list-props device_id # Device properties
Sensor Monitoring
Hardware Sensors
# Temperature and fan sensors
sensors # Hardware sensors
sensors-detect # Sensor detection
cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone*/temp
cat /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon*/temp*_input
# Fan control
pwmconfig # PWM configuration
fancontrol # Automatic fan control
Advanced Monitoring
# Comprehensive monitoring
htop # Process and system monitor
glances # Cross-platform monitor
collectd # System statistics collection
munin-node # System monitoring (node)
Device Management Utilities
udev (Device Manager)
# udev information
udevadm info --query=all --name=/dev/sda
udevadm monitor # Monitor udev events
udevadm test /sys/block/sda # Test udev rules
udevadm trigger # Trigger udev events
# udev rules
cat /etc/udev/rules.d/* # Custom udev rules
cat /lib/udev/rules.d/* # System udev rules
Device Files and Special Filesystems
# Device files
ls -la /dev/ # Device files
cat /proc/devices # Character and block devices
cat /proc/misc # Miscellaneous devices
# Special filesystems
mount | grep -E "(proc|sys|dev)"
ls /sys/class/ # Device classes
ls /sys/bus/ # Bus types
ls /sys/devices/ # Device hierarchy
Power Management
Power Information
# Battery information
cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/info
upower -i $(upower -e | grep 'BAT')
acpi -b # Battery status
acpi -t # Temperature
acpi -a # AC adapter status
# Power management
cat /sys/power/state # Available sleep states
cat /proc/acpi/wakeup # Wake-up devices
powertop # Power consumption analyzer
CPU Power Management
# CPU frequency scaling
cpufreq-info # Frequency information
cpufreq-set -g performance # Set governor
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor
# Power states
cat /proc/acpi/processor/CPU*/power # C-states
turbostat # CPU power monitoring
Hardware Diagnostic Tools
System Health Monitoring
# Hardware health
lm-sensors # Hardware monitoring
hddtemp /dev/sda # Hard drive temperature
smartctl -H /dev/sda # SMART health
edac-util # Memory error detection
# System stability
memtest86+ # Memory testing
stress-ng # System stress testing
badblocks /dev/sda # Bad block detection
Hardware Testing
# Comprehensive hardware testing
hardware-detect # Debian hardware detection
discover # Hardware discovery
kudzu # Red Hat hardware probe (legacy)
# Performance benchmarking
sysbench # System benchmark suite
unixbench # Unix benchmark
hdparm # Hard disk benchmarking
Hardware Configuration Files
Important Configuration Locations
# Hardware configuration
/etc/modprobe.d/ # Module configuration
/etc/udev/rules.d/ # Device rules
/sys/ # Hardware information
/proc/ # Process and hardware info
/dev/ # Device files
# Hardware databases
/usr/share/hwdata/ # Hardware databases
/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/ # Kernel modules
Modern Hardware Management
Firmware Management
# UEFI/BIOS information
dmidecode -t bios # BIOS information
efibootmgr # EFI boot manager
fwupdmgr get-devices # Firmware update manager
fwupdmgr refresh # Refresh firmware database
# Hardware abstraction
lshw -json # JSON output
inxi -Fxz --output json # JSON system info
Container and Virtualization Hardware
# Virtualization detection
systemd-detect-virt # Detect virtualization
virt-what # Virtualization detection
cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep hypervisor
# Container hardware access
ls /sys/fs/cgroup/ # Control groups
cat /proc/self/cgroup # Process cgroup membership
Hardware Troubleshooting Workflow
Diagnostic Steps
# 1. System overview
inxi -Fxz
lshw -short
dmesg | grep -i error
# 2. Specific component analysis
lspci -v # PCI devices
lsusb -v # USB devices
lsblk -f # Storage
sensors # Temperatures
# 3. Performance monitoring
htop
iostat -x 1
vmstat 1
# 4. Hardware logs
dmesg | tail
journalctl -k | tail
cat /var/log/syslog | grep hardware
Common Hardware Issues
# Driver issues
lsmod | grep driver_name # Check if driver loaded
modinfo driver_name # Driver information
dmesg | grep firmware # Firmware loading issues
# Hardware failures
smartctl -a /dev/sda # Disk health
memtest86+ # Memory testing
sensors # Temperature issues
Linux provides comprehensive hardware detection and management capabilities through a rich ecosystem of utilities, from basic information gathering to advanced monitoring and diagnostics.