As our networks have increased in capacity and therefore complexity the world has in many ways moved on from the command line. Large-scale IP networks with thousands of end-points within a broadcast production environment, will use software layers like SDN to give managers the tools required to devise, configure, manage and monitor the network. So why learn command line?

Because like all aspects of engineering, understanding the underlying science provides a solid foundation that gives a deeper and more robust grasp of how the network functions and therefore what it’s limitations might be.

Step outside of the bespoke broadcast software layer and into the world of industrial IT managers to do something as simple as configuring IP addresses within a PC OS and you will very quickly find that a grasp of the command line remains fundamental to network management.

The course starts with basic principles and uses the creation of a monitoring system to provide a foundational understanding of IP networks that is to IP, what the oscilloscope and soldering iron are to electronics. It was invented in the 1960’s yet the command line remains integral to the life of IT managers everywhere.

The free PDF download contains all 12 articles in this series - and all the articles are available as individual web pages:

Article 1 : The Command Line Interface
The principles and terminology of using the command line as a diagnostic and monitoring tool kit.

Article 2 : Testing Remote Connections
Techniques for performing basic tests on our network infrastructure to check for potential problems.

Article 3 : Monitoring Your Remote Systems
Some of the ways to ask for something to be checked and have the results reported back to you.

Article 4 : SSH Public Keys
Installing public SSH keys created on your workstation in a server will authenticate you without needing a password.

Article 5 : Using Shell Scripts
How to encapsulate commands into a shell script to create a repeatable set of instructions.

Article 6 : Advanced Techniques
Digging deeper with defensive coding, algorithmic design and monitoring your subnet.

Article 7 : Remote Agents
Remote processes acting as agents on our behalf to collect measurements and observations in other machines.

Article 8 : Caching The Results
Cache & aggregate measurements across machines, log locally, or write measurements into a MySQL DB, to create a status board.

Article 9 : Continuous Monitoring
How Ethernet has evolved to combat congestion and how speeds have increased through the decades.

Article 10 : Example Monitoring Probes
A collection of example monitoring and detection tools designed to drop in to a queue manager folder.

Article 11 : Building And Deploying Your Own Tools
The Common UNIX Environment approach, Model-View-Controller and Target-Action paradigms.

Article 12 : Pulling It All Together
Creating a constantly updating web page designed to pull the latest status measurements from the DB.