sockstat

Sockstat is a command-line tool in Unix-based systems that allows users to view information about open network sockets. It displays a list of active network connections on the system.

The tool provides detailed information about each socket, including the protocol, local and remote IPs and ports, the process ID (PID) that owns the socket, and the state of the connection.

One of the key features of sockstat is its ability to filter and sort the socket information based on various criteria. Users can narrow down the output by specifying a particular protocol or process ID, or even by applying regular expressions to match specific values.

Sockstat is a versatile utility that serves multiple purposes. It is useful for monitoring and troubleshooting network connections, identifying processes that are using specific ports, and understanding network activity on a system.

By default, sockstat displays both IPv4 and IPv6 sockets, but users can choose to show only IPv4 or IPv6 sockets using command flags.

The tool can be executed with different options, such as '-4' to show only IPv4 sockets, '-6' for IPv6 sockets, '-L' to display raw listening socket information, and more.

In addition to showing active connections, sockstat also provides information about listening sockets that are waiting for incoming connections.

Sockstat is a lightweight and efficient utility that can be executed without needing root privileges, making it accessible to regular users. However, some functionality, like viewing sockets owned by other users, may require root privileges.

The output of sockstat is continuously updated in real-time, which helps users monitor network activity dynamically.

Overall, sockstat is a valuable command-line tool for network monitoring and analysis, allowing users to gain insights into network connections and troubleshoot issues efficiently.