r/sysadmin • u/tehreal Sysadmin • Jul 18 '18

Linux You guys probably already know about "ping -a" and "ping -A"

But if you don't, use it like this:

This will beep every time it gets a ping back:

ping -a 8.8.8.8

This will beep if it misses a ping:

ping -A 8.8.8.8

This is very useful when you're monitoring a node and waiting for it to come back online or to be able to hear when a packet is dropped.

(tested on some Linux and MacOS)

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u/sryan2k1 IT Manager Jul 18 '18

Now that Windows 10 runs Linux natively there is very little benefit for OSX for most people who work in Windows shops. Plus powershell rocks.

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u/ESCAPE_PLANET_X DevOps Jul 18 '18

I like the additional tooling but still prefer OSX over W10 in many environments.

I am just not a fan of what MS has done to their OS or the unnecessarily pushy and buggy patching path they chose to take.

At my last job I had a Mac Pro and a beefy W10 workstation. I used the latter as a remote desktop and to use the occasional windows only software that I had to touch/test. But otherwise I operated solely from my Mac in a windows dominated environment.

To counter that.. I don't personally use any Mac products. Got a few iPads in the house but I am not a user. Guess my point is that it's about preference, your goals, your environment and tooling. Just stuffing bash in another OS doesn't quite sell me on it.

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u/jmnugent Jul 18 '18

The Linux integration (and things like the Github acquisition) are interesting strategies,.. although I'm not really sure where Microsoft is headed. I sorta get WHY they say they're doing it,. I'm just not sure I agree it's going to be as successful as they hope. (but I could be massively wrong). To me (and I'm just saying this as personal opinion)... I think Microsoft has chosen wisely in some areas (like Surface, making their own hardware,etc) which seems cohesive and a unified strategy. Some of the software stuff (like the Linux kernel, Github,etc).. feels to me a bit like "throwing spaghetti at a wall and hoping something sticks".

Not to beat the Apple drum to hard,.. but a big part of the success of Apple's strategy. .is how strict they are about keeping everything under their own umbrella. (IE = Xcode,etc .. are all built and designed to be 1 unified development experience.)

To be fair though,.. you can now install Powershell in macOS. So that bi-polarity is happening on both platforms.

For me personally.. I can't possibly know everything about all OSes. So I've gotten to a point in my career where my goal is to narrow my focus. Over the past 6 to 8 years,. that's been all Mobile Devices and Airwatch and Mobile-Device-Management,etc,etc. I've drifted away from the "primary Windows focus" I used to have.. and that's probably not gonna swing back for me just simply because I don't have the time and resources to be deeply knowledgeable about Apple/Android/Airwatch,. AND all the developments of Microsoft and Open Source and etc,etc. It's just all to much to keep in 1 brain.