What is a Linux Version?

Linux versions are different distributions of the Linux operating system that are based on the Linux kernel. Some of the most popular Linux versions are Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and Mint. Each version has its own features, software repositories, and update cycles. Linux versions can be used for desktops, servers, smartphones, and other devices. 

How to Check Linux Version

The first step in checking your Linux version is determining what it is you’re actually looking for. Are you trying to determine your system’s operating system: the name of your particular Linux distribution (such as Red Hat, CentOS, Ubuntu, etc.)? Or the actual version number of your Linux Kernel? Depending on what you’re looking for, there are different ways of accessing both.

If you’d like a quick way of checking both the OS and kernel, enter the following command into your Linux terminal:

hostnamectl

When entered, this should output a list of information from the Systemd logs associated with your system’s hostname. Included in this information, you should find a line marked Operating System which contains the name of your Linux distribution, and a line below it marked Kernel, containing information on your Linux Kernel’s version number. Because this method relies on an OS with Systemd, it is possible this command won’t work for you, depending on the age and type of your particular Linux distribution.

Using lsb_release to Check OS

If you are trying to learn more information about your Linux distribution specifically, the command lsb_release can provide information on your package’s distributor, the distribution’s release number, and any possible codenames/secondary names associated with the distribution. Short for Linux Standard Base, the lsb_release command is only compatible with certain Linux distributions (those which it’s already installed on). If supported, this command should print an output with details on your system’s distribution package. If not compatible, the output “command not found: lsb_release” will be printed instead.

To test if your distribution supports lsb_release, use the following command:

lsb_release -a

Other Methods for Checking OS Version

If the lsb_release command isn’t working for your particular Linux distribution, there are several other methods available to determine your machine’s operating system.

If your Linux distribution is operating on Systemd, the following command can be used to output data on your system’s OS:

cat /etc/os-release

or by using:

cat /etc/issue

*Note: this command typically outputs version info on a machine before prompting the user to log in.

If your version of Linux is really old, and none of these methods work for checking the operating system, try the following commands:

cat /etc/*release

cat /etc/*version

Used together, these commands should produce the OS name and version number of your Linux distribution.

Checking the Linux Kernel Version

If you’re more concerned with the version number of your system’s Linux Kernel than with the name of its distribution package, the uname command can provide useful information on the architecture of your kernel by printing an output with your kernel’s version number.

To print all the information associated with your kernel, use the command:

uname -a

A breakdown of the information presented in the screenshot above is explained below:

• Linux is the OS kernel name.
• Hivelocity is the hostname.
• 5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1.x86_64 is the kernel release.
• #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue Nov 15 07:49:10 EST 2022 is information about the last time the kernel was compiled.
• x86_64 is the machine architecture.
• x86_64 is the processor architecture.
• x86_64 is the operating system’s architecture.
• GNU/Linux is the operating system.

For a shorter version, use: uname -r

Common uname commands can be found below:

You can also output information on the currently running kernel using the command:

cat /proc/version

This command prints info pulled from the contents of /proc/sys/kernel/ostype, /proc/sys/kernel/osrelease, and /proc/sys/kernel/version, and contains information on the Linux distribution as well as the kernel version.

Popular Links

Looking for more information on Linux? Search our Knowledge Base!

Interested in more articles about Operating Systems? Navigate to our Categories page using the bar on the left or check out these popular articles:

• How to Check the Apache Version on a Linux Dedicated cPanel Server
• How to Change a Password in Linux
• How to Check if Your Linux Server is Under DDoS Attack

Popular tags within this category include: Linux, Windows, Apache, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, RedHat, and more.

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Use the search bar at the top to search our entire Knowledge Base.

The Hivelocity Difference

Seeking a better Dedicated Server solution? In the market for Private Cloud or Colocation services? Check out Hivelocity’s extensive list of products for great deals and offers.

With best-in-class customer service, affordable pricing, a wide-range of fully-customizable options, and a network like no other, Hivelocity is the hosting solution you’ve been waiting for.

Unsure which of our services is best for your particular needs? Call or live chat with one of our sales agents today and see the difference Hivelocity can make for you.

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# cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_ecn
or
# sysctl net.ipv4.tcp_ecn

To turn it off, use:

# echo "0" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_ecn
or
# sysctl -w net.ipv4.tcp_ecn=0

To disable TCP ECN on every boot, edit /etc/sysctl.conf and add:

net.ipv4.tcp_ecn = 0

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# apt-get install nfs-kernel-server
# echo "/ *.domainname-for-lan-hosts(rw,no_root_squash,nohide)" \
>> /etc/exports

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As part of the hotplug subsystem, udev is executed if a kernel device is added or removed from the system. On device creation, udev reads the sysfs directory of the given device to collect device attributes like label, serial number, and bus device number. These attributes may be used as keys to determine a unique name for the device. Udev then maintains a database for devices present on the system.

On device removal, udev queries its database for the name of the device file to be deleted.

Popular Links

Looking for more information on Linux? Search our Knowledge Base!

Interested in more articles about Operating Systems? Navigate to our Categories page using the bar on the left or check out these popular articles:

• How to Check the Apache Version on a Linux Dedicated cPanel Server
• How to Change a Password in Linux
• How to Check if Your Linux Server is Under DDoS Attack

Popular tags within this category include: Linux, Windows, Apache, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, RedHat, and more.

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Use the search bar at the top to search our entire Knowledge Base.

The Hivelocity Difference

Seeking a better Dedicated Server solution? In the market for Private Cloud or Colocation services? Check out Hivelocity’s extensive list of products for great deals and offers.

With best-in-class customer service, affordable pricing, a wide-range of fully-customizable options, and a network like no other, Hivelocity is the hosting solution you’ve been waiting for.

Unsure which of our services is best for your particular needs? Call or live chat with one of our sales agents today and see the difference Hivelocity can make for you.

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If you encounter a kernel panic, you may see a message on your screen that looks something like this:

Kernel panic – not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)

This message indicates the reason for the panic and some technical details. However, it may not be very helpful for troubleshooting the problem. Therefore, you should try to gather more information from other sources, such as log files, boot messages, or diagnostic tools.

Depending on the severity of the problem, you may be able to fix it by rebooting the system, updating the software, repairing the file system, or replacing the faulty hardware. However, some cases may require more advanced steps, such as reinstalling the operating system or restoring from a backup.

A kernel panic is a rare and unpleasant event, but it does not mean that your system is doomed. With some patience and research, you may be able to resolve it and prevent it from happening again. Remember that Hivelocity’s team is there 24/7 to assist with any technical issues you’re experiencing with your servers.

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Almost every device in the kernel has a corresponding node entry in the /dev directory. These nodes look like regular files, but are actually special entries into the kernel which programs use to access the device. The shell script /dev/MAKEDEV, which is executed when you first install the operating system, creates nearly all of the device nodes supported. However, it does not create all of them, so when you add support for a new device, it pays to make sure that the appropriate entries are in this directory, and if not, add them. Here is a simple example:

Suppose you add the IDE CD-ROM support to the kernel. The line to add is:

device acd0

This means that you should look for some entries that start with acd0 in the /dev directory, possibly followed by a letter, such as c, or preceded by the letter r, which means a “raw” device. It turns out that those files are not there, so you must change to the /dev directory and type:

# sh MAKEDEV acd0

When this script finishes, you will find that there are now acd0c and racd0c entries in /dev so you know that it executed correctly.

For sound cards, the following command creates the appropriate entries:

# sh MAKEDEV snd0

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All preloading module names need to be listed in /etc/modules. lsmod and depmod can be used to control them manually.

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The Debian C libraries are built with the most recent stable releases of the kernel headers.

For example, the Debian-1.2 release used version 5.4.13 of the headers. This practice contrasts with the Linux kernel source packages distributed at all Linux FTP archive sites, which use even more recent versions of the headers. The kernel headers distributed with the kernel source are located in /usr/include/linux/include/.

If you need to compile a program with kernel headers that are newer than those provided by libc6-dev, then you must add -I/usr/src/linux/include/ to your command line when compiling. This came up at one point, for example, with the packaging of the automounter daemon (amd). When new kernels changed some internals dealing with NFS, amd needed to know about them. This required the inclusion of the latest kernel headers.

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The /proc file system is useful for debugging, monitoring, and controlling various aspects of the system. For example, you can use /proc to:

•  View information about the CPU, memory, disks, partitions, network interfaces, etc.
• View information about the current processes, such as their PID, status, memory usage, open files, etc.
•  Change some kernel parameters and settings at runtime.
•  Load and unload kernel modules.

To access the /proc file system, you can use any command or tool that works with regular files, such as ls, cat, grep, etc. For example, to see the CPU information, you can run:

cat /proc/cpuinfo

The structure and content of /proc may vary depending on the operating system and kernel version. The /proc file system is one of the most powerful and versatile features of Linux. It allows you to interact with the kernel and the system in a simple and convenient way. You can learn more about /proc by reading its manual page (man proc) or by exploring its directories and files.

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[root@root /boot/grub]# ls -la grub.conf menu.lst
-rw——- 1 root root 1037 Oct 28 11:41 grub.conf
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root root 11 Jan 1 2003 menu.lst -> ./grub.conf
If grub.conf does not exist then simply edit menu.lst which should be a file instead of a symlink to grub.conf.

Here is an example configuration:

# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
# root (hd0,0)
# kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/hda3
# initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/hda
default=0
timeout=10
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (2.4.21-37.EL)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-37.EL ro root=/dev/hda3
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-37.EL.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (2.4.21-32.0.1.EL)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-32.0.1.EL ro root=/dev/hda3
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-32.0.1.EL.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (2.4.21-27.0.4.EL)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-27.0.4.EL ro root=/dev/hda3
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-27.0.4.EL.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (2.4.21-27.0.2.EL)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-27.0.2.EL ro root=/dev/hda3
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-27.0.2.EL.img
The default line is the line we want to change. The first title is 0. So if I wanted title Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (2.4.21-27.0.2.EL) to be the default kernel I would set defualt= to 4.
# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
# root (hd0,0)
# kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/hda3
# initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/hda
default=4
timeout=10
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (2.4.21-37.EL)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-37.EL ro root=/dev/hda3
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-37.EL.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (2.4.21-32.0.1.EL)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-32.0.1.EL ro root=/dev/hda3
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-32.0.1.EL.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (2.4.21-27.0.4.EL)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-27.0.4.EL ro root=/dev/hda3
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-27.0.4.EL.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES (2.4.21-27.0.2.EL)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-27.0.2.EL ro root=/dev/hda3
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-27.0.2.EL.img

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