A Unix Utility You Should Know About: Netcat (2009)

Re:A Unix Utility You Should Know About: Netcat (2009) by chadrs on Monday August 05, 2013 @01:35AM (#6158633)

On a related note it's always annoyed me when people use "telnet" when they mean "make a TCP connection" as in "can you telnet to the port?"

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A Unix Utility You Should Know About: Netcat (2009) by username42 on Monday August 05, 2013 @04:24AM (#6158965)

When providing support, you have to be very precise when you ask someone to perform a check. The sentence "can you telnet to the port" is unambiguous. The sentence "can you make a TCP connection" leaves the choice of the tool unspecified. Depending of their background, some people may use ping (subject to different firewall rules), or a browser (subject to proxy configuration).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A Unix Utility You Should Know About: Netcat (2009) by icebraining on Monday August 05, 2013 @07:04AM (#6159431)

Ping doesn't make TCP connections!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A Unix Utility You Should Know About: Netcat (2009) by username42 on Monday August 05, 2013 @08:08AM (#6159619)

I know, but for many people, pinging the remote host is their single idea for network issue analyse.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A Unix Utility You Should Know About: Netcat (2009) by pbhjpbhj on Monday August 05, 2013 @07:19AM (#6159474)

When I'm testing a mail server I'll sometimes use telnet to connect (eg to port 110), or openssl for testing secured connections. What should I be using; or is it just the nomenclature you're bothered about?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A Unix Utility You Should Know About: Netcat (2009) by djeikyb on Monday August 05, 2013 @10:39AM (#6160357)

One thing I like about the original and the gnu netcat is the z option: `nc -z host port; echo $?` for quick testing.

[ Parent | on HN ]