Modern Linux Network Tools: Full Install & Usage Commands

Discover the newest Linux network tools, including Trippy, Somo, portview, bandwhich, gping, and RustScan.

netstat, traceroute, and iperf still work, but a new category of Rust-built tools now does the same jobs faster, with live TUIs and cleaner output.

If you're running Kubernetes nodes, self-hosted AI stacks, or VPS servers, these tools help you quickly spot which process is eating bandwidth, what's holding a port open, or where a connection is dropping packets.

Below are six modern replacements, each a single binary with no dependencies, plus every install and usage command you need to start using them.

1. Trippy: Ping + Traceroute TUI

Trippy combines traceroute and ping into a single live terminal UI with per-hop RTT, jitter, and loss stats, a modern mtr replacement.

Installation:

# Cargo (Rust toolchain)
cargo install trippy --locked

# Debian/Ubuntu
apt install trippy
add-apt-repository ppa:fujiapple/trippy
apt update && apt install trippy

# Arch Linux
pacman -S trippy

# Fedora
dnf install trippy

# Snap (Linux, any distro)
snap install trippy

# Docker
docker run -it fujiapple/trippy

# Grant raw-packet capability instead of running as root
sudo setcap CAP_NET_RAW+p $(which trip)

Usage:

# Basic trace (ICMP, requires sudo unless capability set)
sudo trip example.com

# TCP traceroute on port 443 (no sudo needed)
trip -p tcp --target-port 443 example.com

# UDP traceroute
trip --protocol udp example.com

# IPv6 trace
trip --addr-family ipv6 example.com

# Paris multipath strategy (avoids ECMP issues)
trip --multipath-strategy paris example.com

# Limit hops and set probe interval
trip --max-ttl 20 --min-round-duration 200ms example.com

# Reverse DNS on each hop
trip -r example.com

# Trace multiple targets at once
trip example.com google.com crates.io

# Export as JSON after 10 rounds
trip --mode json --report-cycles 10 example.com

# Export as a pretty table after 5 rounds
trip --mode table --report-cycles 5 example.com

# GeoIP lookups with MaxMind DB
trip --geoip-mmdb GeoLite2-City.mmdb example.com

2. Somo: Human-Friendly netstat Alternative

Somo displays sockets and open ports in a clean, filterable table instead of raw netstat/ss output.

Installation:

# Cargo
cargo install somo

# From GitHub (bleeding edge)
cargo install --git https://github.com/theopfr/somo

# Arch (AUR)
yay -S somo

# Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew install somo

# Nix
nix build 'github:theopfr/somo?dir=nix'
sudo ./result/bin/somo

# Symlink so sudo works cleanly
sudo ln -s ~/.cargo/bin/somo /usr/local/bin/somo

Usage:

# Basic run (root recommended for full process visibility)
sudo somo

# List only listening ports
somo -l

# Find the process using a specific port
somo -p 8080

# Filter by application/program name
somo --program firefox

# Show established connections to a specific remote IP
somo -e --ip 192.168.1.100

3. portview: Single-Binary lsof + ss + netstat Replacement

portview identifies what’s holding a port open, showing PID, user, uptime, and memory in one table.

Installation:

# Direct binary download (Linux x86_64)
curl -sSL https://github.com/Mapika/portview/releases/latest/download/portview-linux-x86_64.tar.gz \
  | sudo tar xz -C /usr/local/bin portview

# Verify
portview --version

Usage:

# Show all open ports and listening services (needs root)
sudo portview

4. bandwhich: Live Bandwidth by Process

bandwhich shows real-time bandwidth usage broken down by process, connection, and remote host, ideal for spotting which container is saturating the link.

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Installation:

# Cargo
cargo install bandwhich

# Arch Linux
pacman -S bandwhich

# Fedora (COPR)
sudo dnf copr enable atim/bandwhich -y && sudo dnf install bandwhich

# Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew install bandwhich

# Nix
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.bandwhich

# Void Linux
xbps-install -S bandwhich

# FreeBSD
pkg install bandwhich

Usage:

# Run live bandwidth monitor (requires sudo for raw sockets)
sudo bandwhich

5. gping: Ping with a Live Graph

gping renders ping latency as a real-time terminal graph instead of scrolling text output.

Installation:

# Ubuntu 23.10+/Debian 13+
apt install gping

# Fedora (COPR)
sudo dnf copr enable atim/gping -y && sudo dnf install gping

# Arch Linux
pacman -S gping

# Alpine Linux
apk add gping

# Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew install gping

# Snap
sudo snap install gping

# Cargo (requires rustc 1.67+)
cargo install gping

Usage:

# Ping a single host with live graph
gping example.com

# Ping multiple hosts on the same graph
gping example.com 1.1.1.1

# Limit to 10 pings
gping -c 10 example.com

# Set ping interval to 2 seconds
gping -i 2 example.com

6. RustScan: Ultra-Fast Port Scanner (Nmap Frontend)

RustScan scans all 65,535 ports in seconds and pipes discovered ports directly into Nmap for deep version detection.

Installation:

# Debian/Kali (apt)
sudo apt install -y rustscan

# Debian .deb (manual)
wget https://github.com/RustScan/RustScan/releases/latest/download/rustscan_2.1.1_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i rustscan_2.1.1_amd64.deb

# Arch (AUR)
yay -S rustscan

# Homebrew (macOS)
brew install rustscan

# Cargo
cargo install rustscan

# Docker
docker pull rustscan/rustscan:latest
docker run -it --rm rustscan/rustscan:latest -a 192.168.1.1

Usage:

# Scan a single host (top ports)
rustscan -a 10.10.10.5

# Scan an IP range
rustscan -a 10.10.10.1-10.10.10.50

# Scan a custom port range
rustscan -a 10.10.10.5 -r 1-65535

# Scan all ports (shorthand)
rustscan -a 10.10.10.5 -p -

# Greppable output only, no Nmap follow-up
rustscan -a 10.10.10.5 --greppable

# Pipe results into Nmap for deep scan (version + scripts)
rustscan -a 10.10.10.5 -- -sC -sV -oA rust_nmap

# Batch scan from a hosts file
rustscan -a hosts.txt -b 1000

# Tune performance (threads, batch size, timeout)
rustscan -a 10.10.10.0/24 -t 2000 -b 5000 --timeout 1500

# Save output to a file
rustscan -a 10.10.10.5 > output.txt

Quick Reference: Classic vs. Modern Linux Network Tools

All six tools are single static binaries with no runtime dependencies, making them easy to drop onto minimal Docker images, Kubernetes debug containers, or bare VPS nodes without pulling in a full Python or Node runtime.

Final Words

These modern tools make network troubleshooting faster and easier. Start with one tool, test it on your server, and add it to your regular workflow if it helps.

If you need a server to test these Linux network tools, check these VPS hosting plans, which provide full root access, NVMe storage, and scalable resources, built for developers and self-hosted projects.