Operator Networking Mental Model (TCP/IP)
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Packet Path: Operator View
- Process binds a socket (IP:port) → kernel accepts packets → routes decide egress → NAT/firewall may rewrite/block.
- Most incidents are one of: name resolution, routing, port/listen, firewall/policy, TLS, or app behavior.
Know Your Host: Interfaces, Routes, DNS
ip -br a ip route resolvectl status 2>/dev/null || cat /etc/resolv.conf hostname -f
Ports and Listeners
ss -lntp ss -lup # which process owns port 8080 ss -lntp | grep ':8080' || true
Quick Client/Server Sanity
curl -sv --max-time 3 http://127.0.0.1:8080/health || true curl -sv --connect-timeout 2 --max-time 5 http://<SERVER_IP>:8080/health || true
Failure Modes
- Wrong bind address: service listens on 127.0.0.1 only; not reachable from network.
- Route mismatch: traffic leaves via wrong interface; asymmetric routing causes drops.
- Port collision: another process grabbed the port; service fails or binds alternative port.
Evidence Bundle
OUT=/tmp/net-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) mkdir -p $OUT ( ip -br a; ip route; ss -lntp; ss -s ) > $OUT/host.txt