Check CPU, RAM, disks, and network

After Rescue or a fresh install, confirm you received the hardware you paid for. These commands work the same on Ubuntu, Debian, and the Hetzner Rescue System.

One-shot overview

Identity and resources

root@server ~ # hostnamectlroot@server ~ # lscpuroot@server ~ # free -hroot@server ~ # lsblkroot@server ~ # ip -br a

CPU

Cores, model, virtualization flags

root@server ~ # lscpuroot@server ~ # nprocroot@server ~ # lscpu -eroot@server ~ # grep -E 'model name|cpu cores|siblings|Flags' /proc/cpuinfo | headroot@server ~ # egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

vmx (Intel) or svm (AMD) means the CPU can run virtual machines — required later for Proxmox / KVM. A count of 0 means virtualization is off in BIOS (ask Hetzner / check Robot if you expected it).

Note

lscpu “CPU(s)” is threads. On SMT/Hyper-Threading, that is often 2× the physical cores.

RAM

Installed memory

root@server ~ # free -hroot@server ~ # cat /proc/meminfo | headroot@server ~ # dmidecode -t memory | grep -E 'Size:|Speed:|Manufacturer:'

dmidecode reads firmware tables. Install it if missing: apt install dmidecode. In Rescue it is often already there.

Disks

Capacity, type, rotation vs NVMe

root@server ~ # lsblk -d -o NAME,SIZE,MODEL,ROTA,TRANroot@server ~ # lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,FSTYPE,MOUNTPOINTroot@server ~ # fdisk -l# NVMe list (if nvme-cli is installed)root@server ~ # nvme list

ROTA 0 is SSD/NVMe. ROTA 1 is a spinning HDD. TRAN shows sata, nvme, sas.

Disk health (SMART)

root@server ~ # apt install -y smartmontoolsroot@server ~ # smartctl -a /dev/sdaroot@server ~ # smartctl -a /dev/nvme0n1

Tip

Look at overall health, reallocated sectors, and temperature. A failing SMART status is a reason to snapshot data and open a Hetzner support ticket for a disk swap.

PCI devices and RAID cards

What is plugged in

root@server ~ # lspciroot@server ~ # lspci | grep -i -E 'raid|nvme|ethernet|vga'root@server ~ # lshw -short

If you see Adaptec, LSI, or MegaRAID, that is hardware RAID. Configure it before installimage. If you only see NVMe or AHCI SATA, use software RAID.

Network

Hetzner gives you a public IPv4 (and usually IPv6). The interface name may be eth0, enp*, or similar.

Addresses and routes

root@server ~ # ip -br aroot@server ~ # ip -4 aroot@server ~ # ip -6 aroot@server ~ # ip rroot@server ~ # ip -6 rroot@server ~ # cat /etc/network/interfacesroot@server ~ # ls /etc/netplan 2>/dev/null

Debian often uses /etc/network/interfaces. Ubuntu often uses Netplan under /etc/netplan. Rescue can show live addresses even when those files are empty.

Temperatures and load

Quick health

root@server ~ # uptimeroot@server ~ # cat /proc/loadavgroot@server ~ # apt install -y lm-sensorsroot@server ~ # sensors