How to Determine Hardware Specs on Linux, Solaris, and VMWare

Updated   Read time 3 min(s) 31 sec(s)   (94 views).  Linux  

How to determine hardware specs, manufacturer, and serial number of a Linux, Solaris or VMWare machine.

Linux Systems

cat /proc/meminfo | grep "MemTotal"
cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep "model name"
/usr/sbin/dedecode | grep "Vendor"
/usr/sbin/dedecode | grep "Product Name"
/usr/sbin/dedecode | grep "Serial Number"
/usr/sbin/dedecode | grep "Chassis"

Breakdown of Linux Commands

  • cat /proc/meminfo | grep "MemTotal" will return the amount of memory in kB (Kilobytes). For example: 
    sysops@lnx01a% sudo cat /proc/meminfo | grep "MemTotal"
MemTotal:       37748736 kB
    The above output equates to 36GB
  • cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep "model name", will return the type and number of CPU cores. For example: 
    sysops@lnx01a% sudo cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep "model name"
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630 v2 @ 2.60GHz
    NOTE: This does not translate to actual CPU's. You'll have to look up the CPU model to get an accurate count of cores per processor. In the above output we see twelve (12) CPU's listed. Looking up the "E5-2630 v2" processor on Intel's website we see it's a hexa (6) core processor, se we actually have two (2) hexa core processors.
  • dedecode | grep "Vendor" will return the manufacturer of the system. For example: 
    sysops@lnx01a% sudo /usr/sbin/dedecode | grep "Vendor"
Vendor: Hewlett-Packard
  • /usr/sbin/dedecode | grep "Product Name" will return the model information. For example: 
    sysops@lnx01a% sudo /usr/sbin/dedecode | grep "Product Name"
Product Name: ProLiant ML330 G6
    NOTE: If multiple lines are displayed, you only need the first line.
  • dedecode | grep "Serial Number" will return the serial numbers of various components. For example: 
    sysops@lnx01a% sudo /usr/sbin/dedecode | grep "Serial Number"
        Serial Number: L9BT188
        Serial Number: 3672212A
        Serial Number: 2220D508
        Serial Number: CND4405H7B
        Serial Number: PEFBRF21W7HWOV
    NOTE: If multiple lines are displayed, you only need the first line.
  • dedecode | grep "Chassis" will return the type of case, Rack or Tower. For example: 
    sysops@lnx01a% sudo /usr/sbin/dedecode | grep "Chassis"
        Chassis Information
                Type: Rack Mount Chassis

Solaris Systems

The prtdiag command is a Solaris shell command used to display system configuration and diagnostic information, such as:

  • System configuration, including information about clock frequencies, CPUs, memory, and I/O card types
  • Diagnostic information
  • Failed field-replaceable units (FRUs)

For example:

root@sol10# /usr/platform/`uname -m`/sbin/prtdiag -v
System Configuration:  Sun Microsystems  sun4u Sun Enterprise 220R (UltraSPARC-II 450MHz)
System clock frequency: 112 MHz
Memory size: 128 Megabytes
========================= CPUs ========================
                      Run   Ecache   CPU    CPU
Brd    CPU   Module   MHz     MB    Impl.   Mask
---    ---  -------  -----  ------  ------  ----
 0     0     0      450     4.0   US-II    10.0
========================= IO Cards =========================
     Bus  
Brd  Type  MHz   Slot  Name                                Model
---  ----  ----  ----  ------------------ ----------------------
 0   PCI   33     1   network-SUNW,hme                          
 0   PCI   33     3   scsi-glm/disk (block)       Symbios,53C875
 0   PCI   33     3   scsi-glm/disk (block)       Symbios,53C875

No failures found in System
===========================

====================== HW Revisions ======================
ASIC Revisions:
PCI: pci Rev 4
Cheerio: ebus Rev 1

System PROM revisions:
----------------------
  OBP 3.23.0 1999/06/30 14:57   POST 2.0.2 1998/10/19 10:46

NOTE: The top portion of readout will display System and memory information

VMWare 5.x Systems

Using the smbiosDump utility, you can see detailed information regarding the memory configuration of your host. This includes:

  • Maximum memory size you can install in the system
  • Location of memory slot, if it is populated
  • Manufacturer
  • Type
  • Size
  • Speed

To use either on the console or ssh to the ESXi with root login, and simply enter smbiosDump. It will provide you with all the hardware details. For example: 

[root@esx01a:~] smbiosDump | grep Systesm -A10
# smbiosDump | grep System -A10
--
System Info:  #
Manufacturer:
Product:
Version:
Serial:
UUID:
Wake-up:
Board Info: 
Manufacturer: 
Product: 
Version: 
Serial:
Asset Tag: "(none)"