How To Detect Physical Interface Connectivity to the Network in Linux

How to verify, if cable is connected to the interface in Linux? How to verify physical connection to network on interface in Linux?

If you are away from the server and unable to see if ethernet cable is connected to the particular interface in server, but you have another connection (i.e.: via iLO Console), you can use ethtool to verify physical connectivity on that interface remotely.

Steps:

1. Install ethtool

On Fedora/CentOS/RHEL:

[root@tuxfixer ~]# yum install ethtool

On Debian/Ubuntu:

[root@tuxfixer ~]# apt-get install ethtool

2. Verify network physical connectiivity on interface

[root@tuxfixer ~]# ethtool eth0
Settings for eth0:
	Supported ports: [ TP MII ]
	Supported link modes:   10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 
	                        100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 
	                        1000baseT/Half 1000baseT/Full 
	Supported pause frame use: No
	Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
	Advertised link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 
	                        100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 
	                        1000baseT/Half 1000baseT/Full 
	Advertised pause frame use: Symmetric Receive-only
	Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
	Link partner advertised link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 
	                                     100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 
	                                     1000baseT/Full 
	Link partner advertised pause frame use: Symmetric
	Link partner advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
	Speed: 1000Mb/s
	Duplex: Full
	Port: MII
	PHYAD: 0
	Transceiver: internal
	Auto-negotiation: on
	Supports Wake-on: pumbg
	Wake-on: g
	Current message level: 0x00000033 (51)
			       drv probe ifdown ifup
	Link detected: yes

Pay attention to the last line from output: Link detected: yes – that means eth0 interface is physically connected with the cable to the network.