amtu Command in Linux

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Abstract Machine Utility, commonly referred to as amtu, is an administrator tool on Linux that allows you to check whether your computer’s protective mechanisms are working correctly. It writes and reads data in memory and ensures everything is working flawlessly.

amtu verifies different components of your system such as memory, disk, network, and other important system components. It aligns with security standards (like CAPP FPT_AMT.1).

Table of Contents

• Syntax of amtu Command in Linux
• Return Codes of amtu Command
• How to use amtu Command in Linux?
• Alternatives to amtu Command

Syntax of amtu Command in Linux

The syntax to use the amtu command on Linux is provided below −

amtu [options]

Here, in place of [options], you can use different flags, such as −

Return Codes of amtu Command

When you execute the amtu command on your Linux system, it will return the following codes: "0: Success" and "-1: Failure".

How to use amtu Command in Linux?

With the amtu command, you can do the following tests on your Linux system −

• Memory Test
• Memory Separation Test
• I/O Controller - Network Test
• I/O Controller - Disk Test
• Supervisor Mode Instructions

Let’s discuss these tests by providing you with the Linux commands to run these tests. Ensure that these commands are run with appropriate privileges (usually as root or using the sudo command).

Memory Test

amtu command randomly writes to memory areas and reads them back to make sure that the values remain unchanged. You can do the memory test on your Linux system using the following amtu command −

amtu -m

Memory Separation Test

If you want to ensure, that the space programs can’t access memory used by items like kernel code and Video RAM, use the -s flag −

amtu -s

I/O Controller - Network Test

The amtu verifies that the transmitted data matches the received data for configured network devices (Ethernet and token ring). You can perform this test by using the -n option with the amtu command on Linux −

amtu -n

I/O Controller - Disk Test

To check whether random data written to disks remains unchanged (IDE and SCSI controllers associated with mounted file systems), use the below-given command −

amtu -i

Supervisor Mode Instructions

The amtu command also ensures that privileged instructions are only executed in supervisor mode (architecture-dependent), this can be done using the -p flag.

amtu -p

Alternatives to amtu Command in Linux

You may not find the amtu command on all Linux systems, however, you can try other alternatives. You can install and use memtest86 or memteste on your Linux system for memory testing. For network testing, ping, iperf, or netcat are ideal options. You can use badblocks or smartctl on your Linux system to perform disk testing.

Conclusion

amtu is a Linux utility used for testing various aspects of your Linux system. In this guide, we have covered its syntax, return codes, and practical usage scenarios. These scenarios include memory tests, memory separation tests, network tests, disk tests, and supervisor mode instructions. Apart from that, we have also provided alternatives to the amtu command in case the command is not working on your system.

By understanding how to use the amtu command, you can ensure the reliability of your system components.