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<b>uname -a</b> will give you the kernel version and architecture; can probably guess from the version the distribution<br />
if it's a red hat or variant, you can do <b>cat /etc/redhat-release</b> and it will show the OS version
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uname -a will give you the kernel version and architecture; can probably guess from the version the distribution
if it's a red hat or variant, you can do cat /etc/redhat-release and it will show the OS version

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also <b>cat /etc/redhat*</b>
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In most cases<br />
<br />
cat /etc/*release
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In redhat &amp;&nbsp;centos, Use this command <b>dmesg | sed -n '3p'</b><br />
It will show Linux distro, version details as well as kernel version.<br />
In Ubuntu &amp;&nbsp;Debian, Use this command <b>dmesg | sed -n '4p'</b>
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In redhat & centos, Use this command dmesg | sed -n '3p'
It will show Linux distro, version details as well as kernel version.
In Ubuntu & Debian, Use this command dmesg | sed -n '4p'

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<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
I have been given access to what was called a &quot;Linux server&quot;<br />
<br />
The problem is I am not told if its CeentOS, Red Hat, etc<br />
<br />
Is there a simple command that will tell me the version of Linux, no matter what the version of Linux you are running?<br />
<br />
Thanks
</div>
</div>


I have been given access to what was called a "Linux server"

The problem is I am not told if its CeentOS, Red Hat, etc

Is there a simple command that will tell me the version of Linux, no matter what the version of Linux you are running?

Thanks

Linux and Linux versions

Linux is a UNIX-like open source operating system with hundreds of distinct distributions, including: Fedora, openSUSE, Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, Gentoo, CentOS, and Arch Linux. Linux is generally associated with web and database servers, but has become popular in many niche industries and applications.