Which Linux networking commands should I know for a scripting assessment?

Start with the modern iproute2 tools, especially `ip addr` for interface addresses, `ip link` for interface state, `ip route` for routing information, and `ip neigh` for the ARP or neighbor table. The `ip` command can often produce JSON with options such as `-j`, which makes it much easier to pass structured data into Python instead of parsing human-readable text. Also review `ss` for sockets and listening ports, plus `ping` and `traceroute` or `tracepath` for basic connectivity checks.

For a hands-on assessment, be comfortable combining commands in a shell script and checking their exit status. Useful tools include `ip`, `ss`, `ping`, `tracepath`, `dig` or `resolvectl` for DNS, `curl` for application-level connectivity, and `tcpdump` for inspecting packets when you need deeper troubleshooting. For Wi-Fi-specific work, take a look at `iw` and commands that show the connected interface, signal level, channel, and link status. In Python, prefer calling commands with `subprocess.run()` using argument lists, capture the output explicitly, and parse JSON whenever the command supports it rather than splitting arbitrary text.