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    You are at:Home»General Articles»15 Practical Examples of dd Command in Linux

    15 Practical Examples of dd Command in Linux

    By RahulMarch 31, 20235 Mins Read

    In the world of Linux, the dd command is a powerful and flexible tool that has become an essential utility for system administrators and advanced users alike. Originally designed as a low-level data manipulation tool, dd has found numerous applications in various tasks related to data management, such as copying, converting, and writing data to different storage mediums. Its ability to work with raw data at the block level makes it a go-to solution for handling disk images, data recovery, and even performance benchmarking.

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    In this article, we will delve into 15 practical examples of the dd command in Linux, including sample command output. Each example will be accompanied by a detailed explanation to provide a thorough understanding of the command and its application. By the end of this article, you will have a solid grasp of the dd command’s capabilities and practical uses, empowering you to harness its full potential for managing and manipulating data in Linux.

    Practical Examples of dd Command

    1. Copying a file
    2. The dd command can be used to copy files, just like the cp command. The command reads data from the input file (if) and writes it to the output file (of).

      1
      dd if=input.txt of=output.txt

      Sample Output:
      10+0 records in 10+0 records out 5120 bytes (5.1 kB, 5.0 KiB) copied, 0.000939 s, 5.4 MB/s

    3. Creating a disk image
    4. You can create a complete image of a disk or partition using the dd command. This is useful for backup purposes, as it captures the entire disk or partition, including its structure and content.

      1
      dd if=/dev/sda of=/path/to/backup/disk_image.img

    5. Restoring a disk image
    6. To restore a disk or partition from an image, use the dd command with the image file as the input and the target disk or partition as the output. This will overwrite the target with the content of the image file.

      1
      dd if=disk_image.img of=/dev/sda

    7. Creating a bootable USB drive
    8. Write an ISO image to a USB drive to make it bootable. This is useful for installing a new operating system or running a live distribution of Linux.

      1
      dd if=linux_distro.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M status=progress

    9. Securely erasing a disk
    10. Overwrite a disk or partition with random data to ensure the original data cannot be recovered. This is useful when disposing of storage devices or preparing a device for encryption.

      1
      dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sda bs=1M status=progress

    11. Cloning a disk
    12. You can clone a disk directly to another disk. This is useful for upgrading storage devices, migrating data between devices, or creating a backup. The conv=noerror,sync option ensures that any read errors are skipped, and the output is synchronized with the input.

      1
      dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb bs=64K conv=noerror,sync status=progress

    13. Converting uppercase to lowercase
    14. Convert a text file with uppercase letters to lowercase. This is useful for text processing tasks or preparing data for case-sensitive applications.

      1
      dd if=input.txt of=output.txt conv=lcase

    15. Converting lowercase to uppercase
    16. Convert a text file with lowercase letters to uppercase. This can be helpful in text processing or other applications where uppercase characters are required.

      1
      dd if=input.txt of=output.txt conv=ucase

    17. Extracting a specific portion of a file
    18. Extract the first 10 MB of a file. This can be useful for analyzing a specific part of a large file or creating smaller samples of data for testing or demonstration purposes.

      1
      dd if=input_file of=extracted_file bs=1M count=10

    19. Creating a fixed-size file filled with zeros
    20. Create a 1 GB file filled with zeros. This can be useful for allocating space on a filesystem, testing disk performance, or creating dummy files for various purposes.

      1
      dd if=/dev/zero of=1GB_file bs=1G count=1

      Sample Output:
      1+0 records in 1+0 records out 1073741824 bytes (1.1 GB, 1.0 GiB) copied, 1.17362 s, 914 MB/s

    21. Rescuing data from a damaged disk
    22. Use the dd command to recover data from a damaged disk. The conv=noerror,sync option ensures that any read errors are skipped, and the output is synchronized with the input. This can be helpful in recovering as much data as possible from a failing or damaged storage device.

      1
      dd if=/dev/sda of=recovered_data.img conv=noerror,sync

    23. Benchmarking read performance
    24. Measure the read performance of a storage device by reading data from the device and discarding it to /dev/null. This test helps you evaluate the read speed of a storage device, which is useful for comparison or troubleshooting purposes.

      1
      dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/null bs=1M count=1024

    25. Benchmarking write performance
    26. Measure the write performance of a storage device by writing a large amount of data to a test file. The conv=fdatasync option ensures that the data is written to disk before the command completes, providing a more accurate measurement of write speed. This test is useful for comparing storage devices or diagnosing performance issues.

      1
      dd if=/dev/zero of=testfile bs=1M count=1024 conv=fdatasync

    27. Converting a file from ASCII to EBCDIC
    28. Convert a text file from ASCII encoding to EBCDIC, which is an encoding used primarily on IBM mainframe and midrange systems. This conversion can be necessary when working with legacy systems or transferring data between systems with different encoding standards.

      1
      dd if=input.txt of=output.txt conv=ebcdic

    29. Converting a file from EBCDIC to ASCII
    30. Convert a text file from EBCDIC encoding to ASCII, which is the most common encoding used on modern systems. This conversion can be helpful when migrating data from legacy systems or working with data originally encoded in EBCDIC.

      1
      dd if=input.txt of=output.txt conv=ascii

    Conclusion

    The dd command is a powerful and flexible tool in Linux, offering a wide range of applications in data manipulation and management. This article has demonstrated 15 practical examples of using the dd command, with sample command output provided. As with any powerful tool, it is important to exercise caution when using the dd command, as improper usage can lead to data loss or corruption. By understanding its capabilities and practicing these examples, you can become proficient in using the dd command to manage data efficiently and effectively.

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