Install whois On CentOS Linux Using Yum Package Manager

Earlier today I needed to lookup the origin of some IP’s and I typically use whois but it wasn’t installed on the CentOS server I was working on. Attempting to install whois failed so below there is information on installing whois using the yum package manager on CentOS.

whois Not Installed On CentOS Linux:

[root@dev ~]# whois
-bash: whois: command not found

Above you can see that the whois command is not currently installed on this CentOS Linux server. Below we describe how to use yum to search for what package installs whois and then we install the correct package.

Use yum whatprovides To See What Installs A Specific Application On CentOS:

[root@dev ~]# yum whatprovides *bin/whois*
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
jwhois.x86_64 3.2.3-8.el5 base
Matched from:
/usr/bin/whois
[root@dev ~]#

As you can see above the jwhois package installs the whois application. The yum whatprovides command can be very useful for figuring out what package installs a specific application.

Install jwhois Package Via Yum On CentOS Linux:

[root@dev ~]# yum install jwhois
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Install Process
Setting up repositories
pgdg83 100% |=========================| 1.9 kB 00:00
rpmforge 100% |=========================| 1.1 kB 00:00
base 100% |=========================| 2.1 kB 00:00
updates 100% |=========================| 1.9 kB 00:00
addons 100% |=========================| 951 B 00:00
ruby 100% |=========================| 951 B 00:00
extras 2.1 kB 00:00
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Parsing package install arguments
Resolving Dependencies
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Downloading header for jwhois to pack into transaction set.
jwhois-3.2.3-8.el5.x86_64 100% |=========================| 9.4 kB 00:00
---> Package jwhois.x86_64 0:3.2.3-8.el5 set to be updated
--> Running transaction check
Dependencies Resolved
=============================================================================
Package Arch Version Repository Size
=============================================================================
Installing:
jwhois x86_64 3.2.3-8.el5 base 95 k
Transaction Summary
=============================================================================
Install 1 Package(s)
Update 0 Package(s)
Remove 0 Package(s)
Total download size: 95 k
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/1): jwhois-3.2.3-8.el5 100% |=========================| 95 kB 00:00
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
Installing: jwhois ######################### [1/1]
Installed: jwhois.x86_64 0:3.2.3-8.el5
Complete!
[root@dev ~]#

Now that jwhois has been installed you should be able to use whois from the CentOS command line as shown in the below example.

Use whois On CentOS Linux:

[root@dev etc]# whois 136.165.238.241
[Querying whois.arin.net]
[whois.arin.net]
#
# Query terms are ambiguous. The query is assumed to be:
# "n 136.165.238.241"
#
# Use "?" to get help.
#
#
# The following results may also be obtained via:
# http://whois.arin.net/rest/nets;q=136.165.238.241?showDetails=true&showARIN=false
#
NetRange: 136.165.0.0 - 136.165.255.255
CIDR: 136.165.0.0/16
OriginAS:
NetName: UNIV-LOUIS
NetHandle: NET-136-165-0-0-1
Parent: NET-136-0-0-0-0
NetType: Direct Assignment
NameServer: PAN.LOUISVILLE.EDU
NameServer: HERMES.LOUISVILLE.EDU
RegDate: 1989-09-04
Updated: 2004-04-20
Ref: http://whois.arin.net/rest/net/NET-136-165-0-0-1
OrgName: University of Louisville
OrgId: UNIVER-261
Address: Information Technology: Communications Services
Address: University of Louisville
City: Louisville
StateProv: KY
PostalCode: 40292
Country: US
RegDate: 1989-09-04
Updated: 2004-04-15
Ref: http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/UNIVER-261
OrgAbuseHandle: UOFLA-ARIN
OrgAbuseName: UofL Abuse
OrgAbusePhone: +1-502-852-1776
OrgAbuseEmail: abuse@hermes.louisville.edu
OrgAbuseRef: http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/UOFLA-ARIN
OrgNOCHandle: UOFLN-ARIN
OrgNOCName: UofL NOC
OrgNOCPhone: +1-502-852-1776
OrgNOCEmail: noc@hermes.louisville.edu
OrgNOCRef: http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/UOFLN-ARIN
OrgTechHandle: UOFLH-ARIN
OrgTechName: UofL Hostmaster
OrgTechPhone: +1-502-852-1776
OrgTechEmail: hostmaster@hermes.louisville.edu
OrgTechRef: http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/UOFLH-ARIN
RNOCHandle: UOFLN-ARIN
RNOCName: UofL NOC
RNOCPhone: +1-502-852-1776
RNOCEmail: noc@hermes.louisville.edu
RNOCRef: http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/UOFLN-ARIN
RTechHandle: UOFLH-ARIN
RTechName: UofL Hostmaster
RTechPhone: +1-502-852-1776
RTechEmail: hostmaster@hermes.louisville.edu
RTechRef: http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/UOFLH-ARIN
RAbuseHandle: UOFLA-ARIN
RAbuseName: UofL Abuse
RAbusePhone: +1-502-852-1776
RAbuseEmail: abuse@hermes.louisville.edu
RAbuseRef: http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/UOFLA-ARIN
#
# ARIN WHOIS data and services are subject to the Terms of Use
# available at: https://www.arin.net/whois_tou.html
#
[root@dev etc]#