How to check processor if 64 or 32 bit

In This tutorial you will learn how to check the server if it is 32 or 64 bit. In single word the deference between 32 and 64 is: In 32 Bit CPU/OS - only 32 bit data can be process at once, In 64 bit CPU/OS- 64 bit data can be processed at once.

you can run a 32-bit OS  on a 64 bit CPU.

you can run a 64-bit OS on a 64 bit CPU.

you cannot run a 64-bit OS on a 32-bit CPU.

you can run a 32-bit OS on a 32-bit CPU.

Once we are clear about the above  points now  we can check  if our machine have a 64 bit processor or 32.

Option 1: use lscpu command to check if it supports multiple CPU operation modes { either 32 or 64 bit mode}

Execute below command
#lscpu or

#lscpu | grep op-mode

Option 2: How to check if our OS  is a 64-bit or 32-bit?

Sample output for 32 bit OS
# getconf LONG_BIT
32

Sample output for 64 bit OS

#getconf LONG_BIT
64

We can use uname command also to check the OS,

If from Below command output show "i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux" then it is 32 bit and

if it shows " x86_64 GNU/Linux" then is is 64 bit Operating system.

#uname -a