Using the ping Utility
The ping utility is the most basic TCP/IP utility, and it’s included with most TCP/IP stacks for most platforms. Windows, again, is no exception. In most cases, ping is a command-line utility, although there are many GUI implementations available. You use the ping utility for two primary purposes:
- To find out if a host is responding
- To find out if you can reach a host
Here’s the syntax (you can use either command):
ping hostname
ping IP address
If you ping any station that has an IP address, the ICMP that’s part of that particular host’s TCP/IP stack will respond to the request. The ICMP test and response looks something like this:
ping 204.153.163.2
Pinging 204.153.163.2 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 204.153.163.2: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
Reply from 204.153.163.2: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 204.153.163.2: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
Reply from 204.153.163.2: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
Because I’ve received...
