Ping is a ICMP utility which can send an "echo" request to another system on the network, and then test for an "echo" response. The net result of using ping is to determine if a system is able to communicate on the network.

NOTE: Many systems today implement host-based firewalls which may block ICMP traffic like echo (ping) requests and/or responses. So, the lack of a response from a system is not a clear indicator that the system is unable to communicate on the network. However, a positive response from a system is always a clear indicator that the system is able to communicate on the network.

Most systems today have a ping utility or app available for running a ping. View our published instructions for using ping in macOS and Windows.

EXAMPLE: Here is sample output from an attempt to ping www.ttu.edu.

C:\Users\jdoe>ping www.ttu.edu

Pinging cclb02-vip25.ttu.edu [129.118.241.25] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 129.118.241.25: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=251
Reply from 129.118.241.25: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=251
Reply from 129.118.241.25: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=251
Reply from 129.118.241.25: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=251

Ping statistics for 129.118.241.25:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 0ms

The ping command will actually send a number of echo requests (usually 3 to 10 by default). The results of each request are shown. The results usually include the size of the request, and the time in milliseconds it took to get a response.

The example shown above is what you would expect to see when testing a system on TTUnet that is successfully communicating on the network. This type of output indicates that the network is functioning properly.

The time reported in the output can give you a relative indication of the performance of the network, but it is highly subjective and not appropriate for making a true determination of "good" or "bad" network performance. The primary value in using ping is to determine if the echo request is received, irrespective of the speed.

EXAMPLE: If a system is not communicating on the network or is blocking ping requests using a firewall, the output might look something like this:

C:\Users\jdoe>ping www.nist.gov

Pinging dualstack.mc-12555-1019789594.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com [54.225.212.5] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 54.225.212.5:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

EXAMPLE: If a system is not listed in DNS, you may receive something like this:

C:\Users\jdoe>ping wwww.ttu.edu
Ping request could not find host wwww.ttu.edu. Please check the name and try again.

Once you have completed your testing using ping, you can typically close the terminal or command prompt window by typing exit.

OUTCOME

The ping utility may prove to be a useful tool in diagnosing a network problem you are experiencing.