Ping is a network tool that lets you verify connectivity to a particular device on your network. The term is now used like a verb as in, "please ping host A to see if it is alive". The Ping tool also and supports Wake-on-LAN technology.
You can use the Ping tool to:
| • | Ping a remote host to verify the network connection is up. |
| • | Ping a remote host and view the round trip times to determine the current speed of the network connection. |
| • | Ping hosts along a route to isolate a hardware or software problem. First, ping 127.0.0.1 (or localhost) to verify the local network is up and running. Then, ping hosts and gateways farther and farther away. |
To use the Ping tool, do the following:
| 1. | Select the Ping tab. |
| 2. | Enter in the Host text box the host name or IP address of the remote host (for example, www.ibm.com). |
The drop-down list shows the previous host names or IP addresses you have pinged.
| 3. | Set in the Options dialog box any of the options you want to use: |
Packets to send
Specifies the number of data packets sent by the ping.
Timeout
Specifies the number of seconds ping tries a host that is not responding.
Packet size
Specifies the length in bytes of each packet sent by the ping.
| 4. | Click the Start button. |
The Ping tool sends an echo request and waits for the echo reply. If the ping is successful, it displays summary lines in the Response area.
If Ping does not receive the reply within the Timeout value, it fails. A ping can fail at one of several points from your computer to the remote host: the host may not be functioning and therefore is unable to respond; a network or gateway in the path from the user may not be working; or the host may not implement the ping service.
During the query, the Start button toggles to Stop. You can click Stop at any time to stop the query.
Tips:
| • | You can right-click the Response area to display the pop-up menu. |
| • | You can power on a computer remotely by choosing Power On from the pop-up menu. |
Note:
Ping requires a static IP address for your computer. It will also work with IP addresses assigned by a DHCP server. Ping will not work on systems that rely on emulated IP addresses such as UNIX systems running TIA or SLiRP. Ping will not work across firewalls unless the firewall has been configured to pass ICMP packets.
Ping example:
