Linux Command Line
The ping command is a commonly used network diagnostic tool on Linux systems. It works by sending a series of Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo Request packets to a specified host and waiting for a response. The tool then reports statistics on the response time and any errors that may have occurred. To ping IPv6 addresses you can see this article on ‘ping6”
The primary use of the ping command is to check the connectivity and responsiveness of a networked device. It can be used to determine if a host is up and running, as well as to measure the round-trip time for packets to travel from the source host to the destination host and back.
To use the ping command, simply open a terminal window and type “ping” followed by the IP address or hostname of the target device. For example, to ping the Google public DNS server, the command would be “ping 8.8.8.8”. Or to ping the Cloudflare public dns servers “ping 1.1.1.1”
By default, the ping command will continue sending packets indefinitely until interrupted by the user. To specify a certain number of packets or a time limit, the -c and -w options can be used, respectively. For example, “ping -c 5 8.8.8.8” will send 5 packets, while “ping -w 10 8.8.8.8” will send packets for 10 seconds.
Another useful option is the -i option, which allows you to specify the time interval between sending packets. For example, “ping -i 0.2 8.8.8.8” will send a packet every 0.2 seconds.
In addition to these options, ping command also have other advanced option like -v, -t, -M, -s etc.
One important thing to keep in mind when using the ping command is that it may be blocked by firewalls or other security measures. In such cases, the ping command will not receive any responses and will report “Request timed out.”
In conclusion, the ping command is a powerful network diagnostic tool that can be used to quickly check the connectivity and responsiveness of networked devices on Linux systems. By understanding and utilizing its various options, administrators and users can gain valuable insights into the performance of their network.
See our list of 75 Linux commands you should know about.
