Description:
Think of this application as network SONAR.
The 'ping' application sends ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to any network addressable host (i.e. a server, a gateway router, etc.). The piece of equipment must be IP (Internet Protocol) addressable in order for this function to work
Usage:
This application is useful for determining whether a host is up and running on the network. The 'ping' application will return information regarding the hosts response to the ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets.
Syntax:
The inetroom@cni.org account is using ping with syntax for five datagram packets to be delivered. This gives a slightly more detailed readout than a simple ping.
/etc/ping <hostname> 5 5
Operation on the INETROOM account:
If you select '1' from the main menu, you will be prompted:
Type the fully qualified domain name of the host.
Enter a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) as such and strike RETURN:
---> noc.sura.net
PING noc.sura.net (192.80.214.100): 5 data bytes
13 bytes from 192.80.214.100: icmp_seq=0.
13 bytes from 192.80.214.100: icmp_seq=1.
13 bytes from 192.80.214.100: icmp_seq=2.
13 bytes from 192.80.214.100: icmp_seq=3.
13 bytes from 192.80.214.100: icmp_seq=4.
----noc.sura.net PING Statistics----
5 packets transmitted, 5 packets received, 0% packet loss
Strike RETURN to continue...
Possible errors:
/etc/ping: unknown host cni.org
The host you pinged isn't a valid fully qualified domain name.
5 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss
The host you pinged is a valid fully qualified domain name, but ping could not establish a network connection to it. Could be that the host is down. Another possibility is that your local machine has fallen off the network. Maybe the local gatewy router is down.
5 packets transmitted, 4 packets received, 20% packet lossDon't be too alarmed by packet losses. Anything under 50-60% might be normal for a heavily loaded circuit.