2-Minute Linux Tip: Learn how to use the ping command

Hi, this is Sandra Henry-Stocker, author of the “Unix as a Second Language” blog on NetworkWorld.
In today’s 2-minute tip, we’re going to look at the ping command – one of my favorite tools for some very easy troubleshooting.
To use ping, just type ping followed by the name of some remote system. Let’s try it with NetworkWork:
$ ping networkworld.com
PING networkworld.com (151.101.66.165) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 151.101.66.165 (151.101.66.165): icmp_seq=1 ttl=57 time=29.4 ms
64 bytes from 151.101.66.165 (151.101.66.165): icmp_seq=2 ttl=57 time=30.0 ms
64 bytes from 151.101.66.165 (151.101.66.165): icmp_seq=3 ttl=57 time=29.7 ms
^C
--- networkworld.com ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3004ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 29.435/30.502/32.710/1.307 ms
Type ^c to stop the requests. What you don’t see is that ping is sending out packets called “echo requests” that simply ask the remote host to respond. We got several responses before we stopped the requests.
Ping is useful for troubleshooting because with one very simple command, it tells you:
1) That the remote system is running
2) That your network connection is working and
3) That naming services (the tool that turns system names into IP addresses) is functional
It also tells you something about the quality of your connection to the remote system:
1) If packets were lost
2) What trip times look like
If your connection is bad, you might see significant packet loss and slow trip times.
That’s your 2-minute Linux tip for today. If you liked this video, please hit the like and share buttons. For more Linux tips, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube and NetworkWorld.com.