Use Ping to Check for Network Connectivity

Overview

A simple method to determine if a computer has an active network connection, and can reach, or be reached by, other devices is to use the ping utility. This utility is available on most operating systems including Linux/Unix, macOS, and Windows. This can be used to help diagnose connectivity issues when you're experiencing trouble connecting to services such as network file shares, websites, etc. The ping command sends a small data packet to the indicated device, and awaits for a response. If a response is returned summary information is displayed about the connection attempt, most commonly we simply want to know how long the reply took. This response time usually in milliseconds, with a lower number generally indicating better connectivity.

 

Important
While the use of ping is generally a good test for network connectivity, be aware that depending on security settings on either the destination device/address being tested, or even intervening networks between you and the destination, the ping protocol may be blocked preventing any valid response. While it is not usual for the ping protocol to be blocked, it is possible, and should be taken into consideration when troubleshooting network connectivity issues. If the desired device fails to respond, try to ping other publicly available services such as Google DNS (e.g. dns.google), etc.

 

In this article:

 

Resources

  • A computer connected to the network
  • Name or IP address of Computer you are trying to ping
  • Command prompt

 

How do I use this technology?

The following sections will provide details on how to access the appropriate command/terminal window on the respective operating systems in order to use the ping utility.

 

Windows Computer

  1. On a Windows computer, right-click the start button.
  2. Left-click on run.
  3. In the Run dialog window, type cmd and click ok.
  4. In the Command window that opens, type ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (IP address), or type ping <fully qualified device name> (i.e. dns.google).

    Example:
      
    ping dns.google
     
    • If the ping times out, the device may be turned off, is asleep, or the port the device is on is not responding. 
      Pinging acme.example with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for acme.example:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
    • If the ping comes back with results, the device is ready to use. 
      Pinging dns.google [8.8.8.8] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=128
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=128
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=128
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 42ms, Maximum = 42ms, Average = 42ms

 

macOS Computer

  1. Open the Applications folder.
  2. Double-click the Utilities folder.
  3. Open the Terminal application.
  4. In the terminal window type ping -c 4 xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (IP address), or type ping -c 4 <fully qualified device name> (i.e. dns.google).
     
    Note
    The use of the "-c 4" parameter tells the ping utility on macOS to only send out four packets in the test and then end. If this parameter is not used, the ping utility will continue to send ping packets to the destination device until manually stopped by pressing the Control+C keyboard command.

    Example:
      
    ping -c 4 dns.google
     
    • If the ping times out, the device may be turned off, is asleep, or the port the device is on is not responding. 
      PING acme.example (192.168.0.1): 56 data bytes
Request timeout for icmp_seq 0
Request timeout for icmp_seq 1
Request timeout for icmp_seq 2

--- 192.168.0.1 ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100.0% packet loss
    • If the ping comes back with results, the device is ready to use. 
      PING dns.google (8.8.4.4): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 8.8.4.4: icmp_seq=0 ttl=114 time=41.792 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.4.4: icmp_seq=1 ttl=114 time=41.357 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.4.4: icmp_seq=2 ttl=114 time=41.684 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.4.4: icmp_seq=3 ttl=114 time=41.413 ms

--- dns.google ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 41.357/41.561/41.792/0.182 ms

 

Need additional help or have issues

For support, requests may be submitted anytime via a ticket using either the Wired Network (LAN), or Wireless Network (WiFi) service forms. Requests generate a Ticket which will be worked in order received and urgency by the IT Employees with the knowledge and permissions to assist with the request.

For immediate assistance please review the Contact IT page for the appropriate support group.

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