ping command

Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts to verify connectivity.

Overview

The ping command tests network connectivity by sending Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request packets to a specified host and waiting for replies. It's commonly used to check if a host is reachable, measure round-trip time, and diagnose network issues.

Options

-c count

Stop after sending (and receiving) count ECHO_RESPONSE packets.

$ ping -c 4 google.com
PING google.com (142.250.190.78): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 142.250.190.78: icmp_seq=0 ttl=116 time=14.252 ms
64 bytes from 142.250.190.78: icmp_seq=1 ttl=116 time=14.618 ms
64 bytes from 142.250.190.78: icmp_seq=2 ttl=116 time=14.465 ms
64 bytes from 142.250.190.78: icmp_seq=3 ttl=116 time=14.361 ms

--- google.com ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 14.252/14.424/14.618/0.135 ms

-i interval

Wait interval seconds between sending each packet. The default is to wait for one second between each packet.

$ ping -i 2 -c 3 example.com
PING example.com (93.184.216.34): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 93.184.216.34: icmp_seq=0 ttl=56 time=11.632 ms
64 bytes from 93.184.216.34: icmp_seq=1 ttl=56 time=11.726 ms
64 bytes from 93.184.216.34: icmp_seq=2 ttl=56 time=11.978 ms

--- example.com ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 11.632/11.779/11.978/0.146 ms

-t ttl

Set the IP Time to Live (TTL) for outgoing packets.

$ ping -t 64 -c 2 github.com
PING github.com (140.82.121.3): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 140.82.121.3: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=15.361 ms
64 bytes from 140.82.121.3: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=15.244 ms

--- github.com ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 15.244/15.303/15.361/0.059 ms

-s packetsize

Specify the number of data bytes to be sent. The default is 56, which translates into 64 ICMP data bytes when combined with the 8 bytes of ICMP header data.

$ ping -s 100 -c 2 example.com
PING example.com (93.184.216.34): 100 data bytes
108 bytes from 93.184.216.34: icmp_seq=0 ttl=56 time=11.632 ms
108 bytes from 93.184.216.34: icmp_seq=1 ttl=56 time=11.726 ms

--- example.com ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 11.632/11.679/11.726/0.047 ms

Usage Examples

Basic connectivity test

$ ping google.com
PING google.com (142.250.190.78): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 142.250.190.78: icmp_seq=0 ttl=116 time=14.252 ms
64 bytes from 142.250.190.78: icmp_seq=1 ttl=116 time=14.618 ms
^C
--- google.com ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 14.252/14.435/14.618/0.183 ms

Pinging with IP address

$ ping -c 3 8.8.8.8
PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=116 time=12.252 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=116 time=12.618 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=116 time=12.465 ms

--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 12.252/12.445/12.618/0.150 ms

Continuous ping with timestamp

$ ping -D example.com
PING example.com (93.184.216.34): 56 data bytes
[1715011234.123456] 64 bytes from 93.184.216.34: icmp_seq=0 ttl=56 time=11.632 ms
[1715011235.125678] 64 bytes from 93.184.216.34: icmp_seq=1 ttl=56 time=11.726 ms
^C
--- example.com ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 11.632/11.679/11.726/0.047 ms

Tips

Terminate Ping Gracefully

Press Ctrl+C to stop a running ping command. This will display a summary of the ping statistics.

Check Network Latency

Pay attention to the "time" value in ping responses. Higher values indicate greater latency, which can affect real-time applications like video calls or online gaming.

Interpret Packet Loss

Any packet loss (shown in the statistics) indicates network issues. Occasional packet loss (1-2%) may be normal, but consistent or high packet loss suggests network problems.

Use Ping for Troubleshooting

If you can't ping a host, try pinging intermediate devices or known working hosts to isolate where the connectivity issue might be occurring.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What does "Request timeout" mean?

A. It means the target host didn't respond within the expected time. This could indicate network congestion, firewall blocks, or that the host is offline.

Q2. Why does ping sometimes work with IP addresses but not with domain names?

A. This usually indicates a DNS resolution problem. Your network can reach the IP address directly, but can't translate the domain name to an IP address.

Q3. Can ping tell me if a specific port is open?

A. No, ping only tests basic IP connectivity using ICMP. To test if a specific port is open, use tools like telnet or nc (netcat).

Q4. Why might ping be blocked?

A. Many networks and servers block ICMP packets for security reasons. A failed ping doesn't necessarily mean the host is down.

macOS Considerations

On macOS, you may need to run ping with sudo to use certain options like changing the interval to less than 1 second. Also, some options available in Linux versions of ping may not be available or may have different syntax in macOS.

References

https://man.openbsd.org/ping.8

Revisions

2025/05/05 First revision