Window Networking Commands: ping

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Test Basic Connectivity to a Website

Task: Test the network connectivity to a website (e.g., google.com).

Command:

ping google.com

Goal: Check if the website is reachable and measure the round-trip time (RTT) for packets.

Ping an IP Address

Task: Ping a specific IP address (e.g., a known server or another device on your local network).

Command:

ping

ping 8.8.8.8

Goal: Verify if the device is reachable using its IP address.

Continuous Ping Test

Task: Continuously ping a server or website until manually stopped (useful for monitoring connectivity over time).

Command:

ping -t google.com

Goal: Observe the connection stability over a longer period and cancel the test with Ctrl + C.

Limit Number of Ping Requests

Task: Ping a server but limit the number of echo requests sent (e.g., only 5 pings).

Command:

ping -n 5 google.com

Goal: Send a specific number of packets and measure the average round-trip time.

Ping a Local Router or Gateway

Task: Ping your local router or gateway to test your internal network connection.

Command:

ping

Goal: Ensure your device can reach the gateway and troubleshoot local network issues if the ping fails.

Ping a Domain Name Server (DNS)

Task: Ping a public DNS server (e.g., Google DNS: 8.8.8.8).

Command:

ping 8.8.8.8

Goal: Verify that you can reach a reliable DNS server, helping to identify DNS resolution issues.

Ping Using a Specific Packet Size

Task: Ping a host with a custom packet size (e.g., 100 bytes).

Command:

ping google.com -l 100

Goal: Send larger or smaller packets and observe how the packet size affects network performance or connectivity.

Ping with a Timeout

Task: Ping a server but set a timeout for each reply (e.g., 2000 ms or 2 seconds).

Command:

ping google.com -w 2000

Goal: Measure how long the system waits for a reply and handle slow connections or timeouts.

Ping Multiple Hosts

Task: Ping multiple hosts in quick succession (e.g., a router, a local device, and a website).

Command:

ping <Router IP>
ping <Local Device IP>
ping google.com

Goal: Test the connection to various devices and identify where connectivity issues might lie (e.g., LAN vs. WAN).

Save Ping Output to a File

Task: Save the results of a ping test to a text file for later analysis.

Command:

ping google.com > ping_results.txt

Goal: Review the saved results and analyze the RTT or error messages.

Test Connectivity to a Network Printer

Task: Ping a network printer’s IP address to check if it’s reachable.

Command:

ping <Printer IP address>

Goal: Verify that the printer is online and reachable over the network.

Test Network Connection to Another Computer

Task: Ping another computer on your local network (e.g., using its IP address or hostname).

Command:

ping <Computer IP address> or ping <Computer hostname>

Goal: Test LAN connectivity and troubleshoot issues if the other machine is unreachable.

Ping an External IP to Test Internet Connectivity

Task: Ping an external IP address to check if your machine has internet access (e.g., 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8).

Command:

ping 1.1.1.1

Goal: Determine if the issue is with internet access or local DNS resolution.