Contents

Using PING

Getting Started

Pinging a Host

Parts of the Ping Window

Menu Bar

Ping Display

Menus

File

Open

Save

Save As

Exit

Host

Options

Data Length

Iterations

Intervals

Help

Contents

Topic Search

Getting Started

About


Getting Started

Use the PING program to send Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request packets (pings) to a remote host and to display the host's response.  You ping a host to determine whether your workstation can connect to it, and the approximate time it takes to get a response.

Setting Your Options

The PING options are:

•	Data length

•	Number of iterations

•	Interval between pings

There are default values for each option, so no changes are needed before you ping a host.  To change your options, select Setting Options.  The ping options are stored in a configuration file.

Pinging a Host

To ping a host, select Host from the menu bar.  Type the host name or IP address and then select the OK push button.  The result of your ping is displayed in the Ping window.

Parts of the Ping Window

Menu Bar
Accesses all of the functions available in the PING program.

Ping Display
Displays data while pinging a host and a summary of the last ping.

Host that Do Not Respond to a Ping

A host may not respond to a ping for the following reasons:

•	The host may not be listening to the network.

•	The host may be inoperative.

•	A gateway between you and the host may be inoperative.

•	The host may be slow to respond.

•	The data length may be too large for the host.

Use additional pings to communicate with other hosts in the network.  To determine the location of the failure, you need to know the topology of the network.  Issue pings in the following order, until the failure is located:

1.   Send a ping to your local host.

2.   Send a ping to a host on your local network.

3.   Send a ping to each intermediate node that leads from your local host to the remote host, starting with the node closest to your local host.

Related Topics

Pinging a Host
Stopping a Ping
Changing the Ping Options
Pinging Another Host


Menu Bar

Use the menu bar in the Ping window to access any Ping function.

File
Opens and saves configuration files.  Exits the PING program.

Host
Starts a ping and stores host names.

Options
Sets options for data length, number of iterations, and intervals between pings.

Help
Provides several ways to get help using the PING program.

Related Topics

Getting Started


Ping Options
Changing the Ping Options

Use the items in the Options menu to change the data length, number of iterations, and interval between pings.  You can save your changes in a configuration file by selecting Save from the File menu.

Data length
Specify the length (0-32767), in bytes, of the ICMP echo request packets sent to the host.  The default is 64 bytes.

Iterations
Specify the number of pings to send to the host.  The default is 1.

If you specify the number of iterations as 0, the PING program sends a continuous series of pings.  To stop the continuous series of pings, select the STOP push button in the Host window.

Interval
Specify the number of seconds to wait between pings.  The default is 1 second.

OK
Select the OK push button to change an option.

Cancel
Select the Cancel push button to close the window without changing the option.

Related Topics

Pinging a  Host
Stopping a Ping
Getting Started


Help

Select this menu to get help using the PING program.

Contents
Displays the Contents window.

Topic Search
Displays the Search window.

Getting Started
Displays the Getting Started window.

About
Displays copyright information about the PING program.

Related Topics

Menu Bar


Stop Ping
Stopping a Ping

To stop pinging the host, select Stop from the Host window.  Selecting Host from the menu bar opens the Host window.

You may want to stop pinging a host if you set a large number of iterations or set the PING program for continuous pings by setting the number of iterations to zero (0),

Pinging a host will automatically stop when the number of iterations set in the Iterations window is reached.

Related Topics

Pinging a Host
Ping Display
Number of Iterations
Menu Bar
Getting Started


Switch Ping Hosts
Pinging Another Host

To ping another host, select Host from the menu bar.  Type another host name or select a host  from the list.  If you are currently pinging a host, select the STOP push button in the Host window before you start pinging another host.

Related Topics

Pinging a Host
Stopping a Ping
Getting Started


Exit

To exit the PING program, select Exit from the File menu.  If you made changes to the configuration file and did not save your changes, you are prompted to save the changes.

Related Topics

File Menu
Getting Started


File Menu

Use the File menu to open and save configuration files.  A configuration file stores the host name, data length, number of iterations, and interval between pings.  The default  file is PING.CFG.

Open
Opens a configuration file.

Save
Saves the configuration file.

Save As
Saves the configuration file with a new name.

Exit
Exits the PING program.

Related Topics

Getting Started


Opening a Configuration File

To open a configuration file, select Open from the File menu.  The Open Configuration File window appears.

By convention, configuration files have a file extension of CFG.  The default configuration file is PING.CFG.  A configuration file stores the host name, data length, number of iterations, and interval between pings.

File name
Type the name of the configuration file you want to open.  You can also type the wild card character (*) in this field to narrow the list of files shown in the Files field.  For example, type *.CFG to display all  files with the CFG extension.

Directory
Displays the current drive and directory.

Directories
Select a directory.  To move back one level, select the [..] symbol at the top of the list.  To change to a different drive, select that drive letter from the end of the list.

Files
Select the file you want to open.

OK
Select the OK push button to open the file.

Cancel
Select the Cancel push button to cancel the opening of the file.

Related Topics

File Menu
Changing the Ping Options
Getting Started


Save As

To save a configuration file with another name, select Save As from the File menu.  The Save Configuration File As window appears.  By convention, configuration files have a file extension of CFG.

File name
Type the new name of the configuration file.

Directory
Displays the current drive and directory.

Directories
Select a directory.  To move back one level, select the [..] symbol at the top of the list.  To change to a different drive, select that drive letter from the end of the list.

OK
Select the OK push button to save the file.

Cancel
Select the Cancel push button to cancel the saving of the file.

Related Topics

File Menu
Changing the Ping Options
Getting Started


Ping Display

After you start a ping, the Ping window displays the number of bytes received, the ICMP sequence number, and the round-trip time in seconds for each ping issued.

Ping Summary

After reaching the number of iterations or stopping the ping, a summary is displayed that includes:

•	The name and IP address of the host pinged

•	The number of data packets sent and received

•	The percentage of packets lost

•	The minimum, average, and maximum time it takes to get a response

Related Topics

Changing the Ping Options
Stopping a Ping
Getting Started


Pinging a Host

To ping a host , select Host  from the menu bar. Type the host name or IP address, and then select the OK push button.

The options stored in your configuration file are used to customize your pings.  To change to another configuration file, select Open from the File menu.  To change your options, select an item from the Options menu.

Host
Type the name of the host you want to ping.  Use one of these methods:

•	Type the host name or the IP address.

•	Select the down arrow to display a list of recently pinged hosts, then select one from the list.

OK
Select the OK push button to start the ping using the options in your configuration file.

STOP
Select the STOP push button to stop pinging a host.,

Cancel
Select the Cancel push button to exit the Host window.

Related Topics

Changing the Ping Options
Opening a Configuration File
Stopping a Ping
Getting Started