What is Ping? - GeeksforGeeks (2024)

Last Updated : 09 Apr, 2024

Summarize

Comments

A ping is a basic Internet command that allows a user to test and verify whether a given destination IP address exists and can accept requests in computer network administration. Ping is also used for diagnosis to confirm that the computer the user tries to reach is operational. Ping can be used with any operating system (OS) that supports networking, including the majority of embedded network administration software.

What is Ping?

Ping (Packet Internet Groper) is a method for determining communication latency between two networks or ping is a method of determining the time it takes for data to travel between two devices or across a network. As communication latency decreases, communication effectiveness improves. A low ping time is critical in situations where the timely delivery of data is more important than the quantity and quality of the desired information.

How Does Ping Work?

Ping sends an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo Request to a network interface and then waits for a response. When the ping command is executed, a ping signal is delivered to the provided address. When the target host receives the echo request, it answers with an echo reply packet. This method has two distinct purposes: calculating round-trip time (RTT) or latency and ensuring that the target host is available. RTT is a measure of the time it takes to receive a response. Measured in milliseconds (ms), the process begins when a browser submits a request to a server and concludes when the server responds. RTT is an important performance figure for online applications.

What is Ping? - GeeksforGeeks (1)

Ping

How To Get The Ping Value Of Any Site Corresponding To Your Server?

  • The ping value represents the strength of a connection between two computers or a network. You can check the ping of any website that corresponds to your computer using a command prompt for Windows or a terminal for Mac.
  • Simply type the “ping<space>website name” into the command prompt or terminal to have your system send some data packets to that specific website and then acknowledge you with the value of ping that is occurring within your system and that specific website.
  • As you can see in the image below. I entered “> ping youtube.com”, then my system sent and received four packets of data from YouTube to determine the minimum, maximum, and average ping values, which are 20ms, 22ms, and 21ms, respectively.

What is Ping? - GeeksforGeeks (2)

  • So, if an online game streamer has two network options, one with 10ms of ping and 10mbps internet speed, and the other with 100ms of ping and 500mbps internet speed, the gamer will obviously choose the first because he or she wants to interact with the audience in real-time. However, if a person wants to watch YouTube videos and download them, he or she will obviously select the second option in order to speed up the download process.

How to use ping in troubleshooting?

Echo requests and echo responses are the standard for troubleshooting ICMP messages. Ping is built into almost every operating system with network support for troubleshooting. However, the specific implementation differs slightly between businesses. Ping is the foundation of typical network troubleshooting. Typing 216.58.200.174, for example, will ping an IP address. If the ping is successful, it indicates that the system is operational and that the two machines can communicate with one another. If the ping is successful but the response time is excessively long, this suggests network congestion, routing, or speed problems. Even unsuccessful pings provide useful troubleshooting information. When it comes to network speed tests, ping is standard procedure.

What is Ping Spoofing?

In network security, ping spoofing occurs when attackers provide incorrect data to a server. When this occurs, the fake data duplicates the real data packets, and is sent to the server. The receiver receives fake data and responds to the data packet using a third-party user rather than the original sender. On the receiver side, the server may receive unwanted data from a different address. This helps hide the real third-party user’s address. This is known as ping spoofing.

Frequently Asked Question on Ping – FAQs

What is Ping on a Speed Test?

The word “speed” is also used to test and measure how quickly a data signal travels from one place to another, such as a computer or a website. Ping is also used to troubleshoot, test connectivity, and calculate response time.

What is Ping in Gaming?

Ping is also helpful in online gaming. It measures how long it takes for a signal to go from a computer to a server.

What is Ping in Discord?

In Discord, a chat and video program common among gamers, a ping is a notice received on a smartphone or personal computer. When someone sends a ping, it appears on the phone screen or on the desktop program.


adityatri

What is Ping? - GeeksforGeeks (4)

Improve

Previous Article

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)

Next Article

Traceroute Command in Linux with Examples

What is Ping? - GeeksforGeeks (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Jerrold Considine

Last Updated:

Views: 6256

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (58 voted)

Reviews: 89% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Jerrold Considine

Birthday: 1993-11-03

Address: Suite 447 3463 Marybelle Circles, New Marlin, AL 20765

Phone: +5816749283868

Job: Sales Executive

Hobby: Air sports, Sand art, Electronics, LARPing, Baseball, Book restoration, Puzzles

Introduction: My name is Jerrold Considine, I am a combative, cheerful, encouraging, happy, enthusiastic, funny, kind person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.