Ping is a simple utility that is used to check if a server is active and responding, and if it is, how long it is taking packets of information to travel from your computer to the destination server. Packets are small blocks of data (often 32 bytes of information), the sending is then are checked to ensure that the data is transfered accurately. In addition to the time statistics provided, you will also receive the IP address of your destination. This can be usefull in tracking domain name issues by ensuring that the domain is pointing to the correct IP address.
For Windows users, ping is already setup to run in the MS DOS window. To use Ping, open an MS DOS window, and type: ping tooniehosting.ca and press [ENTER]. You should see something that looks similar to the following:
C:WINDOWS>ping tooniehosting.ca
Pinging tooniehosting.ca [216.127.80.98] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 216.127.80.98: bytes=32 time=94ms TTL=46
Reply from 216.127.80.98: bytes=32 time=78ms TTL=46
Reply from 216.127.80.98: bytes=32 time=78ms TTL=46
Reply from 216.127.80.98: bytes=32 time=78ms TTL=46
Ping statistics for 216.127.80.98:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 78ms, Maximum = 94ms, Average = 82ms
This tells you that the tooniehosting.ca server is up and running, and that the average time it took 32 bytes of data to travel from your computer to tooniehosting.ca, and back is 82ms with 0 percent packet loss.
HELPFUL TIP
You can save the information from a Ping to a text file by using the following syntax:
Ping tooniehosting.ca >>filename.txt