Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition

Name

ping

Synopsis

ping [options] host

System administration command. Confirm that a remote host is online and responding. ping is intended for use in network testing, measurement, and management. Because of the load it can impose on the network, it is unwise to use ping during normal operations or from automated scripts.

Options

-a

Make ping audible. Beep each time response is received.

-A

Adapt to return interval of packets. Like -f ping, sends packets at approximately the rate at which they are received. This option may be used by an unprivileged user.

-b

Ping a broadcast address.

-B

Bind to original source address and do not change.

-c count

Stop after sending (and receiving) count ECHO_RESPONSE packets.

-f

Flood ping-output packets as fast as they come back or 100 times per second, whichever is greater. This can be very hard on a network and should be used with caution. Only a privileged user may use this option.

-i wait

Wait wait seconds between sending each packet. Default is to wait one second between each packet. This option is incompatible with the -f option.

-I name

Set source address to interface name. name may also be specified as an IP address.

-l preload

Send preload number of packets as fast as possible before falling into normal mode of behavior.

-L

If destination is a multicast address, suppress loopback.

-M hint

Specify Path MTU Discovery strategy. Accepted values are do, want, or dont.

-n

Numeric output only. No attempt will be made to look up symbolic names for host addresses.

-p digits ...