Microsoft Windows (Network Troubleshooting Tools)

3.4. Microsoft Windows

The various versions of Windows include implementations of ping. With the Microsoft implementation, there are a number of superficial differences in syntax and somewhat less functionality. Basically, however, it works pretty much as you might expect. The default is to send four packets, as shown in the two following examples. In the first, we successfully ping the host www.cabletron.com:

C:\>ping www.cabletron.com

Pinging www.cabletron.com [204.164.189.90] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 204.164.189.90: bytes=32 time=100ms TTL=239
Reply from 204.164.189.90: bytes=32 time=100ms TTL=239
Reply from 204.164.189.90: bytes=32 time=110ms TTL=239
Reply from 204.164.189.90: bytes=32 time=90ms TTL=239

C:\>

In the next example, we are unable to reach www.microsoft.com for reasons previously explained:

C:\>ping www.microsoft.com

Pinging microsoft.com [207.46.130.149] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Note that this is run in a DOS window. If you use ping without an argument, you will get a description of the basic syntax and a listing of the various options:

C:\>ping

Usage: ping [-t] [-a] [-n count] [-l size] [-f] [-i TTL] [-v TOS]
            [-r count] [-s count] [[-j host-list] | [-k host-list]]
            [-w timeout] destination-list

Options:
    -t             Ping the specifed host until interrupted.
    -a             Resolve addresses to hostnames.
    -n count       Number of echo requests to send.
    -l size        Send buffer size.
    -f             Set Don't Fragment flag in packet.
    -i TTL         Time To Live.
    -v TOS         Type Of Service.
    -r count       Record route for count hops.
    -s count       Timestamp for count hops.
    -j host-list   Loose source route along host-list.
    -k host-list   Strict source route along host-list.
    -w timeout     Timeout in milliseconds to wait for each reply.

Notice that the flooding options, fortunately, are absent and that the -t option is used to get an output similar to that used in most of our examples. The implementation does not provide a summary at the end, however.

In addition to Microsoft's implementation of ping, numerous other versions -- as well as more generic tools or toolkits that include a ping-like utility -- are available. Most are free or modestly priced. Examples include tjping, trayping, and winping, but many more are available, including some interesting variations. For example, trayping monitors a connection in the background. It displays a small heart in the system tray as long as the connection is up. As availability changes frequently, if you need another version of ping, search the Web.