Ping (Packet Internet Groper)is used to check a particular host is reachable across the network. It is also used to self test the NIC of the computer.
The command takes the form ping <ip_address>
Ping uses ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) for its operation. It sends ICMP echo request packets to the designated host. If the device is reachable before a time-out period, an ICMP echo reply message will be received.
Ping measures the round-trip time and records any packet loss, and prints when finished a statistical summary of the echo response packets received, the minimum, mean, max
The following is a sample output of pinging en.wikipedia.org from within the command prompt
ping en.wikipedia.org
Pinging rr.pmtpa.wikimedia.org [208.80.152.2] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 208.80.152.2: bytes=32 time=330ms TTL=51
Reply from 208.80.152.2: bytes=32 time=330ms TTL=51
Reply from 208.80.152.2: bytes=32 time=330ms TTL=51
Reply from 208.80.152.2: bytes=32 time=330ms TTL=51
Ping statistics for 208.80.152.2:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 330ms, Maximum = 330ms, Average = 330ms
