Appendix B Fault Isolation B-17
B.3.5 Using the ping Command
The ping command sends ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts.
Depending on how the ping command is configured, the output displayed can
identify troublesome network links or nodes. The destination host is specified in the
variable hostname.

B.3.5.1 Options

TABLEB-7 describes options for the ping command and how those options can help
troubleshooting.
TABLEB-7 Options for ping
Option Description HowIt Can Help
hostname The probepacket is sentto
hostname and returned.
Verifiesthat a host is active on the network.
-g hostname Forcesthe probe packet to
routethrough a specified
gateway.
By identifying differentroutes to the target host, those
individual routescan betested for quality.
-i interface Designates which interface to
send and receivethe probe
packet through.
Enables a simple check of secondary network interfaces.
-n Replaces host names with IP
addresses.
Used when an addressis more beneficial than a host
name.
-s Pings continuously in one-
second intervals. Ctrl-C aborts.
Upon abort, statistics are
displayed.
Helps identify intermittent or long-duration network
events.By pipingping output to a file, activity overnight
can later be viewed at once.
-svR Displays the route the probe
packet followed in one-second
intervals.
Indicates probepacket route and number of hops.
Comparing multiple routescan identifybottlenecks.