Network Troubleshooting - 3 : PING

Ping!

Ping is a computer network tool used to test whether a particular host is reachable across an IP network.

- Wikipedia

You can use the simple PING command to ensure that you can communicate with the other system. You just need to open a Command Prompt ( Terminal in LINUX ) & type :-

ping ip_address

OR

ping hostname

You should see a reply from the Network Card like this :-

Pinging sandeep-personal [127.0.0.1] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 127.30.22.11: bytes=32 time 1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.30.22.11: bytes=32 time 1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.30.22.11: bytes=32 time 1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.30.22.11: bytes=32 time 1ms TTL=128

If you don't get this response, you can conclude on these :-

1. Your system is not connected to the same network as the remote system.
2. The remote system is not connected to the same network as your system.
3. Your system / the remote system is protected by a "firewall" that's preventing access.

Now, it's time to call up the IT Help Desk & tell them that there's a problem with Network Access.

At the end of this exercise, you have :-

* tried some basic troubleshooting steps.
* identified the source of the problem.
* communicated effectively to the IT Support Staff.

You can now confidently communicate with the IT Support Staff & they'd be more than happy to work with an "educated" colleague.