Testing network connectivity with the ping command

Products

VMware Desktop Hypervisor VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

For troubleshooting purposes, it may be necessary to test network connectivity between different components of your network.

This article provides you with the steps to perform a ping test on your network from Windows, Linux, and ESX/ESXi hosts.

Environment

VMware ESXi 7.x
VMware ESXi 8.x
VMware vCenter 7.x
VMware vCenter 8.x

Resolution

Testing with Ping from a Windows Host

To initiate a ping test from a Windows host:

Click Start > Run, type cmd, then click OK.
At the command prompt window, run:

ping <server>

Where<server> is the hostname or IP address of the server that you want to ping.
Press Enter.

A successful ping response is similar to:

C:\>ping server

Pinging server with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from server: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64<br>Reply from server: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64<br>Reply from server: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64<br>Reply from server: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64 <br>
Ping statistics for server:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\>

An unsuccessful ping response is similar to:

C:\>ping server

Pinging server with 32 bytes of data:

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

Ping statistics for server:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\>

Advanced Ping Options in Windows:

Continuous Ping: To ping continuously until manually stopped, use: # ping <server> -t Stop the test with Ctrl + C.
Specify Packet Size: To send larger or smaller packets, use: # ping <server> -l <size> Replace <size> with the desired packet size in bytes (e.g., 64, 1500).
Do Not Fragment: To test for maximum transmission unit (MTU) issues: # ping <server> -f -l <size>

Note: If you do not see a response when pinging by the hostname of the server, initiate a ping to the IP address. Initiating a ping to the IP address allows you to determine if the problem is a result of an issue with hostname resolution.

Testing with Ping from a Linux Host

To initiate a ping test from a Linux host:

Open a Terminal to the Linux command shell.
In the command shell window, type ping <server>

Where<server>is the hostname or IP address of the server that you want to ping
Press Enter.

Note: To stop the ping, press Ctrl + C.

A successful ping response is similar to:

[root@server]$ ping server
PING server (10.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from server (10.0.0.1): icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.025 ms
64 bytes from server (10.0.0.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.029 ms
64 bytes from server (10.0.0.1): icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.032 ms
64 bytes from server (10.0.0.1): icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.028 ms

--- server ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3092ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.025/0.028/0.032/0.005 ms, pipe 2
[root@server]$

An unsuccessful ping response is similar to:

[root@server]$ ping server
PING server (10.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.

--- server ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 3017ms
[root@server]$

Advanced Ping Options in Linux:

Specify Packet Size: To send larger or smaller packets, use: # ping <server> -s <size> - Replace <size> with the desired packet size in bytes (e.g., 64, 1500).
Do Not Fragment: To test for maximum transmission unit (MTU) issues: # ping -M do -s <size> <server>
Specify Count of Packets: To send a specific number of packets: # ping -c <count> <server>
Specify Timeout: Stop after a specified time in seconds: # ping -w <time> <server>
Set Interval Between Pings: To specify the interval (in seconds): # ping -i <interval> <server>

Note: If you do not see a response when pinging by the hostname of the server, initiate a ping to the IP address. Initiating a ping to the IP address allows you to determine if the problem is a result of an issue with hostname resolution.

Testing with Ping from an ESXi host:

To initiate a ping test from the console of an ESX/ESXi host:

Log in as root to the ESX/ESXi service console through iLO/DRAC. To log in to ESXi hosts using SSH
Press Alt + F1 to access the ESX login prompt.
Log in to the ESX host as root.
In the command shell, type ping <server>

Where<server> is the hostname or IP address of the server that you want to ping
Press Enter.

Note: To stop the ping, press Ctrl + C.

A successful ping response is similar to:

[root@server]$ ping server
PING server (10.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from server (10.0.0.1): icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.025 ms
64 bytes from server (10.0.0.1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.029 ms
64 bytes from server (10.0.0.1): icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.032 ms
64 bytes from server (10.0.0.1): icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.028 ms

--- server ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3092ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.025/0.028/0.032/0.005 ms, pipe 2
[root@server]$

An unsuccessful ping response is similar to:

[root@server]$ ping server
PING server (10.0.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.

--- server ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 3017ms
[root@server]$

Advanced Ping Options in ESX/ESXi:

Specify Count of Packets: # ping -c <count> <server>
Set Packet Size: # ping -s <size> <server>
Specify Timeout: # ping -W <time> <server>

Note: If you do not see a response when pinging by the hostname of the server, initiate a ping to the IP address. Initiating a ping to the IP address allows you to determine if the problem is a result of an issue with hostname resolution.

Additional Information

For MTU testing, incrementally adjust packet sizes with the do not fragment flag to determine the largest supported packet size.