Testing network connectivity with the ping command
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Testing network connectivity with the ping command

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Article ID: 315423

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Updated On:

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.

Resolution

Testing with Ping from a Windows Host

To initiate a ping test from a Windows host:
  1. Click Start > Run, type cmd, then click OK.
  2. At the command prompt window, run:

    ping <server>

    W    here<server> is the hostname or IP address of the server that you want to ping.
     
  3. 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:\>
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:
  1. Open a Terminal to the Linux command shell.
  2. In the command shell window, type ping <server>

    Where<server>is the hostname or IP address of the server that you want to ping
  3. 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]$
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 ESX/ESXi host:

To initiate a ping test from the console of an ESX/ESXi host:
  1. Log in as root to the ESX/ESXi service console through iLO/DRAC. To log in to ESXi hosts using SSH
  2. Press Alt + F1 to access the ESX login prompt.
  3. Log in to the ESX host as root.
  4. In the command shell, type ping <server>

    W    here<server> is the hostname or IP address of the server that you want to ping
  5. 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]$

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.

 

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