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Q188876

File:Ping_iputils_screenshot.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ188876· pop 49· linked from 299 articles

Also known as Ping, ICMP Echo Request

computer network administration utility used to test the reachability of a host

Key facts

Original author
Mike Muuss
Developers
Various open-source and commercial developers
Initial release
1983 ; 43 years ago ( 1983 )
Platform
Cross-platform
Type
Command
License
Public-domain , BSD , GPL , MIT

via Wikipedia infobox

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Ping is a network management software utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. It is available in a wide range of operating systems.

Ping measures the round-trip time for messages sent from the originating host to a destination computer that are echoed back to the source. The name comes from active sonar terminology that sends a pulse of sound and listens for the echo to detect objects under water.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Q188876” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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