The ping Command
The ping command, which is included as a part of the TCP/IP protocol suite, is supported at the user and privileged exec modes. In user mode, you must specify an IP address or a host name, if the host name can be resolved to an IP address, with the ping command. The ping command tests the round-trip path to and from a target. In privileged mode, you must enter a protocol, a target IP address, a repeat count, datagram size, and a timeout in seconds.
Cisco IOS makes ping available for a number of protocols including IPX and AppleTalk. Cisco introduced ping for IPX in IOS version 8.2. This is, however, a Cisco proprietary tool. Therefore non-Cisco devices such as Novell servers do not respond to it. If you want the Cisco router to generate Novell-compliant pings, you must use the global configuration command ipx ping-default novell. Ping for AppleTalk sends AppleTalk Echo Protocol (AEP) packets to the destination node and waits for replies.
Generally, the syntax for the ping command is:
ping -s ip_address [ packet_size] [ packet_count]
| Parameter | Purpose |
| -s | Causes ping to send one datagram per second, printing one
line of output for every response received. The ping command does not return any output when no response is received. |
| ip_address | The IP address or IP alias of the host. |
| packet_size | This optional parameter represents the number of bytes in
a packet, from 1 to 2000 bytes, with a default of 56 bytes. The actual packet size is eight bytes larger because the switch adds header information. |
| packet_count | This optional parameter represents the number of packets to send. |
TABLE 4.1: Parameters for the ping Command