A PING test will tell you the IP address for a given domain name. e.g. www.ephost.com. It can also be used to measure latency of a request. However, it should be noted that latency may be incorrect because PING requests are sometimes blocked or given a lower priority on routers.
How to run a PING test on a Windows based PC:
Click Start >> Click Run >> Type: "CMD" >> Click Go >> Type: "PING www.some-domain-name.com"
* Don't actually write "TYPE:" and be sure to replace "www.some-domain-name.com" with the domain you would like to test. MAC users can use the "terminal" ultility in OS X.
How to run a PING test on a MAC PC:
Click on the FINDER >> Locate the "Applications" Folder >> Locate the "UTILITIES" Folder >> Open "Terminal" >> Type "PING www.some-domain-name.com"
NOTE 1: You may also use the 'spotlight search' and type in "Terminal"
NOTE 2: the ping test will run for a long time or until you press the "control" and "C" buttons to stop it.
PING Definition: A utility used to determine whether a particular computer is currently connected to the Internet, the time it takes to make the request and if there was any packet loss. It works by sending a packet to the specified IP address and waiting for a reply. Each line in your request actually performs 3 tests and then summarizes the average times. It is often used to determine latency/speed/packet loss of a particular connection. Unfortunately, many factors can influence the these times and as such are not always 100% accurate in determining the latency. For instance, some firewalls/routers may prohibit ping requests, prioritize ping packets so that they receive less attention or simply be malfunctioning causing packet loss. Additionally, many people use a ping test to see if their website is "up". This too is somewhat incorrect, since the device (server) in which your website is hosted may respond to a request but the website is not actually functioning. This is due to the fact that pings operate on a different protocol than HTTP.
Online Ping Tools
- http://network-tools.com/
- http://pingtool.org/
- http://ping.nmonitoring.com/
- https://mxtoolbox.com/NetworkTools.aspx
