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Learn how to install, configure, and operate the Vyatta Network Operating System (Vyatta NOS) and Orchestrator, which help drive our virtual networking and physical platforms portfolio.

ping <host> size <bytes> <option>

Specifies the number of bytes to send for a ping request.

ping{ ipv4_address | ipv6_address | hostname } size bytes option
ipv4_address
Pings the IPv4 address of the host.
ipv6_address
Pings the IPv6 address of the host.
hostname
A host being pinged. This keyword is used when the host is specified as a host name rather than as an IP address.
bytes
The number of bytes to send for a ping request.
option
Each of the following entries are considered options. These options can be issued consecutively, that is, in the same command line.
adaptive
Adaptively sets interpacket interval.
allow-broadcast
Allows you to ping broadcast address.
audible
Makes a beep sound during every ping, while the device pings for the host details.
bypass-route
Bypasses normal routing tables during ping.
count
Specifies the number of ping requests to send.
deadline
Specifies the number of seconds before which ping expires.
ether-size
Matches the overall size of the data packet with the resultant size of the Layer 3 packet.
flood
Sends 100 ping requests each second.
interface
Specifies an interface that the device must use as the source address.
interval
Specifies the time in seconds for which the device must wait between ping requests.
mark
Specifies that the device must consider the request for special processing.
mtu-discovery
Specifies the path MTU discovery strategy.
no-loopback
Suppresses loop-back of multicast pings.
numeric
Does not resolve domain name system (DNS) names during ping.
pattern
Specifies the hexadecimal digit pattern to fill the packet.
quiet
Prints only the ping summary page.
record-route
Records the route that the packet takes.
size
Specifies the number of bytes to send for a ping request.
timestamp
Displays the timestamp during ping output.
tos
Marks packet with specified type of service (TOS).
ttl
Specifies the maximum packet life-time for a host.
verbose
Displays a detailed output for the ping command.

Operational mode

The ping command tests whether a network host is reachable.

The ping command uses the ECHO_REQUEST datagram (ping) of the ICMP protocol to get an ICMP ECHO_RESPONSE from a host or gateway. ECHO_REQUEST datagrams have an IP and an ICMP header, followed by a struct timeval data type and then an arbitrary number of pad bytes that are used to fill the packet.

When the ping command is interrupted by typing <Ctrl>+c, a brief statistical summary is displayed.

This example shows how to specify the number of bytes to send while testing the IP address for network reachability.

vyatta@vyatta:~$ ping  2012:dead::1 size 1200
PING 2012:dead::1(2012:dead::1) 1200 data bytes
1208 bytes from 2012:dead::1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.046 ms
1208 bytes from 2012:dead::1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.128 ms
^C
--- 2012:dead::1 ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 received, 0% packet loss, time 999ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.046/0.087/0.128/0.041 ms
vyatta@VR-1:~$ ping  2012:dead::1
PING 2012:dead::1(2012:dead::1) 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 2012:dead::1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.026 ms
64 bytes from 2012:dead::1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.034 ms
^C