Ping tests whether one host can reach another by sending an ICMP echo request and awaiting an ICMP echo reply. It is a common diagnostic and troubleshooting utility. Both messages are unicast, unlike ARP's broadcast request. section 6.5
Run ping ip-address, replacing ip-address with the destination host's address. The result can also measure round-trip time (RTT), including minimum, average, and maximum times. section 6.5
Cisco IOS output
PC1# ping 10.0.0.12 sends five 100-byte ICMP echoes. Five exclamation marks indicate five successful replies; a period indicates a missing reply. The example reports 100 percent success and 3/3/4 ms minimum, average, and maximum RTT. section 6.5
PC1# ping 10.0.0.12 #1 Type escape sequence to abort. Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 10.0.0.12, timeout is 2 seconds: !!!!! #2 Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 3/3/4 ms #2 #1 Sends five ICMP echo requests (pings) to the specified IP address #2 Each exclamation mark indicates a successful ping.
Use the annotated output to connect the ping command, request count, success symbols, success rate, and RTT summary. section 6.5
