How to Use Ping

We’re going to use the Windows Command Prompt in our example here. But you can also use the ping command in Windows PowerShell, or in the Terminal app on macOS or any Linux distro. Once you get to using the actual command, it works the same everywhere.

In Windows, hit Windows+R. In the Run window, type “cmd” into the search box, and then hit Enter. You can also click the start button, type "cmd" in there, then pick the Command Prompt

At the prompt, type “ping” along with the URL or IP address you want to ping, and then hit Enter. In the image below, we’re pinging erp.versalift.com and getting a normal response.

That response shows the URL you’re pinging, the IP address associated with that URL, and the size of the packets being sent on the first line. The next four lines show the replies from each individual packet, including the time (in milliseconds) it took for the response and the time-to-live (TTL) of the packet, which is the amount of time that must pass before the packet is discarded.

It also shows the IP address, which is usually what we need to be able to troubleshoot some of the network issues. In this case, you would let us know it points to 10.95.1.9.

At the bottom, you’ll see a summary that shows how many packets were sent and received, as well as the minimum, maximum, and average response time.