ping

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tool/ping

Type: Command

Sends ICMP echo requests (IPv4) or ICMPv6 echo requests (IPv6) to a host and shows each reply with its round-trip time, TTL and status, then a summary. /ping is the short form of /tool/ping. With arp-ping or nd-ping, the router sends ARP requests or IPv6 Neighbor Solicitations instead; with a MAC address as address, it sends MAC pings. In a script, the command returns the number of replies. See Ping for the full documentation.

Argument	Type	Description
address	address (flags=46v%Dm)	Host to ping: an IPv4 or IPv6 address, a DNS name, or a MAC address for MAC ping. The router resolves a name with its own DNS settings. An IPv6 link-local address and a MAC address take the interface as a suffix, for example fe80::1%ether1 or 00:11:22:33:44:55%ether1; a MAC ping without the suffix goes out of every interface. See address flags.
interval	time	Time between two requests, 00:00:00.010..00:00:05 (10 ms to 5 s). A reply that arrives later than the interval counts as a timeout. Default: 1s.
size	num	Size of each request in bytes, as the whole IP packet including the IP header, 28..65535 for IPv4 and 48..65535 for IPv6. size=1500 is a full-size packet on an Ethernet link. A request larger than the MTU of the outgoing interface is fragmented, unless do-not-fragment is set. Default: 56.
ttl	num	TTL of IPv4 requests and hop limit of IPv6 requests, 1..255. Default: 255 for IPv4, 64 for IPv6.
dscp	num	Differentiated Services Code Point set in the IP header of the requests, 0..63. For example, dscp=46 (Expedited Forwarding) gives a ToS byte of 0xb8. Default: 0.
do-not-fragment	switch	Sets the Don't Fragment flag in the requests, so that they are not fragmented. A request larger than the path MTU then fails: a router with a smaller link on the path answers with the status fragmentation needed and DF set, and a request larger than the MTU of the outgoing interface, or than the path MTU the router has learned, fails with packet too large and cannot be fragmented. Use it with size to find the path MTU.
src-address	alt { ip-src-address: ipAddr , ip6-src-address: ip6Addr }	Source address of the requests. Use it when the test needs a particular address, for example the LAN address to test an IPsec site-to-site tunnel. Default: the pref-src of the route, otherwise the address of the outgoing interface.
arp-ping	bool	Send ARP requests instead of ICMP echo requests, to reach a host on a directly connected IPv4 subnet that drops ICMP. Needs interface; without it the command fails with interface needs to be specified for arp ping. host shows the MAC address of the host that answered. Default: no.
count	num	Number of requests to send. Without it, ping runs until you stop it with Ctrl-C. In a script, the command returns the number of replies. Default: unlimited.
nd-ping	bool	Use IPv6 Neighbor Discovery instead of ICMPv6 echo: the router sends Neighbor Solicitations (NS) and counts a Neighbor Advertisement (NA) as a reply. Works only for on-link IPv6 addresses; a global address also needs interface. Default: no.
interface	iface_enum	Interface the requests leave through. When no route through the interface covers the destination, the router treats the destination as directly connected there and sends ARP requests for it. Needed for arp-ping, for nd-ping to a global address and for IPv6 link-local addresses (or give the interface as the address suffix).
vrf	enum	VRF the ping runs in. Only VRFs are accepted; a routing table that exists for policy routing is refused with input does not match any value of vrf. Default: main.

Read-only Argument	Type	Description
seq	num	Number of the request the row answers. Replies to a multicast request share one number.
host	alt { ipv6-address: ip6Addr , mac-address: macAddr , ip-address: ipAddr }	Address the reply came from: the host, or a router on the path that sent an ICMP error (see status). For ARP ping and MAC ping, the MAC address of the host that answered.
size	num	Size of the received packet in bytes. For an ICMP error from a router, the size of that message.
ttl	num	TTL (IPv4) or hop limit (IPv6) of the received packet. The difference from the value the sender used shows roughly how many routers the reply crossed.
time	time	Round-trip time: the time between sending the request and receiving the reply.
status	string	Empty for an IPv4 reply, otherwise what happened to the request: timeout - No reply arrived within interval. net unreachable - The router in host has no route to the destination network, or a firewall rule there rejects the packet with the default reject action. host unreachable - The router in host reports that it cannot reach the host, or a firewall rule there rejects the packet with icmp-host-unreachable. admin prohibited - A firewall rule on the router in host rejects the packet. TTL exceeded - The TTL ran out on the router in host, usually because of a routing loop. fragmentation needed and DF set - The router in host has a link with a smaller MTU, and do-not-fragment is set. packet too large and cannot be fragmented - The request is larger than the MTU of the outgoing interface or than the learned path MTU, and do-not-fragment is set. no route to host - The router has no route to the address; for nd-ping, the address is not on a directly connected subnet. echo reply - An IPv6 echo reply.
sent	num	Number of requests sent.
received	num	Number of replies received.
packet-loss	num	Share of requests without a reply, in percent.
min-rtt	time	Shortest round-trip time of the run.
avg-rtt	time	Average round-trip time of the run.
max-rtt	time	Longest round-trip time of the run.