Some of the less-known ping types you should know

#linux #devops #sre

Normal Ping output:

> ping 192.168.0.100

PING 192.168.0.100 (192.168.0.100): 56 data bytes

64 bytes from 192.168.0.100: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.047 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.100: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.056 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.0.100: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.045 ms

Ansible Ping output:

> ansible 192.168.0.100 -m ping

> 192.168.0.100 | SUCCESS => {

"changed": false,

  "ping": "pong"

}

Have you ever wondered why it is different?

The Normal ping uses ICMP to check network connectivity, while Ansible's ping is a module that ensures connectivity by running Python on the remote host and returning a "pong" message.

It's more of a connectivity and system readiness check rather than just a network test.

Apart from these two major pings, some of the less-known ping types you should understand:

Flood Ping
Sends packets as fast as possible, useful for stress testing or debugging.

ping -f 192.168.1.1

Ping with a Set Number of Requests
Limits the number of ping requests sent.

ping -c 4 192.168.1.1

TTL Ping
Limits the Time To Live (TTL) value of a packet, often used in debugging routing loops or traceroute.

ping -t 5 192.168.1.1

Ping Broadcast
Pings every host on the local network.

ping -b 192.168.1.255

Reverse Ping (Windows)
Windows-specific, checks if another host can ping your machine.

ping -r 9 192.168.1.1

Hope this was useful for all of you. Happy Learning!

Hands-on debugging session: instrument, monitor, and fix

Join Lazar for a hands-on session where you’ll build it, break it, debug it, and fix it. You’ll set up Sentry, track errors, use Session Replay and Tracing, and leverage some good ol’ AI to find and fix issues fast.

RSVP here →