Ping
Ping is a network diagnostic tool that checks whether a device responds, and how quickly, by sending it small data packets
What it means, how it is used and where it comes up, with its related concepts.
What it is and how it works
It uses ICMP “echo request” messages: if the target is reachable, it sends a reply and the tool shows the round-trip time in milliseconds and any lost packets. By extension, “ping” is used to talk about the latency of a connection, a common concern in online gaming and video calls. A server that does not answer a ping is not necessarily down, because many firewalls block that traffic.
In blogging, a ping is also the automatic notification a site sends to an external service to announce new content, a mechanism related to pingbacks.
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