PowerShell Ping

Using Ping Command:

ping [/t] [/a] [/n <count>] [/l <size>] [/f] [/I <TTL>] [/v <TOS>] [/r <count>] [/s <count>] [{/j <hostlist> | /k <hostlist>}] [/w <timeout>] [/R] [/S <Srcaddr>] [/4] [/6] <targetname>

How does PowerShell Ping Works?

Ping command was introduced in the command prompt and can also be used with the PowerShell as well. Ping command uses the ICMP (Internet Control Protocol Message) packets to send over the remote nodes and checks the connectivity in return by receiving the echo packets back from the remote nodes. Ping command also determines the name of the host in the domain systems if the DNS record is configured properly. PowerShell has introduced a more powerful command than ping, which is called the Test-Connection. It is a combination of TestConnection + PingStatus.

To ping the remote computer, we can simply use:

Code:

ping google.com

Output:

Using the Test-Connection Command.

Code:

Test-Connection Google.com

Output:

Examples of PowerShell Ping

Given below are the examples of PowerShell Ping:

Example #1 – Using the ping command to determine the Hostname.

If you want to retrieve the remote server hostname, you can use the ping command with the -a parameter to determine that.

Code:

ping -a 192.168.0.200

Output:

The -a parameter retrieves the computer name from the IP address (PTR) record.

Example #2 – Retrieving ping continuously.

Sometimes we need to check the remote server status continuously, and in that case, you can use the -t parameter, so it returns the echo result until the Ctrl+C button is pressed.

Code:

ping -a 192.168.0.206 -t

Output:

Example #3 – Using -Quiet mode with the Test-Connection command.

-Quiet parameter suppress the output that the Test-Connection command generates and returns the output in the Boolean form. If the remote connectivity establishes successfully, it returns the true otherwise false.

Code:

Test-Connection -ComputerName 192.168.0.200 -Quiet

Output:

False output example,

Output:

Example #4 – Restricting count with the -count parameter.

By default, the Test-Connection command generates the 4 counts. However, you can restrict the number you want.

Code:

Test-Connection -ComputerName 192.168.0.200 -Count 2

Output:

This is particularly helpful when we write a script. For example, we can combine -Count and -Quiet parameters so that we get the output quickly.

Code:

Test-Connection -ComputerName 192.168.0.200 -Count 1 -Quiet

Output:

In the script, we can use the If else condition.

Code:

if(Test-Connection -ComputerName 192.168.0.200 -Count 1 -Quiet){
Write-Output "Server Connectivity Successful"
}
else{
Write-Output "Server Connectivity failed"
}

Output:

Example #5 – Using the Test-Connection for multiple servers.

The -ComputerName parameter in the Test-Connection command accepts multiple computer names because it is a string array.

Code:

Test-Connection -ComputerName 192.168.0.200, 192.168.0.206, 192.168.0.230 -Count 1 | ft -AutoSize

Output:

We can use it inside the try/catch block to catch the error.

Code:

Try {
Test-Connection -ComputerName 192.168.0.200, 192.168.0.206, 192.168.0.230 -Count 1 -EA Stop | ft -AutoSize
}
Catch {
$_.Exception.Message
}

Output:

Example #6 – Using -TraceRoute to determine the hopes of the destination node.

We can add -TraceRoute parameter to determine the route to the destination node.

Code:

Test-Connection -TargetName www.google.com -Traceroute

Output: