The PING tool allows you to confirm the reachability of
a remote node that supports the internet protocol.
You can also use PING to estimate the round trip times before
proceeding with lengthy transactions. If you send four or more bytes of data
with the echo request, PING displays the round trip times in
milliseconds. However, since the echo is performed at layer 3, PING is
not the appropriate tool to use when attempting to find out if a particular
application is available on the remote node or to estimate application-level
round trip times.
You can run PING by itself or as one of the NETTOOL tools.
See Chapter 6 "Using NETTOOL" for instructions
on running this tool using the NETTOOL interface.
Run PING from the Command Line
You can run PING from the command line by using an INFO
string. The INFO string must contain the IP address of the remote
node and, optionally, the number of packets and number of bytes:
:RUN PING.NET.SYS;INFO="ipaddress[,packets][,bytes]"
The default number of packets is a continuous stream and the
default number of bytes is 64.
Stopping PING
You can enter [CONTROL]-Y at any time to exit. The program exits without
displaying the menu when run from the command line.
The following examples illustrate using PING with the INFO
string. In each case, the parameters echoed by PING are also given.
Within the INFO string, commas are required to separate parameters.
Example 1
This example shows using an INFO string containing all three
parameters.
:RUN PING.NET.SYS;INFO="15.13.131.59,10,100"
---- PING/iX (ICMP Echo Requestor) : Version X0100003 ----
PARAMETERS INPUT:
Remote IP address in hex :$0F0D833B
Number of packets : 10
Number of data bytes : 100
---- PING $0F0D833B : 100 byte packet(s), 10 packet(s) ----
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 1, time = 25 ms
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 2, time = 23 ms
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 3, time = 24 ms
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 4, time = 24 ms
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 5, time = 25 ms
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 6, time = 24 ms
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 7, time = 25 ms
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 8, time = 24 ms
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 9, time = 26 ms
100 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 10, time = 25 ms
---- $0F0D833B PING Statistics ----
10 packet(s) transmitted, 10 packet(s) received, 0 % packet loss
round trip (ms) min/avg/max = 23 / 25 / 26
Example 2
This example shows an INFO string containing the IP address, and five
packets. Note that the number of bytes has been defaulted by omitting it
in the info string.
:RUN PING.NET.SYS;INFO="15.13.131.59,5"
---- PING/iX (ICMP Echo Requestor) : Version X0100003 ----
PARAMETERS INPUT:
Remote IP address in hex : $0F0D833B
Number of packets : 5
Number of data bytes : Default of 64 bytes
---- PING $0F0D833B : 64 byte packet(s), 5 packet(s) ----
64 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 1, time = 26 ms
64 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 2, time = 24 ms
64 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 3, time = 23 ms
64 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 4, time = 23 ms
64 byte(s) from $0F0D833B : icmp_seq = 5, time = 24 ms
---- $0F0D833B PING Statistics ----
5 packet(s) transmitted, 5 packet(s) received, 0 % packet loss
round trip (ms) min/avg/max = 23 / 24 / 26
Example 3
This example shows an INFO string using the default for number of
packets, a continuous stream, of five bytes each. Output is not shown.
PING will continue to send data until [CONTROL]-Y is entered.
:RUN PING.NET.SYS;INFO="15.13.131.59,,5"
---- PING/iX (ICMP Echo Requestor) : Version X0100003 ----
PARAMETERS INPUT:
Remote IP address in hex : $0F0D833B
Number of packets : Default of continuous stream
Number of data bytes : 5
Error and Information Messages
In addition to the normal reply message details and statistics, PING
can display informational and/or error messages. These messages are given
below, with an explanation and action to be taken for each message.
User Input Errors (Menu-Driven)
MESSAGE: Invalid IP address. Press RETURN to quit.
Level:CAUSE: An IP address with invalid syntax has been entered for the
IP address prompt. The correct syntax for an IP address is
A.B.C.D — where A, B,
C, and D are decimal numbers in the range
0-255.
ACTION: Enter an IP address with valid syntax or press
[RETURN] to quit.
MESSAGE: Invalid number of packets. Press RETURN for default of
infinite packets.
Level:CAUSE: An invalid number of packets value has been entered for the
number of packets prompt. A valid input is a decimal number in the
range 1-65534.
ACTION: Enter a valid number of packets value or press
[RETURN] to choose the default of sending a continuous stream of
packets.
MESSAGE: Invalid number of bytes. Press RETURN for default of 64
bytes.
Level:CAUSE: An invalid number of bytes value has been entered for the
number of bytes prompt. A valid input is a decimal number in the range
0-2048.
ACTION: Enter a valid number of bytes value or press
[RETURN] to choose the default of sending 64 data bytes per
packet.
User Input Errors (Command-Line)
MESSAGE: Parameter input error. Quitting...
Level:CAUSE: An irrecoverable error occurred while trying to read the
user parameter, either interactively or from the INFO string. This
normally happens only when one of the input parameters was out of bounds by
an extreme amount.
ACTION: Check the parameters to find the incorrect one and input a
valid value.
MESSAGE: Remote IP address is a required parameter.
Level:CAUSE: An IP address was not passed in the INFO string.
ACTION: Pass an IP address as the first parameter within the
INFO string.
MESSAGE: Invalid IP address.
Level:CAUSE: An IP address with invalid syntax has been entered in the
INFO string. The correct syntax for an IP address is
A.B.C.D — where A, B,
C, and D are decimal numbers in the
range 0-255.
ACTION: Pass a valid IP address within the INFO
string.
MESSAGE: Invalid number of packets. Valid range: 1-65534
Level:CAUSE: An invalid number of packets value has been passed
in the INFO string. A valid input is a decimal number in the
range 1-65534.
ACTION: Pass a valid value for the number of packets within
the INFO string, or omit it to choose the default of sending
a continuous stream of packets.
MESSAGE: Invalid number of bytes. Valid range: 0-2048
Level:CAUSE: An invalid number of bytes value has been passed
in the INFO string. A valid input is a decimal number in the
range 0-2048.
ACTION: Pass a valid value for the number of bytes within
the INFO string, or omit it to choose the default of 64
bytes.
Level:CAUSE: The PING process has not received any response to
its requests for two minutes. It shuts itself down, assuming that the local
or the remote side is inactive.
ACTION: This could indicate that the remote node is unreachable.
Also check if the local node is congested or hung causing the local ICMP
Server not to respond. (The local ICMP Server interacts with PING
to send ICMP Echo Requests to the remote and passes incoming replies to the
right PING/iX process.)
MESSAGE: Cannot contact local ICMP Server. Shutting down...
Level:CAUSE: PING/iX was not able to contact the local ICMP Server.
ACTION: Check if the transport is active. If not, start the
transport.
MESSAGE: Server not accepting requests, as it is busy.
Please try later.
Level:CAUSE: Only 15 PING processes can be active at any time.
That is, only 15 users can run PING at the same time. Additional
users trying to run PING will get this error message.
ACTION: Wait and try later. One of the other PING
processes might have completed, allowing you to run the program.
MESSAGE: Cannot resolve path to remote. Path Error, Parm = #Parm_Value.
Refer PATH RESULT CODES table in NS 3000/iX Error Messages Manual.
Level:CAUSE: A suitable path out of the local node to reach
the remote node could not be found.
ACTION: Look up the table mentioned in the message, under the
Parm_Value code, and take the action recommended
therein.
MESSAGE: Arithmetic trap Parm. Program Quitting.
Level:CAUSE: This is an internal error.
ACTION: Submit an CR with the Parm value, a description
of what you were trying to do, and any other abort output that is printed
on the terminal.
Internal Errors
The following messages are all internal errors, and should not happen under
normal circumstances. In each case, submit an CR.
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