Ping and link tests

The ping test and the link test are point-to-point tests between your switch and another IEEE 802.3-compliant device on your network. These tests can tell you whether the switch is communicating properly with another device.


	NOTE: To respond to a ping test or a link test, the device you are trying to reach must be IEEE 802.3-compliant.

Ping test

A test of the path between the switch and another device on the same or another IP network that can respond to IP packets (ICMP Echo Requests.) To use the ping (or traceroute) command with host names or fully qualified domain names.

Link test

A test of the connection between the switch and a designated network device on the same LAN (or VLAN, if configured.) During the link test, IEEE 802.2 test packets are sent to the designated network device in the same VLAN or broadcast domain. The remote device must be able to respond with an 802.2 Test Response Packet.

Executing ping or link tests (WebAgent)

To start a ping or link test in the WebAgent:

In the navigation pane, click Troubleshooting.
Click Ping/Link Test.
Click Start.
To halt a link or ping test before it concludes, click Stop.

Destination IP Address is the network address of the target, or destination, device to which you want to test a connection with the switch. An IP address is in the X.X.X.X format where X is a decimal number between 0 and 255.

Number of Packets to Send is the number of times you want the switch to attempt to test a connection.

Timeout in Seconds is the number of seconds to allow per attempt to test a connection before determining that the current attempt has failed.

Testing the path between the switch and another device on an IP network

The ping test uses ICMP echo requests and ICMP echo replies to determine if another device is alive. It also measures the amount of time it takes to receive a reply from the specified destination. The ping command has several extended commands that allow advanced checking of destination availability.

Syntax:

ping ip-address | hostname [repetitions 1-10000] [timeout 1-60] [source [ ip-address | vlan-id | loopback 0-7 ]] [data-size 0 - 65471] [data-fill 0-1024] [ip-option [record-route | loose-source-route | strict-source-route | include-timestamp | include-timestamp-and-address | include timestamp-from ]] [tos 0-255]

ping6 ipv6-address | hostname [repetitions 1-10000] [timeout 1-60] [source [ ip-address | vlan-id | loopback 0-7 ]] [data-size 0 - 65471] [data-fill 0-1024]

Sends ICMP echo requests to determine if another device is alive.

`[ip-address\|hostname]`	Target IP address or hostname of the destination node being pinged
`repetitions 1-10000`	Number of ping packets sent to the destination address. Default: 1
`timeout 1-60`	Timeout interval in seconds; the ECHO REPLY must be received before this time interval expires for the ping to be successful. Default: 5
`source [ip-addr\|vid\|loopback 0-7]`	Source IP address, VLAN ID, or loopback address used for the ping. The source IP address must be owned by the router. If a VLAN is specified, the IP address associated with the specified VLAN is used.
`data-size 0-65471`	Size of packet sent. Default: 0 (zero)
`data-fill 0-1024`	The data pattern in the packet. Default: Zero length string
`ip-option`	Specify an IP option, such as loose or strict source routing, or an include-timestamp option: `include-timestamp`: Adds the timestamp option to the IP header. The timestamp displays the amount of travel time to and from a host. Default: 9 `include-timestamp-and-address`: Records the intermediate router's timestamp and IP address. Default: 4 `include-timestamp-from`: Records the timestamp of the specified router addresses. `loose-source-route IP-addr`: The `loose-source-route` option prompts for the IP address of each source IP on the path. It allows you to specify the IP addresses that you want the ping packet to go through; the packet may go through other IP addresses as well. `record-route 1-9`: Displays the IP addresses of the interfaces that the ping packet goes through on its way to the destination and on the way back. When specified without loose or strict recording, the source route is not recorded. The source route is automatically recorded when loose or strict source routing is enabled. Default: 9 `strict-source-route IP-addr`: Restricts the ping packet to only those IP addresses that have been specified and no other addresses.
`tos 0-255`	Specifies the type of service to be entered in the header packet. Default: 0 (zero)

Example:

Ping tests

Halting a ping test before it concludes

Press [Ctrl] [C].

Issuing single or multiple link tests

Single or multiple link tests can have varying repetitions and timeout periods. The defaults are:

Repetitions: 1 (1 to 999)
Timeout: 5 seconds (1 to 256 seconds)

Syntax:

link mac-address [repetitions 1 - 999 ] [timeout 1 - 256 ] [vlan vlan-id ]

Example:

Link tests

prev	up	next
Diagnostic tools	home	Tracing the route from the switch to a host address