PING

Ping is a computer network tool used to test (with a method similar to the marco-polo game) whether a particular host is reachable across an IP network. It is also used to self test the proper operation of the network interface card of the computer. It works by sending ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) echo request packets to the target host and listening for an ICMP echo response replies. Ping estimates the round-trip time (rtt), generally in milliseconds, records any packet loss and prints a statistical summary when finished. The most common usage of PING is the command line utility named "ping" which is available in almost all operating systems.

The word ping is also commonly used as a verb or noun, where it can refer to the round-trip time, the act of running a ping program or measuring the round-trip time (pinging a host, ping an ip, ping the computer, 23ms of ping, etc...).