How to Ping an Entire Website

The ping command can be used to test the existence of a website.

The ping command is used to test network communications and to gauge how quickly a website can be accessed on the Internet. The ping command is also one of the most commonly used commands by people and automated programs for basic Internet tests. You can easily ping an entire website by using the command software featured on your Windows or Mac OS X operating system.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Windows or Macintosh OS X operating system

Instructions

How to Ping an Entire Website in Windows

1. Locate and click the "Start" menu on your Windows desktop. Select "Run" and type "cmd" in the box that pops up. On Windows 7, click on the "Start" orb and type "cmd" in the search box at the bottom of the start menu, and then click on the "Command Window" link.

2. Type "ping" in the Command Window, followed by a space, and then type the website address that you want to ping. The end result should look like the following: "ping www.mysite.com". If you want to continuously ping the website address, add a space and the "-t" value after the website address.

3. Press "Enter" on your keyboard. If the website is working, you should see up to four replies with the revealed IP address of the website you pinged, the amount of time it took for the website to respond to the ping (in milliseconds) and the website's "time to live" value.

How to Ping an Entire Website in Mac OS X

1. Locate and click on "Finder" in your OS X dock. In the window, click on "Macintosh HD".

2. Locate and click on "Applications" and then click on "Utilities". Double-click on the "Network Utility".

3. Locate and click on the "Ping" tab in the "Network Utility" window. Locate the field under "Please enter the network address to ping" and enter the address of the website you wish to ping (i.e. "www.mysite.com"). Type the number of packets you wish to send in the "send only ___ pings" box and click "Ping".

Tips & Warnings

• If you constantly receive timeouts during the ping test, you may need to check your Internet connection for any disconnects or other issues.

References

• Indiana University UITS: In Mac OS X, how can I check to see if a computer is on the network?
• Indiana University UITS: In Windows, how can I ping an IU computer from outside the IU network?
• The Internet: Ping Command