Why Would Ping Fail on the Same Subnet?
The “ping” command is a very simple network troubleshooting command that network technicians use it on a daily basis to ensure connectivity. Subnets are segments of a larger network, and are usually configured for security or network traffic management purposes. Sometimes the ping command fails, however, even when the target device is on the same subnet. There are several reasons that this might occur.
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Ping Command Syntax
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The syntax of the ping command is as follows:
ping [-t] [-a] [-n count] [-l size] [-f] [-i TTL] [-v TOS] [-r count] [-s count] [[-j host-list] |
[-k host-list]] [-w timeout] target_name_or_IP_addressThe most familiar form of the ping command is “ping <other computer’s Internet protocol (IP) address or name>,” which is simple to understand and use. You can still use a few of the command switches listed above, however, when the simpler command fails.
Incorrect IP Address or Host Name
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If you ping a target device with the wrong IP address or host name, the request fails because there's no device to respond to the command. While you can spend a lot of time guessing at the right parameters, it is much faster to contact the network administrator to confirm your information.
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Network Traffic
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If the subnet is experiencing a high volume of network traffic, it is possible your ping request will time out before the target host has a chance to respond. If you believe this is the case, consider using the “-w <time>” switch to give the host more time to respond. Make sure you specify the time in milliseconds. An example of such a command would be "ping <host> -w 10000." This would ping "host" and wait up to 10,000 milliseconds (10 seconds) for a response.
Target Host is Down
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If the target host is down for some reason, such as regular maintenance or because of a hacker attack, it won't respond and the ping request will fail. If you're sure the network is up and you have the correct information, check with a network administrator to find out if the host is down. If that is the case, wait for it to come up before retrying your “ping” request.
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