Ping Command (Network Printer Basics)

Ping is a computer network tool used to test whether a particular host is reachable across an IP network; it is also used to self test the network interface card of the computer, or as a speed test. The ping command is used to find out if a network device is available in the network over TCP/IP or not. Especially because of the independence of the installed printer driver it is may be helpful if printer problems appears. The word ping is also frequently used as a verb or noun, where it can refer directly to the round-trip time, the act of running a ping program or measuring the round-trip time.

Sometimes you need to make sure that all the connections and cables connected from your pc to the network printer are working properly. Ping command can be used for this purpose. In Windows, pinging a device is very simple. 

Ping From a PC:

• Go to Start Menu
  
• Click "Run"
  
• Type "CMD" in the dialogue box
  

It will open Command Prompt windows. In the DOS window, typ

e: ping IP address of the printer and press Enter. (for example: ping 10.0.66.2).  You will see output like the following if everything is working correctly:

If it doesn't detect the printer on the network, which is usually due to an incorrect IP address or bad cabling, you will see the following:

Ping from a UNIX box:

• Open a window on your UNIX box.
  
• In the window, type: ping IP address of the printer and press Enter.(For example: ping 10.66.0.2