How to Verify Host Connectivity to Different Networks

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Ping is a tool that helps to verify IP-level connectivity; PathPing is a tool that detects packet loss over multiple-hop trips. When troubleshooting, the ping command is used to send an ICMP Echo Request to a target host name or IP address. Use Ping whenever you want to verify that a host computer can send IP packets to a destination host. You can also use the Ping tool to isolate network hardware problems and incompatible configurations. If you call ipconfig /all and receive a response, there is no need to ping the loopback address and your own IP address -- Ipconfig has already done so in order to generate the report.

It is best to verify that a route exists between the local computer and a network host by first using ping and the IP address of the network host to which you want to connect. The command syntax is: ping < IP address >

Perform the following steps when using Ping:

Ping the loopback address to verify that TCP/IP is installed and configured correctly on the local computer. ping 127.0.0.1

If the loopback step fails, the IP stack is not responding. This might be because the TCP drivers are corrupted, the network adapter might not be working, or another service is interfering with IP. Ping the IP address of the local computer to verify that it was added to the network correctly. Note that if the routing table is correct, this simply forwards the packet to the loopback address of 127.0.0.1. ping < IP address of local host >

Ping the IP address of the default gateway to verify that the default gateway is functioning and that you can communicate with a local host on the local network. ping < IP address of default gateway >

Ping the IP address of a remote host to verify that you can communicate through a router. ping < IP address of remote host >

Ping the host name of a remote host to verify that you can resolve a remote host name. ping < Host name of remote host >

Run a PathPing analysis to a remote host to verify that the routers on the way to the destination are operating correctly. pathping < IP address of remote host >

The best way to verify that a host has a path to other hosts in different networks is to ping the remote network.

Explanation:

When a host wants to communicate with a host in another network, it sends the packet to the default gateway. The default gateway then forwards the packet to the destination network. Therefore, pinging the default gateway will only verify that the host can communicate with its default gateway, but it will not verify if the host can reach other hosts in different networks.

Pinging the loopback address or the local interface address will only verify that the host's own network stack is functioning properly, but it will not verify if the host can reach other hosts in different networks.

On the other hand, pinging the remote network will verify that the host can reach other hosts in different networks. If the ping is successful, it means that the host has a path to the remote network and can communicate with hosts in that network. If the ping fails, it means that there is a problem with the path to the remote network, such as a misconfigured default gateway or routing issues.