Ping

This term refers to a golf equipment brand, as well as the sound made by striking your glass with a spoon at the dinner table. However, it also has a computer-related meaning. A ping is a test to see if a system on the Internet is working.

"Pinging" a server tests and records the response time of the server. Pinging multiple computers can be helpful in finding Internet bottlenecks, so that data transfer paths can be rerouted a more efficient way. A good way to make sure you do not get disconnected from your dial-up ISP for being idle is to send a ping every 5 minutes or so. There are a number of shareware Ping programs that will do this for you.

Published: 2003