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Windows and TCP/IP for Internet Access

WS_PING (ping client)

Comment: A PING client provides a simple means of verifying that you have a network connection and whether your DNS lookup is working. Launch WS_PING and enter the hostname or IP address of an Internet host in the dialog box. For example, you might try to PING my server at learning.lib.vt.edu. If your connection to the Internet is working, and if your DNS lookup is working, and if my host machine is operating, you will receive a response from my host. Note that even when a host computer responds to a PING request, that does not mean that all services on the host are operating.

WS_PING also is useful for doing a DNS (Domain Name Server) lookup to find a hostname when you know an IP address, or to find an IP address for a particular hostname. You can also discover aliases for a given address. The 32-bit version includes a traceroute function that shows the path a packet follows through the Internet from your machine to a remote host. It can be surprising to learn how many machines are in the path between your client machine and a remote host.

Author: John Junod

License: The 16-bit version is public domain. The program and source code are free. The 32-bit version is free to U. S. Government organizations, individuals for non-commercial home use, and to students, faculty, and staff at academic institutions. Others should contact Ipswitch, Inc., (617) 676-5700, FAX: (617) 676-5710, info@ipswitch.com.

Note that the version numbers indicate the approximate date that the versions were created. The dates on the ZIP files reflect the dates that the files were installed on the current FTP server used by the author.

Version (16 bit): 94.10.20
File name: ws_ping.zip (February 18, 1996 | 60,496 bytes)

Version (32-bit): 96.10.11
The 32-bit version includes a traceroute function.
File name: wsping32.zip (October 14, 1996 | 70,029 bytes)

Note: The 32-bit WSPING32 remains available, but it has been replaced by WS_Ping ProPack. Informaiton can be found on the Junod Software Home Page.

Installation:

  1. Create the directory C:\WS_PING.
  2. Unzip WS_PING.ZIP or WSPING32.ZIP into this directory. (Full source code for the 16-bit version of WS_PING is included in the ZIP file as another ZIP file with the name WSPI_SRC.ZIP.)
  3. For convenience, Windows 3.x users should create a new program item in the Network program group for C:\WS_PING\WS_PING.EXE. Win95 users should add a program item to their Start button menu.
  4. Launch the program.
  5. A file named WINSOCK.INI is created in the C:\WINDOWS directory by the 16-bit version of WS_PING.

Continue to Sources for Winsock Information
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Revised: December 28, 1999
Harry M. Kriz [hmkriz@vt.edu]