Glossary Term: Pinging devices on IP networks
Pinging, with regards to home networks, is a way of locating devices such as IP cameras or computers and is useful for both confirming the IP address of devices and checking to make sure that an IP address is free for use. The program works in a similar way to sonar on a boat, by sending out a signal and waiting for a return.
To ping a device in windows you must open a control window. In windows XP click “Start” then “Run”. Type in “cmd” and press enter. In Windows Vista, click the windows logo and type “cmd” into the white search box. Once done, a black command window will appear.
From here, type in “ping IP_ADDRESS”, for example “ping 192.168.0.1”. If there is a device present on the address specified then you should receive something along the lines of:
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
If there is no device on the network at that address then you should receive:
Request timed out.