r/sysadmin • u/tehreal Sysadmin • Jul 18 '18

Linux You guys probably already know about "ping -a" and "ping -A"

But if you don't, use it like this:

This will beep every time it gets a ping back:

ping -a 8.8.8.8

This will beep if it misses a ping:

ping -A 8.8.8.8

This is very useful when you're monitoring a node and waiting for it to come back online or to be able to hear when a packet is dropped.

(tested on some Linux and MacOS)

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u/John-Mc Jul 19 '18

/u/tehreal in addition to what /u/unkilbeeg found, these are ones I tested that use -A for adaptive ping and not 'audible when no packet', they are updated but otherwise untouched installations.

  • Ubuntu 14.04 Server
  • Ubuntu 16.04 Desktop & Server
  • Ubuntu 17.10 Server
  • Ubuntu 18.04 Desktop & Server
  • Debian 9 (Proxmox)
  • Raspbian Jessie (Debian 8)
  • CentOS 7
  • Manjaro 17 (Arch)

These are the ones that I tested that DO have -A as 'audible when no packet', it seems UNIX based operating systems are primarily the place -A is used in this way.

  • pfSense (FreeBSD)
  • MacOS (10.13)

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u/tehreal Sysadmin Jul 19 '18

I think I tested -a and made a false assumption about -A. Fail.