Ping/Tracert Tutorial part 3
Other Versions
If you are running UN*X, ping should be available (that's the platform it
was originally written on). Since it is considered to be a system tool, it
may be in /usr/sbin or /usr/etc. If traceroute is not in those locations,
you will need to get a copy from your favorite source site. The programs
work the way I described them here, although the output may be slightly
different.
Sun's ping simply reports "hostname is alive" or "no answer from
hostname". To get the verbose version, add the "-s" option.
The UN*X versions also run until you manually kill them.
I currently do not have access to a Mac. If you know how these programs
work on that system (or any other), please let me know and I will add them.
There are several versions of ping and traceroute that have been written
for Win9x. The ones I use are:
- Wsping32
-
This is a nice program by Ipswitch. It combines ping and traceroute with a
name lookup command (given a hostname, it displays all the IP addresses
for that host). The shareware version is no longer available from
Ipswitch, but I found several copies with a web search. Contact
Ipswitch to buy a copy of WS_Ping
ProPack.
Ping Plotter
-
An interesting variation of traceroute, ping plotter continually performs
traceroutes and graphs the results. Instead of the 3 times you get from
traceroute (and tracert), ping plotter shows how network delays vary over
time. Both the old freeware version and the new shareware version may be
obtained from their author,
Pete Ness.
Additional Info
The following sites have maps showing portions of the Internet and more
links if you want to delve into the topology of the Net. Instead of
complaining when sites are unavailable, I think we should be amazed that
the system works at all.
- An Atlas of Cyberspaces
-
Martin has built "an atlas of maps and graphic representations of the
geographies of the new electronic territories of the Internet, the
World-Wide Web and other emerging Cyberspaces."
The Geography of Cyberspace Directory
-
Martin asks, "Does Cyberspace have a geography? What do we know about the
nature, shape, size, distribution and geography of the Internet, the
World-Wide Web and Cyberspace?
I believe that Cyberspace has many geographies. This resource list is the
result of my research into the geographies of Cyberspace. It is a somewhat
eclectic list of information resources that help us measure and map these
new virtual geographies of the Internet, the Web and Cyberspace."
Feedback
Thank you for reading this tutorial. I hope it has been helpful.
Please send comments, suggestions, and questions using the handy
feedback form, or mail a note to
brundick@yahoo.com
Thanks.