Fping is a command-line tool used to check the availability of hosts on a network. It sends ICMP echo requests to a specified IP address or range of IP addresses and waits for a response. If a response is received, the host is considered to be alive. Fping is an alternative to the traditional ping command, which sends only one packet at a time and waits for a response before sending the next packet. Fping, on the other hand, can send multiple packets at once, making it faster and more efficient.
Overview
The basic syntax for using fping is:
fping [options] [hostnames or IP addresses]
To ping a single host, simply enter the IP address or hostname after the fping command:
fping 192.168.1.1
To ping multiple hosts, separate the IP addresses or hostnames with a space:
fping 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.2 192.168.1.3
Fping can also read a list of IP addresses or hostnames from a file. To do this, use the -f option followed by the path to the file:
fping -f /path/to/file.txt
Fping can also be used with a range of IP addresses. To specify a range of IP addresses, use the -g option followed by the start and end IP addresses:
fping -g 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.10
Fping can also be used with IPv6 addresses. To ping an IPv6 address, enclose the address in square brackets:
fping [2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334]
Options
The following table lists the available options for the fping command:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -a | Show only alive hosts. |
| -A | Show only hosts that are not alive. |
| -b | Allow pinging a broadcast address. |
| -c | Number of packets to send to each host. |
| -f | Read list of IP addresses or hostnames from a file. |
| -g | Generate a list of IP addresses from a start and end address. |
| -i | Time to wait between sending packets. |
| -l | Loop sending packets to each host. |
| -m | Maximum number of milliseconds to wait for a response. |
| -p | Time to wait before sending the next packet. |
| -q | Quiet mode. |
| -r | Show round-trip time for each packet. |
| -s | Print statistics at the end. |
| -t | Timeout in milliseconds. |
| -u | Print unreachable hosts. |
| -v | Verbose mode. |
| -V | Print version information. |
Troubleshooting Tips
- If fping is not installed on your system, you can install it using your package manager. For example, on Ubuntu, you can install fping using the following command:
sudo apt-get install fping
- If you are having trouble pinging a host, make sure that the host is powered on and connected to the network.
- If you are pinging a hostname instead of an IP address, make sure that the hostname is resolving to the correct IP address.
- If you are getting a “Destination Host Unreachable” error, it could be due to a firewall blocking the ICMP packets. Try disabling the firewall temporarily to see if that resolves the issue.
Notes
- Fping is a powerful tool for network administrators, but it can also be used maliciously. Be sure to use it responsibly and only on networks that you have permission to scan.
- Fping is not a replacement for a full network scanner or vulnerability scanner. It is simply a tool for checking the availability of hosts on a network.