What is ping?
The ping is one of the most popular and the most useful tools used for making a diagnosis of network connections based on the TCP/IP protocol. Its implementation can be encountered practically in every operating system supporting the above-mentioned protocol. The ping’s functionality is based on a very easy principle – sending the ICMPECHO_REQUEST packet from the local computer to the remote machine, and then waiting for a reply in the form of the ICMP ECHO_REPLY packet.
What does ping mean on a speed test?
The ping speed test is the reaction time of your connection–how fast you get a response after you've sent out a request. A fast ping means a more responsive connection, especially in applications where timing is everything (Example video games). Ping is measured in milliseconds (ms).
How To Run a Ping Test
Running a ping test gives you a lot of information on the quality of your network connection. This test won't tell you your internet speeds, but it will tell you if there are any drops or delays on your line (if you want to see the speeds of your network, you will need to run a Speed Test). If you have great internet speeds, but the quality is poor, you will see issues with web pages loading, choppy audio in your VoIP calls, and potentially much more.
How does the ping speed test work?
Ping Test is a simple tool which measures not only the download and the upload speeds of your Internet connection like many Speed Test sites, but it also measures the latency. What does it mean? The latency result is equivalent to the ping command result. In the practice, it shows how much time a packet needs to pass the route from your computer to the server and back. You probably have seen your ping many times when you were playing online games (e.g. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or World of Warcraft). However, the ping speed test tool is better than the standard ping command, because ping-test.net measures the latency for small and large packets. It may happen that large packets are fragmented in your ISP network. In this case, the latency for large packets will be higher than for the small ones. Standard ping command will not show you this difference.
Small latency (i.e. so-called ping) is not important only for online games. The big delay also decreases the quality of VoIP (Voice over IP) and Video calls (e.g. Skype). In extreme cases, large ping may also slow the response time of web pages and other online services.
The result of the ping test highly depends on the number of nodes on the path between your computer and the server. These nodes are called routers and they are responsible for packet transmitting from the source IP address to the target IP address. Each packet has to be processed by the router and this operation takes some time. Also, the ping is increased by the delay introduced by physical link between two routers. Therefore, the large latency is visible in case of intercontinental connections where very long fibre links are used.
High ping values may be also observed in case of overloaded routers, links or servers. All network elements use the FIFO (First In First Out) queue, i.e. all received packets are stored in the buffer and the oldest packet is processed as the first. The overload happens when the router or the server can not process all packets on time due to the link speed or resource limitations. In this case, the packet is stored in the buffer for a longer time.
Ping Test Global Network
The ping test tool helps network administrators to quickly see the specific locations or regions around the world that may be experiencing slowdowns or outages. The ping speed test is not only useful for determining whether a website is up or down, but it can be used to establish baseline performance metrics. By running multiple ping tests, you can identify average server response times from different locations around the globe. These baseline performance numbers can later be used in conjunction with our other free tools within Dotcom-Tools to gauge how performance changes over time.
For example, the ping speed test web-based versions of commonly used desktop troubleshooting tools. The difference between the desktop versions of these tools and the online versions of these tools, is that you can run a ping test directly within your browser, and the test will be performed simultaneously from the locations you have selected. This can give you an external view of how your website, network, and server have performed over time. With an external view, you can easily identify potential problem areas that may be experiencing errors or other issues.
Many of the free network and speed test tools you find will only allow you to run from a single location. With Dotcom-Tools, you can run instant tests from up to three locations. If you sign up for the free package, you will receive additional benefits, like access to additional locations, ability to run more monthly tests, and save test data. The Starter and Professional packages can give you access to all 25 locations, plus the ability to automate your tests.