--- title: Ping: The Quick Test for Delay and Dropped Data url: https://hdiss.net/glossary/ping/ business: High Desert Internet Services (HDISS) phone: 775-575-9593, 775-391-5660 email: info@hdiss.net mailing_address: Home base: 200 S Virginia St, Suite 760, Reno NV 89501 (dispatch office, not a walk-in store). Mail: Billing Dept., PO Box 11353, Reno NV 89510 hours: Office open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week. Network watched around the clock. type: Fixed wireless internet service provider (homes and small businesses), web hosting, customer email, domain registration service_area: Northern Nevada - Washoe, Lyon, Storey, Churchill and Douglas counties and Carson City; availability is checked address by address (line of sight to a tower) plans: Bronze $50/mo up to 500 Mbps down, up to 200 Mbps up; Silver $75/mo up to 800 down, up to 200 up; Gold $99/mo up to 1 Gig down, up to 200 up; ask about the up to 1 Gig / 1 Gig ultra-low-latency service no_online_purchase: true (check your address or call; existing customers pay at https://www2.fernley.net/hdiss/onlinepay/paymentform.cfm) since: 2002 --- - [Home](https://hdiss.net/) - [Glossary](https://hdiss.net/glossary/) - Ping # Ping Ping is the simplest network test there is. Your device sends a short message to a server, waits for the echo, and reports the round-trip time in milliseconds. A router and a laptop. Stock photo: Adobe Stock. [Photo credits](https://hdiss.net/photo-credits/) ## What is a ping? The name comes from sonar. The tool uses the Internet Control Message Protocol, defined in RFC 792, which includes an "echo request" and an "echo reply." You run it by typing the word ping and a name such as hdiss.net in the Command Prompt on Windows or Terminal on a Mac. Each line of output shows the time in milliseconds, and the summary shows how many replies came back. Gamers use "ping" loosely to mean [latency](https://hdiss.net/glossary/latency/). In a game lobby the number shown is usually the same measurement. ## What does a ping tell you on a wireless link? Three things. If the replies arrive, the path from your computer to that server works. If they arrive at similar times, the link is steady. If some never arrive, you have [packet loss](https://hdiss.net/glossary/packet-loss/). If the times swing widely, you have [jitter](https://hdiss.net/glossary/jitter/). Ping does not tell you speed. A link can ping fast and still download slowly, or the reverse. Some servers also deprioritize ping replies, so one slow answer from one server is not proof of a problem. Try two or three destinations and compare. High Desert publishes no ping or latency figure for its service, so there is no printed number to measure yourself against; what matters is that your own results stay steady across the day. ## What should I do with the results? Plug a computer into the router by [Ethernet](https://hdiss.net/glossary/ethernet/), run ping for a minute or two, and note the lowest, highest and the count of lost replies. Do it again in the evening. Wi-Fi adds its own delay, so wired results show the connection itself. If the numbers look poor, restart the equipment in the order shown on [restart your equipment](https://hdiss.net/support/restart-your-equipment/), and then call 775-575-9593 with your notes. Support staff can use them. The [ping test for support](https://hdiss.net/support/ping-test-for-support/) article walks through a test to read to a technician. ### Sources - [rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc792](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc792) (RFC 792, Internet Control Message Protocol, IETF) - [hdiss.net/](https://hdiss.net/) (company facts, read 10/15/26) ### Talk to a person - Call [775-575-9593](tel:7755759593) [775-391-5660](tel:7753915660) Open 9-5 every day - Email [info@hdiss.net](mailto:info@hdiss.net) [Check my address](https://hdiss.net/check-availability/#check) ### Related terms - [Latency](https://hdiss.net/glossary/latency/) - [Jitter](https://hdiss.net/glossary/jitter/) - [Packet loss](https://hdiss.net/glossary/packet-loss/) - [Traceroute](https://hdiss.net/glossary/traceroute/) - [Run a ping test before you call support](https://hdiss.net/support/ping-test-for-support/) Local since 2002 Fixed wireless from towers in Northern Nevada. Three plans, no contracts, local support, 4.8 on Google from 36 reviews. [About High Desert](https://hdiss.net/about/)