Ping is one of the major tools that professionals use to test a connection. Ping answers the first question of troubleshooting: is it plugged in?

Therefore, ping will tell you if another computer on a network (or your FTP server) is connected.

If you have seen the movie, The Hunt for Red October then you've seen a ping in action. In the movie, Sean Connery's character Captain Ramius sends a “ping” out via his sonar system: he directs a short, high-pitched sound wave from his Russian sub to the American sub that is seeing through his periscope. He could then hear the sound wave “bounce” off of the target and return.

On the Internet, a ping pretty much does the same thing: A ping directs a small packet of data at another computer on a network (your FTP server, for example).

• If the target of the ping “replies” then you know that your computer can talk to it over to the network.
• If there is no response, then the target probably isn't connected to the network.
• If you don't see replies, then that means that your server wasn't reachable.
  • There are many reasons why a server may not be reachable. Aside from the obvious:
    • A network firewall /gateway may not allow access
    • Anti-virus and anti-spyware programs may be incorrectly configured.
  • If you cannot connect – and you cannot ping – please notify ExaVault Support right away.

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To use ping on Microsoft Windows, you'll need to open the command line (this used to be called a DOS prompt):

1. Open a command line by hold down the Window key on your keyboard and press R (WinKey + R).
2. In the Run pop-up, enter the following and then click the OK button: CMD
3. In the command window, enter the following:
   

   ping  your-account.exavault.com

After you've entered the command, you should see a series of replies like those shown in the picture on the right.

• If you don't see replies, then that means that your server wasn't reachable.
• If you cannot connect – and you cannot ping – please notify ExaVault Support right away.

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Copying text from the Windows Command Prompt isn't like copying text from any other Windows program. To copy the test from the Windows command prompt:

1. Right click in the command prompt window and select Mark.
2. Highlight everything in the window
3. Press the Enter key on the keyboard.

You should now be able to paste the results of the ping into an email.

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Using ping in Mac OS and *nix operating systems is a snap:

1. Open a terminal (In Mac, this can be found in Applications > Utilities).
2. Enter the following:
   

   ping  -c4  your-account.exavault.com

If you forgot to use the ”-c4” option (which limits the response count to 4 replies) then hold down the CTRL key and press C (CTRL + C). This will stop the ping.

After you've entered the command, you should see a series of replies like those shown in the picture on the right.

• If you don't see replies, then that means that your server wasn't reachable.
• If you cannot connect – and you cannot ping – please notify ExaVault Support right away.

Copying and pasting from the Terminal is just like copying and pasting from any other application:

1. Highlight the text in the terminal to be copied.
2. Select 'Copy' from the edit menu, or right-click and select “Copy”
3. 'Paste' the copied text from the terminal into an email using the Edit menu or right-clicking.

Mac Notes:

• Holding down the Apple (command) key and clicking is the same as right-clicking
• Copy can also be done on the keyboard by holding down the command key and pressing 'C' (% + C).
• Paste can also be done on the keyboard by holding down the command key and pressing 'V' (% + V)

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