If you've ever had slow internet or wondered whether a website was down, chances are someone told you to "try pinging it". But what does ping actually mean, and what is it really measuring?
Ping is a basic network test that measures how long it takes for data to travel from your device to another computer and back again.
When you ping a computer, you’re essentially sending it a digital "hello." It’s a small packet of data that says, "Are you there?" — and the remote computer replies, "Yes, I’m here!"
By measuring how long it takes to get that reply, we can tell how quickly information travels between two points on a network.
This process has been around since 1983, when the ping command was first created. Despite being more than forty years old, it’s still one of the most useful tools for testing connectivity.
The name ping comes from sonar — the same system submarines use to detect nearby objects. A submarine sends out a sound wave, waits for the echo, and measures how long it takes to come back. The shorter the delay, the closer the object.
On a computer network, ping works the same way. Your device sends an Echo Request, and if the destination is reachable, it responds with an Echo Reply. The time between those two messages is the round-trip time, usually shown in milliseconds (ms).
In the ocean, sonar signals travel in straight lines, but on the internet, data doesn’t. Packets often take indirect routes, hopping between multiple routers, networks, and data centres before reaching their destination.
Each of those "hops" adds a little delay. Some paths are efficient; others might zigzag across the country — or even the world — before looping back.
That’s why ping isn’t just a measure of distance. It’s a measure of the entire journey your data takes — including every detour, handoff, and slowdown along the way.
Even two computers only a few miles apart can show very different ping times depending on how their traffic is routed.
Running a ping test is simple and built into every operating system.
By default, Windows sends four pings and then stops.
Each line that appears shows how long that packet took to make the round trip.
When the ping test finishes, it shows a short summary. The three key numbers are:
You’ll also see a maximum time, but don’t read too much into it — one delayed response can skew that figure dramatically.
As a rough guide, these are typical average ping times for common connection types.
| Connection Type | Typical Ping (ms) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Same LAN / switch | < 1 ms | Often 0.1–0.3 ms on gigabit or faster Ethernet. |
| Same building, Wi-Fi | 1–3 ms | Varies slightly with signal strength. |
| Same city / metro area | 2–10 ms | e.g. London-to-London, Manchester-to-Manchester. |
| Across the UK | 10–25 ms | Typical fibre connection between cities. |
| UK ↔ Western Europe (e.g. Amsterdam) | 15–30 ms | Depends on route and carriers. |
| UK ↔ US East Coast | 70–90 ms | Physical distance dominates. |
| UK ↔ Asia-Pacific | 150–250 ms | Long intercontinental fibre hops. |
Higher or fluctuating times can indicate congestion, routing inefficiencies, or problems further down the line.
Sometimes, a ping test reports 100% packet loss — but that doesn’t always mean the destination is offline.
Many firewalls and web servers block ping requests for security reasons, even when the site itself is running perfectly fine. In those cases, other tools like traceroute, MTR, or a simple web browser test can give more context.
For all the advanced monitoring tools available today, ping remains one of the simplest and most effective ways to diagnose network issues.
It’s quick, built into every device, and gives immediate insight into latency and reliability.
Engineers still use it every day because it answers the most important question first:
"Can this device be reached — and how long does it take to respond?"
Whether you’re troubleshooting a slow VPN, testing a new router, or just curious about how the internet moves your data around, ping is a perfect place to start.
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