Verifying Network Connectivity with Ping

You can use the Ping program to verify network connectivity to Microsoft NNTP Service. You can verify whether the Domain Name System (DNS) is correctly resolving the computer name to the Internet Protocol (IP) address.

Because a network problem can occur at many places in the network, it is preferable to verify connectivity on the computer from which the client cannot connect to Microsoft NNTP Service. However, if necessary, you can verify connectivity from any computer on the network.

Note Some network routers always block Ping messages. Even if Ping fails to connect, try connecting with Telnet.

To verify network connectivity:

From the Start menu, choose Programs and then Command Prompt.
At the command prompt, enter the following command:
ping server_name

where server_name is the DNS name of the computer on which Microsoft NNTP Server is running.
If the two computers can establish a network connection, you receive a response similar to the following:
```
Pinging news.dns.mycompany.com [123.45.12.345] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 123.45.12.345: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=128
Reply from 123.45.12.345: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
Reply from 123.45.12.345: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
```
If the two computers cannot establish a network connection, you receive an error message similar to the following:
```
Bad IP address news.mycompany.com
```
When you receive the latter error message, at the command prompt, enter the following command:

ping IP_address

where IP_address is the IP address of the computer on which Microsoft NNTP Service is running.

If you get a successful response by IP address but not by DNS name, you have a problem with the DNS. Verify that the IP address of Microsoft NNTP Service is correctly registered in your DNS and that the client is configured to use the correct DNS.

If you do not get a successful response by IP address, you have a network connectivity problem. Work with your network administrator to identify and correct the network problem.

For help with Ping command syntax, type ping -? at the command prompt.

Note If the response from the Ping command shows a time value greater than 10 milliseconds, ask your network administrator to check for network congestion problems.