ping, traceroute, dig — Network Diagnostics
Test connectivity with ping, trace network routes with traceroute, and perform DNS lookups with dig and nslookup.
March 10, 20255 min read
linuxnetworkingpingdigtraceroute
ping — Test Connectivity
ping sends ICMP echo requests to a host and reports if it responds. Essential for basic network debugging.
ping google.com # Continuous (Ctrl+C to stop)
ping -c 5 google.com # Send exactly 5 packets
ping -i 2 google.com # 2 second interval
ping 192.168.1.1 # Ping by IP
ping localhost # Ping yourself (127.0.0.1)traceroute — Trace the Path
traceroute shows every router (hop) packets pass through to reach their destination.
traceroute google.com # Full trace
traceroute -n google.com # Skip DNS (faster, numeric IPs)
traceroute -m 15 google.com # Limit to 15 hops
# macOS: traceroute
# Linux alt: tracepath (no root needed)dig — DNS Lookup
dig is the most powerful DNS query tool — shows full DNS record details.
dig google.com # Full query
dig google.com +short # IP only
dig google.com A # IPv4 record
dig google.com AAAA # IPv6 record
dig google.com MX # Mail servers
dig google.com NS # Name servers
dig @8.8.8.8 google.com # Query specific DNS (Google's)
dig -x 142.250.80.46 # Reverse: IP → domainnslookup & host
nslookup google.com # Basic lookup
nslookup google.com 8.8.8.8 # Specific DNS server
host google.com # Quick lookup
host 142.250.80.46 # Reverse lookupUse ping -c 3 google.com for a quick connectivity check — the -c 3 stops after 3 packets so you don't have to press Ctrl+C.
Quick Check
Which command shows every router hop between you and a destination?
Exercise
Use dig google.com +short to get just Google's IP. Then use dig -x <ip> with that IP for a reverse lookup.