How to use Ping to test your network latency

If bandwidth is the quantity of your connection, then latency must be a measure of the quality of it. Latency is the time it takes for the smallest amount of information to go back and forth between you and a host. If you see packet loss on your trip to your ISP then your line is the issue.

People often talk about the internet connection speed - the bandwidth as measured in megabits - but for certain realtime applications like telephony, gaming, and remote shells - the data quality is more important. Dropped packets in telephony and audio streams leads to static and lost sound.

After installing Fibre Optic at my new place I compare a ping to Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8), and we see packet loss disappear, and the average time drop from a whopping and hard to believe 57 seconds down to just 31 milliseconds, with a minimum of 28 ms.

An example of a good ping time

13inch:~ tom$ ping 8.8.8.8
PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=59 time=32.911 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=59 time=31.874 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=59 time=30.760 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=3 ttl=59 time=29.730 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=4 ttl=59 time=31.490 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=5 ttl=59 time=29.063 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=6 ttl=59 time=32.466 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=7 ttl=59 time=31.149 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=8 ttl=59 time=32.787 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=9 ttl=59 time=40.585 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=10 ttl=59 time=32.434 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=11 ttl=59 time=29.902 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=12 ttl=59 time=29.264 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=13 ttl=59 time=31.894 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=14 ttl=59 time=32.299 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=15 ttl=59 time=30.051 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=16 ttl=59 time=32.315 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=17 ttl=59 time=28.942 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=18 ttl=59 time=31.891 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=19 ttl=59 time=30.485 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=20 ttl=59 time=29.383 ms
^C
--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
21 packets transmitted, 21 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 28.942/31.508/40.585/2.402 ms
13inch:~ tom$

Official worst internet connection ever.

Since I was on dialup at my mums place in Coromandel.

Laptop connected to my Wifi router which is getting its net itself via Wifi tethering from my iPhone 5S which is barely able to make a call or send txt let alone the internet!

491 packets transmitted, 137 packets received, 72.1% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 4911.674/57951.524/100173.596/21656.897 ms
13inch:pay2c.Xyz tom$

64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=177 ttl=54 time=52771.304 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=178 ttl=54 time=51795.556 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=179 ttl=54 time=50792.636 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=180 ttl=54 time=49790.734 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=181 ttl=54 time=48787.671 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=182 ttl=54 time=47787.012 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=183 ttl=54 time=46782.079 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=184 ttl=54 time=45778.752 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=185 ttl=54 time=44782.822 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=186 ttl=54 time=43778.280 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=187 ttl=54 time=42774.619 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=188 ttl=54 time=41773.082 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=189 ttl=54 time=40785.548 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=190 ttl=54 time=39820.873 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=191 ttl=54 time=38818.465 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=195 ttl=54 time=35601.609 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=196 ttl=54 time=35405.563 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=197 ttl=54 time=34595.935 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=198 ttl=54 time=34440.231 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=199 ttl=54 time=34118.466 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=200 ttl=54 time=37025.789 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=205 ttl=54 time=33701.815 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=232 ttl=54 time=14587.327 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 252
Request timeout for icmp_seq 253
Request timeout for icmp_seq 254
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=247 ttl=54 time=8570.665 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=248 ttl=54 time=7776.425 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=249 ttl=54 time=6920.444 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=250 ttl=54 time=6515.482 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=251 ttl=54 time=5631.024 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=252 ttl=54 time=5052.276 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=253 ttl=54 time=5014.476 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=254 ttl=54 time=5749.126 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=255 ttl=54 time=4911.674 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 264
Request timeout for icmp_seq 265
Request timeout for icmp_seq 266
Request timeout for icmp_seq 267
Request timeout for icmp_seq 268
Request timeout for icmp_seq 269
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=256 ttl=54 time=14185.624 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 271
Request timeout for icmp_seq 272
Request timeout for icmp_seq 273
Request timeout for icmp_seq 274
Request timeout for icmp_seq 275
Request timeout for icmp_seq 276
Request timeout for icmp_seq 277
Request timeout for icmp_seq 278
Request timeout for icmp_seq 279
Request timeout for icmp_seq 280
Request timeout for icmp_seq 281
Request timeout for icmp_seq 282
Request timeout for icmp_seq 283
Request timeout for icmp_seq 284
Request timeout for icmp_seq 285
Request timeout for icmp_seq 286
Request timeout for icmp_seq 287
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=257 ttl=54 time=31445.453 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 289
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=258 ttl=54 time=32457.728 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 291
Request timeout for icmp_seq 292
Request timeout for icmp_seq 293
Request timeout for icmp_seq 294
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=259 ttl=54 time=36411.157 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 296
Request timeout for icmp_seq 297
Request timeout for icmp_seq 298
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=260 ttl=54 time=39733.101 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 300
Request timeout for icmp_seq 301
Request timeout for icmp_seq 302
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=261 ttl=54 time=42477.703 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 304
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=262 ttl=54 time=43441.612 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=263 ttl=54 time=43432.266 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 307
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=264 ttl=54 time=45050.706 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 309
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=265 ttl=54 time=45137.945 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=266 ttl=54 time=45173.820 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=267 ttl=54 time=44506.264 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 313
Request timeout for icmp_seq 314
Request timeout for icmp_seq 315
Request timeout for icmp_seq 316
Request timeout for icmp_seq 317
Request timeout for icmp_seq 318
Request timeout for icmp_seq 319
Request timeout for icmp_seq 320
Request timeout for icmp_seq 321
Request timeout for icmp_seq 322
Request timeout for icmp_seq 323
Request timeout for icmp_seq 324
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=268 ttl=54 time=57362.380 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 326
Request timeout for icmp_seq 327
Request timeout for icmp_seq 328
Request timeout for icmp_seq 329
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=269 ttl=54 time=61603.631 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=270 ttl=54 time=61590.294 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 332
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=271 ttl=54 time=62326.436 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 334
Request timeout for icmp_seq 335
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=272 ttl=54 time=65071.367 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 337
Request timeout for icmp_seq 338
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=273 ttl=54 time=66941.069 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 340
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=274 ttl=54 time=67932.502 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 342
Request timeout for icmp_seq 343
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=275 ttl=54 time=69433.195 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=276 ttl=54 time=69818.324 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=278 ttl=54 time=68618.593 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=279 ttl=54 time=68027.879 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=280 ttl=54 time=67154.395 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 349
Request timeout for icmp_seq 350
Request timeout for icmp_seq 351
Request timeout for icmp_seq 352
Request timeout for icmp_seq 353
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=281 ttl=54 time=74049.322 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 355
Request timeout for icmp_seq 356
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=282 ttl=54 time=76036.362 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 358
Request timeout for icmp_seq 359
Request timeout for icmp_seq 360
Request timeout for icmp_seq 361
Request timeout for icmp_seq 362
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=283 ttl=54 time=81122.351 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=284 ttl=54 time=80909.673 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 365
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=285 ttl=54 time=82186.723 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 367
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=286 ttl=54 time=82619.370 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 369
Request timeout for icmp_seq 370
Request timeout for icmp_seq 371
Request timeout for icmp_seq 372
Request timeout for icmp_seq 373
Request timeout for icmp_seq 374
Request timeout for icmp_seq 375
Request timeout for icmp_seq 376
Request timeout for icmp_seq 377
Request timeout for icmp_seq 378
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=287 ttl=54 time=93182.677 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 380
Request timeout for icmp_seq 381
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=317 ttl=54 time=65322.352 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 383
Request timeout for icmp_seq 384
Request timeout for icmp_seq 385
Request timeout for icmp_seq 386
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=318 ttl=54 time=69428.438 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=319 ttl=54 time=69204.778 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=320 ttl=54 time=68604.710 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=321 ttl=54 time=69250.154 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=322 ttl=54 time=69024.922 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=323 ttl=54 time=68852.795 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=324 ttl=54 time=68381.716 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=325 ttl=54 time=68460.245 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=326 ttl=54 time=67890.598 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 396
Request timeout for icmp_seq 397
Request timeout for icmp_seq 398
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=327 ttl=54 time=72224.042 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 400
Request timeout for icmp_seq 401
Request timeout for icmp_seq 402
Request timeout for icmp_seq 403
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=348 ttl=54 time=56707.034 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 405
Request timeout for icmp_seq 406
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=351 ttl=54 time=56621.675 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=352 ttl=54 time=55620.525 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=353 ttl=54 time=54887.953 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=354 ttl=54 time=54205.236 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=355 ttl=54 time=53624.076 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 412
Request timeout for icmp_seq 413
Request timeout for icmp_seq 414
Request timeout for icmp_seq 415
Request timeout for icmp_seq 416
Request timeout for icmp_seq 417
Request timeout for icmp_seq 418
Request timeout for icmp_seq 419
Request timeout for icmp_seq 420
Request timeout for icmp_seq 421
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=357 ttl=54 time=65797.155 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 423
Request timeout for icmp_seq 424
Request timeout for icmp_seq 425
Request timeout for icmp_seq 426
Request timeout for icmp_seq 427
Request timeout for icmp_seq 428
Request timeout for icmp_seq 429
Request timeout for icmp_seq 430
Request timeout for icmp_seq 431
Request timeout for icmp_seq 432
Request timeout for icmp_seq 433
Request timeout for icmp_seq 434
Request timeout for icmp_seq 435
Request timeout for icmp_seq 436
Request timeout for icmp_seq 437
Request timeout for icmp_seq 438
Request timeout for icmp_seq 439
Request timeout for icmp_seq 440
Request timeout for icmp_seq 441
Request timeout for icmp_seq 442
Request timeout for icmp_seq 443
Request timeout for icmp_seq 444
Request timeout for icmp_seq 445
Request timeout for icmp_seq 446
Request timeout for icmp_seq 447
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=389 ttl=54 time=59933.766 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=390 ttl=54 time=59740.642 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=391 ttl=54 time=59882.162 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 451
Request timeout for icmp_seq 452
Request timeout for icmp_seq 453
Request timeout for icmp_seq 454
Request timeout for icmp_seq 455
Request timeout for icmp_seq 456
Request timeout for icmp_seq 457
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=392 ttl=54 time=66705.322 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=393 ttl=54 time=66187.189 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=394 ttl=54 time=65313.387 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=395 ttl=54 time=65274.663 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=396 ttl=54 time=65201.259 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=397 ttl=54 time=65043.247 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=398 ttl=54 time=64591.833 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 465
Request timeout for icmp_seq 466
Request timeout for icmp_seq 467
Request timeout for icmp_seq 468
Request timeout for icmp_seq 469
Request timeout for icmp_seq 470
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=399 ttl=54 time=72608.465 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=400 ttl=54 time=71606.695 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=401 ttl=54 time=70603.331 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=402 ttl=54 time=69610.261 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=403 ttl=54 time=68606.763 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=404 ttl=54 time=67607.793 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=405 ttl=54 time=66610.263 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=406 ttl=54 time=66066.892 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=409 ttl=54 time=65526.582 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=410 ttl=54 time=64708.668 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=411 ttl=54 time=63938.379 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=412 ttl=54 time=62978.977 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=413 ttl=54 time=62329.996 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=414 ttl=54 time=61685.132 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=415 ttl=54 time=60885.822 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=416 ttl=54 time=60366.599 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=417 ttl=54 time=60080.570 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=418 ttl=54 time=59211.712 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=419 ttl=54 time=58520.336 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=420 ttl=54 time=57832.112 ms
^C
--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
491 packets transmitted, 137 packets received, 72.1% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 4911.674/57951.524/100173.596/21656.897 ms
13inch:pay2c.Xyz tom$