# Ping vs Test-Connection **URL:** \ **Category:** PowerShell Help\ **Created:** [September 23, 2024, 10:06am UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781 "2024-09-23T10:06:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darkveemon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@Darkveemon1](https://forums.powershell.org/u/Darkveemon1)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 10:06am UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/1 "2024-09-23T10:06:24Z")
Hi, I read the Microsoft explanation of Test-Connection, but something still seems off. I have 50 or so IP machines that I have to check weekly if they are on-line. I made a simple code with a sequence of ifs that generally works, but it seems there is a problem. ```auto $ok = 1 If (-Not (Test-Connection 10.0.10.11 -Count 1 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) { Write-Output "Machine 1 NOK" $ok = 0 If (-Not (Test-Connection 10.0.10.12 -Count 1 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) { Write-Output "Machine 2 NOK" $ok = 0 } ... If ($ok -eq 1) { Write-Output "Everything ok" } ``` The idea is if an IP doesn’t respond to test-connection it sets my OK variable to 0 and prints wich ones are off, if the variable is still 1 at the end it prints that everything is ok. Last friday a machine was offline, it got fixed, so they asked me to check, in the 5 minutes later or so if i tried to ping the machine via regular ping I got the response correctly, but my script still said the machine was not OK. Later my script worked well and it said OK, but why there is this delay? If ping is responding shouldn’t test-connection respond as well? Ty in advance for your time ---
**Author:** ![psdarwin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.powershell.org/psdarwin/32/2063_2.png) [@psdarwin](https://forums.powershell.org/u/psdarwin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/2 "2024-09-23T13:22:40Z")
I suggest you look at the properties of the object that comes out of Test-Connection. That command does not return true/false, but an object with a Status property. Looking at that property is a better way to verify if the test succeeded or not. `If ((Test-Connection 1.2.3.4).Status -ne 'Success')` Some other thoughts on code improvement. I’d make $ok = $true/$false instead of 0/1. I’d also try to put your IP addresses in an array and loop through them to reduce the amount of code. ---
**Author:** ![Darkveemon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@Darkveemon1](https://forums.powershell.org/u/Darkveemon1)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/3 "2024-09-23T14:59:31Z")
Thank you for the reply, I tried doing as you suggested, but didn’t quite work. I didn’t make an array because I don’t mind for it being a bit slow, as long as it executes under a minute it is fine, and by doing the Ifs separately I can better decide the output. I implemented this in the first line as try (as well as using the $true/$false you suggested): ```auto If ((Test-Connection 10.0.10.11 -Count 1 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).Status -ne 'Success') { Write-Output "SMachine 1 NOK" $ok = $false } ``` Even tho the machine is online (and with my initial version it recognized that) now it says NOK Any idea why? ---
**Author:** ![psdarwin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.powershell.org/psdarwin/32/2063_2.png) [@psdarwin](https://forums.powershell.org/u/psdarwin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/4 "2024-09-23T15:47:51Z")
What is the output of the command? `Test-Connection 10.0.10.11 -Count 1 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue` It should look something like this: ```auto C:\> test-connection localhost -count 1 Destination: localhost Ping Source Address Latency BufferSize Status (ms) (B) ---- ------ ------- ------- ---------- ------ 1 MYPC ::1 0 32 Success ``` Looking at the output of the command should help you determine why the “if” is not giving you the expected results. ---
**Author:** ![tonyd](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.powershell.org/tonyd/32/1041_2.png) [@tonyd](https://forums.powershell.org/u/tonyd)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/5 "2024-09-23T17:30:14Z")
I did notice that for PowerShell 5.1, there is no “Status” property. I use something like this: ```auto if($null = Test-Connection -ComputerName $System -Count 4 -Quiet -BufferSize 16){Write-Output 'Connection Good'} ``` ---
**Author:** ![david-zemdegs](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.powershell.org/david-zemdegs/32/1461_2.png) [@david-zemdegs](https://forums.powershell.org/u/david-zemdegs)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/6 "2024-09-23T22:56:38Z")
I do a similar thing with -count 1. However if that fails I do -count 4. That sometimes picks up machines online that it didnt pick up with -count 1. ---
**Author:** ![Darkveemon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@Darkveemon1](https://forums.powershell.org/u/Darkveemon1)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 7:44am UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/7 "2024-09-26T07:44:49Z")
> [@psdarwin](#): > > Test-Connection 10.0.10.11 -Count 1 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue Sorry for not replying, I was busy in teh lat days, here is my output: ```auto Source Destination IPV4Address IPV6Address Bytes Time(ms) ------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----- -------- NBK10067 10.0.10.11 32 9 ``` Br ---
**Author:** ![psdarwin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.powershell.org/psdarwin/32/2063_2.png) [@psdarwin](https://forums.powershell.org/u/psdarwin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 1:26pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/8 "2024-09-26T13:26:23Z")
After a little more looking, Test-Connection has definitely changed between PS5 and PS7. The object type in PS5 is “System.Management.ManagementObject#root\cimv2\Win32\_PingStatus” The object type in PS7 is “Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.TestConnectionCommand+PingStatus” If Test-Connection fails in PS5 it seems to throw an error. Not sure if that’s consistent across all use cases, but the few things I tried did throw errors when failing. If Test-Connection fails in PS7 (for an IP address or resolvable hostname) it always returns an object with a status. Is it possible for you to use PS7 for your connection testing? I find that, unless there’s a compelling reason to stay on PS5, it is always preferable to use PS7. ---
**Author:** ![tonyd](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.powershell.org/tonyd/32/1041_2.png) [@tonyd](https://forums.powershell.org/u/tonyd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/9 "2024-09-26T16:10:34Z")
What I posted works fine in both PS5 and 7 FYI. ---
**Author:** ![grey0ut](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.powershell.org/grey0ut/32/5310_2.png) [@grey0ut](https://forums.powershell.org/u/grey0ut)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/10 "2024-09-26T16:46:38Z")
Another method that I ended up using on something is the .NET Ping class. You can tune the TTL via the $Timeout and it can run against a lot of hosts pretty fast. Here’s an example using your original concept: ```Powershell $Computers = @( "10.0.10.10", "10.0.10.11", "10.0.10.12" ) $Timeout = 3000 $Ping = New-Object System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping $Results = Foreach ($Computer in $Computers) { $Response = $Ping.Send($Computer,$Timeout) [PSCustomObject]@{ TimeStamp = Get-Date Address = $Computer Status = $Response.Status RTT = $Response.RoundtripTime } } <# Here's examples of what the results would look like if you wanted to do anything with that info TimeStamp Address Status RTT --------- ------- ------ --- 9/26/2024 9:40:48 AM 10.0.10.10 Success 26 9/26/2024 9:40:48 AM 10.0.10.11 Success 36 9/26/2024 9:40:48 AM 10.0.10.12 Success 25 9/26/2024 9:40:48 AM 10.0.10.13 Success 18 9/26/2024 9:40:51 AM 10.0.10.14 TimedOut 0 #> $OK = 1 Foreach ($Result in $Results) { If ($Result.Status -ne "Success") { Write-Output "$($Result.Address) NOK" $OK = 0 } } If ($OK -eq 1) { Write-Output "Everything is OK" } ``` ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/powershell/original/1X/385e4f9fe133561ad30a814262fe0e0ae6bc3ef0.png) [@system](https://forums.powershell.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/ping-vs-test-connection/24781/11 "2024-10-26T16:46:40Z")
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