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Everytime I get connection issues to a server (git server, etc.) our sys admin tells me to ping the host. If that doesn't work he will ask me to ping the IP address of the host. I don't remember that working either. Is there a difference between the two? What does it mean if you can ping the IP but not the host?
So if I can ping the IP and not the host, its a DNS issue? If I can't ping both, then its a connectivity issue? – erickb – 2014-02-07T03:47:51.723
1Either it's a connectivity issue or the host just doesn't respond to pings. – David Schwartz – 2014-02-07T03:55:00.527
1@erickb - Generally speaking, yes. There could be other reasons that a host doesn't respond to pings but one of the first steps in troubleshooting is identifying the type of issue at hand. The tech is using this method to determine whether it's a name resolution issue or some other connectivity issue. – joeqwerty – 2014-02-07T04:00:52.540
1To add a non-technical explanation to Joeqwerty's good answer:
Pinging a hostname is like asking you to phone a person.
You will fist need to get your old paper address book, look up the number for and then you can call it.
Pinging an IP is akin to directly calling the phone number. It will work regardless of the presence of a readable address book. – Hennes – 2014-02-07T06:16:23.720