What Is "whois" ... "ping" ... "pong"?

Amie

Amie

Mac Convert for Life
I *think* this would be under Networking & Compatibility, since every time I see these terms, it seems to refer to Internet somehow...

Could someone please explain to me (in non-technobabble language) what the following are, what they mean and what purpose they serve?:

1. whois
2. ping
3. pong
(not the table tennis game :D)

Thanks!
 
Whois determines who is the owner of a domain name or IP address. Ping sends a short message over the network which gets returned by the target. It is usually used to show the amount of time it takes for a ping request to go through, but a lot of times people use it to simply see if they have any network connectivity at all.
 
HateEternal said:
Whois determines who is the owner of a domain name or IP address.
Click to expand...
Can you give me a for instance? In what situation would one might want to use "whois"?

HateEternal said:
Ping sends a short message over the network which gets returned by the target. It is usually used to show the amount of time it takes for a ping request to go through, but a lot of times people use it to simply see if they have any network connectivity at all.
Click to expand...
Couldn't one just look at their AirPort icon (or whatever wi-fi card they have) to determine whether or not there's any network connectivity?

And what about "pong"? You didn't mention that one.
 
Ping is also used to test and see if a host is actually active on the network. It's used like this:

$ ping <ip-address>

Once you type that, you'll get responses back from the host if it's active. You'll see infomration on how long it took to get there and back as well. This is good to test if there's a bottleneck somewhere on reaching the host. An example of this would be to test a website to see why it's taking forever to load. Pinging the url of the site (ping www.website.com) and seeing the results can give you an idea of they are getting hit hard with user hits.

If you get a response that says "destination unreachable", it can mean many things. It can mean that the ping packet (aka, an ICMP packet) couldn't reach the destination host, or it could mean that the router is fooling you by preventing the return of that packet to your computer (this is for security reasons to keep you from getting a positive answer from the destination host). It could also mean that you might not have your router configured properly or your network configurations are out of whack.

As for "whois", if you type "whois" followed by the domain name of a site (ex: macosx.com), you'll get information about the DNS registration and who the site and domain name is registered to. You'll also see contact information.
 
Regarding the Airport software for network connectivity...

Yes, it will tell you that you are connected, but only to that local network. Ping would be to test and see if there are any intermittencies in connection which might be caused by some sort of problem.
 
PING from: 192.168.1.97
to: www.macosx.com (82.165.177.2) Every 500 mSecs
PKT# RESULT TIME(ms) LENGTH Min Avg Max Timestamp

1 success 48 40 48 48 48 3/25/06 3:38:28 PM
2 success 47 40 47 47 48 3/25/06 3:38:28 PM
3 success 45 40 45 46 48 3/25/06 3:38:29 PM
4 success 48 40 45 47 48 3/25/06 3:38:30 PM
5 success 47 40 45 47 48 3/25/06 3:38:31 PM
6 success 46 40 45 46 48 3/25/06 3:38:32 PM
7 success 45 40 45 46 48 3/25/06 3:38:33 PM
8 success 45 40 45 46 48 3/25/06 3:38:34 PM
9 success 47 40 45 46 48 3/25/06 3:38:35 PM
10 success 47 40 45 46 48 3/25/06 3:38:36 PM
11 success 45 40 45 46 48 3/25/06 3:38:37 PM
12 success 47 40 45 46 48 3/25/06 3:38:38 PM
13 success 45 40 45 46 48 3/25/06 3:38:39 PM
14 success 51 40 45 46 51 3/25/06 3:38:40 PM
15 success 46 40 45 46 51 3/25/06 3:38:41 PM
16 success 45 40 45 46 51 3/25/06 3:38:42 PM

Packets out/in/bad/%loss = 16/16/0/0.0
Round Trip Time (ms) min/avg/max = 45/46/51
• Ping Completed 3/25/06 3:38:42 PM
 
Here is a (rather long) whois example:

cmiranda@UbuntuBook:~$ whois macosx.com

Whois Server Version 1.3

Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.

Domain Name: MACOSX.COM
Registrar: GO DADDY SOFTWARE, INC.
Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
Referral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.com
Name Server: NS2.DIGITALCROWD.COM
Name Server: NS1.DIGITALCROWD.COM
Name Server: NS3.DIGITALCROWD.COM
Status: REGISTRAR-LOCK
Updated Date: 05-dec-2005
Creation Date: 11-may-1998
Expiration Date: 10-may-2006


>>> Last update of whois database: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 02:43:00 EST <<<

NOTICE: The expiration date displayed in this record is the date the
registrar's sponsorship of the domain name registration in the registry is
currently set to expire. This date does not necessarily reflect the expiration
date of the domain name registrant's agreement with the sponsoring
registrar. Users may consult the sponsoring registrar's Whois database to
view the registrar's reported date of expiration for this registration.

TERMS OF USE: You are not authorized to access or query our Whois
database through the use of electronic processes that are high-volume and
automated except as reasonably necessary to register domain names or
modify existing registrations; the Data in VeriSign Global Registry
Services' ("VeriSign") Whois database is provided by VeriSign for
information purposes only, and to assist persons in obtaining information
about or related to a domain name registration record. VeriSign does not
guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a Whois query, you agree to abide
by the following terms of use: You agree that you may use this Data only
for lawful purposes and that under no circumstances will you use this Data
to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass
unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via e-mail, telephone,
or facsimile; or (2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes
that apply to VeriSign (or its computer systems). The compilation,
repackaging, dissemination or other use of this Data is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of VeriSign. You agree not to
use electronic processes that are automated and high-volume to access or
query the Whois database except as reasonably necessary to register
domain names or modify existing registrations. VeriSign reserves the right
to restrict your access to the Whois database in its sole discretion to ensure
operational stability. VeriSign may restrict or terminate your access to the
Whois database for failure to abide by these terms of use. VeriSign
reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.

The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Registrars.
The data contained in Go Daddy Software, Inc.'s WhoIs database,
while believed by the company to be reliable, is provided "as is"
with no guarantee or warranties regarding its accuracy. This
information is provided for the sole purpose of assisting you
in obtaining information about domain name registration records.
Any use of this data for any other purpose is expressly forbidden without the prior written
permission of Go Daddy Software, Inc. By submitting an inquiry,
you agree to these terms of usage and limitations of warranty. In particular,
you agree not to use this data to allow, enable, or otherwise make possible,
dissemination or collection of this data, in part or in its entirety, for any
purpose, such as the transmission of unsolicited advertising and
and solicitations of any kind, including spam. You further agree
not to use this data to enable high volume, automated or robotic electronic
processes designed to collect or compile this data for any purpose,
including mining this data for your own personal or commercial purposes.

Please note: the registrant of the domain name is specified
in the "registrant" field. In most cases, Go Daddy Software, Inc.
is not the registrant of domain names listed in this database.


Registrant:
DigitalCrowd
PO BOX 207
Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Domain Name: MACOSX.COM
Created on: 11-May-98
Expires on: 10-May-06
Last Updated on: 10-May-05

Administrative Contact:
MASTER, HOST cs@digitalcrowd.com
DigitalCrowd
PO BOX 207
Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201
United States
800-397-9573 Fax --

Technical Contact:
MASTER, HOST cs@digitalcrowd.com
DigitalCrowd
PO BOX 207
Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201
United States
800-397-9573 Fax --

Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.DIGITALCROWD.COM
NS2.DIGITALCROWD.COM
NS3.DIGITALCROWD.COM
 
Thanks for the replies. I think I understand a little better now. But *where* do type all this in? Do you have to go to System Preferences or can you just type in the inquiries in your URL bar or what? I know this is probably a stupid question, but I really have no idea, and I'd like to learn more. I'd probably never need to use any of these things, but I guess it's more curiosity than the need to know.
 
All of these are command-line tools. So use them in Terminal ("/Applications/Utilities/Terminal"). For more info on how to use command-line tools, open Terminal and type "man <command-name>" (e.g., "man ping"), and then hit Return.

In the online gaming world, ping is very useful to see how responsive each user's connection is. High ping time = high latency = bad responsiveness. Even a high-speed cable modem can have bad responsiveness, which would make it bad for gaming. It's not something you need to worry about for, say, web browsing or IM'ing, though.
 
Amie said:
Thanks for the replies. I think I understand a little better now. But *where* do type all this in? Do you have to go to System Preferences or can you just type in the inquiries in your URL bar or what? I know this is probably a stupid question, but I really have no idea, and I'd like to learn more. I'd probably never need to use any of these things, but I guess it's more curiosity than the need to know.
Click to expand...

WhatRoute is pretty cool.

My DSL modem breaks traceroute in it unless I uncheck Use UDP Traceroute in Preferences -> Trace & Ping

I've been using WhatRoute for years and years.
 
They are UNIX programs -- you use them in the Terminal. Launch Terminal, then type "ping apple.com" (without the quotes). Likewise for whois and pong.

If you want an exact description of what these programs do, type "man <utility>" such as "man ping" or "man whois" and you'll get complete documentation on the program.

[Edit: Whoops, didn't see the second page for some reason... been beaten to it!]
 
There is also a network utility in the Utilities folder that is a GUI which has several different network tools including ping and whois.
 
I've never heard of the command "pong". It has no man page in BASH either.

Some people, however, refer to a computer's reply to an incoming ping command it's "pong" (ping, pong, get it?).
 
Just going by what I see on my computer here ... and I see both "ping" and "pong." Maybe it's trying to tell me that it wants to play a game. Remember the first TV video game--Pong? That was so much fun way back then, but now, with all the game technology, Pong is just b-o-r-i-n-g. LOL
 
Amie said:
Just going by what I see on my computer here ... and I see both "ping" and "pong." Maybe it's trying to tell me that it wants to play a game. Remember the first TV video game--Pong? That was so much fun way back then, but now, with all the game technology, Pong is just b-o-r-i-n-g. LOL
Click to expand...

Weird....I just logged into my iMac running Tiger and I don't see a "pong" command anywhere......must be a Panther thing... ;)
 
ElDiabloConCaca said:
Where, exactly, do you see "pong"?
Click to expand...
Well, darn. It's been a while, and now I don't remember. Let me hunt around and see if I can find it again...
 
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