NAME

       bing  - compute point to point throughput using two sizes of ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to pairs of remote
       hosts.

SYNOPSIS

       bing [dDnrRPvVwz] [-c count] [-e samples] [-f samplefile] [-i wait] [-p pattern]  [-s  small  packetsize]
       [-S big packetsize] host1 host2 [...]

DESCRIPTION

       Bing  determines  bandwidth  on  a point-to-point link by sending ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets and measuring
       their roundtrip times for different packet sizes on each end of the link.

       host1 is supposed to be the nearest end of the link, while host2 is the other end.

       The options are as follows:

       -c count
            Stop after count resets of the stats. Useful only in conjunction with the -e option. Defaults to 1.

       -d   Set the SO_DEBUG option on the socket being used.

       -D   Display the measured throughput at every received packet. By default, it is displayed only when  the
            computed  value  changes,  which  itself changes only when the minimum roundtrip time for one of the
            packet sizes changes.

       -e samples
            Reset stats after sending samples ECHO_REQUEST packets.

       -f samplefile
            Saves the bandwidth measurements to the file samplefile.

       -i wait
            Wait wait seconds for each ECHO_REPLY packet. The default is to wait for four seconds.

       -n   Numeric output only. No attempt will be made to lookup symbolic names for host addresses.

       -P   Be pedantic regarding round-trip times.

            Normally, bing assumes that the roundtrip time for a small packet should always be smaller than  the
            roundtrip time for a big packet to the same host, that for a given size the roundtrip time for host1
            should  always  be smaller than the roundtrip time for host2, and that the increase in the roundtrip
            time between host1 and host2 should always be bigger for big packets than for small packets.

            Bing takes advantage of this to better determine the minimum roundtrip times.

            Option -P disables this behaviour, in the unlikely event it could be of any use someday. Even IP/X25
            links are not weird enough to require this, though.

       -p pattern
            You may specify up to 16 ``pad'' bytes to fill  out  the  packet  you  send.   This  is  useful  for
            diagnosing  data-dependent problems in a network.  For example, ``-p ff'' will cause the sent packet
            to be filled with all ones.

       -R   Record route. Includes the RECORD_ROUTE option in the ECHO_REQUEST packet  and  displays  the  route
            buffer  on returned packets. Note that the IP header is only large enough for nine such routes. Many
            hosts ignore or discard this option.

       -r   Bypass the normal routing tables and send directly to a host on an attached network. If the host  is
            not  on  a  directly-attached network, an error is returned. This option can be used to ping a local
            host through an interface that has no route through it (e.g., after the  interface  was  dropped  by
            routed(8)).

       -s small packetsize
            Specifies the number of data bytes to be sent in the small packets. The default and minimum value is
            44.

       -S big packetsize
            Specifies  the  number  of  data  bytes  to be sent in the big packets. The default is 108. The size
            should be chosen so that big packet roundtrip times  are  long  enough  to  be  accurately  measured
            (depending on clock resolution and number of hops).

       -u size increment
            Specifies  that  bing should start sending packets of the size of small packetsize and then increase
            the size by size increment until it reaches big packetsize.

       -v   Verbose output. ICMP packets other than ECHO_RESPONSE that are received are listed.

       -V   Very verbose output. The roundtrip time of each received echo is displayed.

       -w   Display possible warnings about roundtrip times all the time.  By default, warnings are printed only
            at the end.

       -z   Fill packets with uncompressible (pseudo-random) data.

       Round-trip times and packet loss statistics are computed. If duplicate packets are received, they are not
       included in the packet loss calculation, although the round  trip  time  of  these  packets  is  used  in
       calculating  the minimum/average/maximum round-trip time numbers. When the specified number of loops have
       been made or if the program is terminated with a SIGINT, a brief summary is displayed.

       This program is intended for use in network testing, measurement and management. Because of the  load  it
       can impose on the network, it is unwise to use bing during normal operations or from automated scripts.

BUGS

       Many Hosts and Gateways ignore the RECORD_ROUTE option.

       The  maximum IP header length is too small for options like RECORD_ROUTE to be completely useful. There's
       not much that that can be done about this, however.

       Some of the final stats (average throughputs) almost never give a even marginally correct result.

SEE ALSO

       netstat(1), ifconfig(8), ping(8), routed(8), traceroute(8)

AUTHOR

       Pierre Beyssac <pb@fasterix.freenix.fr>

       Port to Windows: Francois Gouget <fgouget@mygale.org>

                                                  April 3, 1995                                          BING(8)