Ping
The page documents the MikroTik RouterOS Ping tool, which uses ICMP Echo messages to test host connectivity and measure round-trip delays. It explains parameters like TTL, interval, count, and supports both IPv4/IPv6 addresses and DNS names. MAC Ping is also briefly mentioned in the context of multicast discovery.
Ping
Ping uses the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo messages to determine if a remote host is active or inactive and to determine the round-trip delay when communicating with it. The Ping tool sends an ICMP (type 8) message to the host and waits for the ICMP echo-reply (type 0). The interval between these events is called a round trip. If the response (that is called pong) has not come until the end of the interval, we assume it has timed out. The second significant parameter reported is TTL (Time to Live). It is decremented at each machine in which the packet is processed. The packet will reach its destination only when the TTL is greater than the number of routers between the source and the destination.
Quick Example
RouterOS Ping tool allows you to configure various additional parameters like:
- arp-ping
- nd-ping
- address
- src-address
- count
- dscp
- interface
- interval
- routing-table
- size
- ttl
Let's take a look at a very simple example:
[admin@MikroTik] > /tool/ping address=10.155.126.252 count=5 interval=200ms
SEQ HOST SIZE TTL TIME STATUS
0 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
1 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
2 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
3 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
4 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
sent=5 received=5 packet-loss=0% min-rtt=0ms avg-rtt=0ms max-rtt=0ms
The same we can achieve with a shorter CLI command:
[admin@MikroTik] > /ping 10.155.126.252 count=5 interval=50ms
SEQ HOST SIZE TTL TIME STATUS
0 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
1 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
2 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
3 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
4 10.155.126.252 56 64 0ms
sent=5 received=5 packet-loss=0% min-rtt=0ms avg-rtt=0ms max-rtt=0ms
It is also possible to ping a multicast address to discover all hosts belonging to a multicast group:
[admin@MikroTik] > /ping ff02::1
HOST SIZE TTL TIME STATUS
fe80::20c:42ff:fe49:fceb 56 64 1ms echo reply
fe80::20c:42ff:fe72:a1b0 56 64 1ms echo reply
fe80::20c:42ff:fe28:7945 56 64 1ms echo reply
fe80::21a:4dff:fe5d:8e56 56 64 3ms echo reply
sent=1 received=4 packet-loss=-300% min-rtt=1ms avg-rtt=1ms max-rtt=3ms
Ping by DNS name:
[admin@MikroTik] > /ping www.google.com count=5 interval=50ms
SEQ HOST SIZE TTL TIME STATUS
0 216.58.207.228 56 51 14ms
1 216.58.207.228 56 51 13ms
2 216.58.207.228 56 51 13ms
3 216.58.207.228 56 51 13ms
4 216.58.207.228 56 51 13ms
sent=5 received=5 packet-loss=0% min-rtt=13ms avg-rtt=13ms max-rtt=14ms
信息
When you use the domain name and CLI for ping, the router DNS will be used to resolve the address. When you use the WinBox Tools/Ping, your computer's DNS will be used to resolve the given address.
ND Ping
The IPv6 counterpart of arp-ping: with nd-ping=yes, the router sends IPv6 Neighbor Solicitations (NS) instead of ICMPv6 echo requests and reports success upon receiving a Neighbor Advertisement (NA). This allows confirming host presence and ND operation even when ICMPv6 echo is filtered or disabled. ND ping works only for directly connected (on-link) IPv6 addresses; off-subnet targets return a no route to host error. Global targets require an explicit interface=, otherwise the ping fails with interface needs to be specified for ND ping (link-local targets carry it via the %iface suffix):
[admin@MikroTik] > /tool/ping address=fe80::2ec8:1bff:fef3:9c5e%ether1 nd-ping=yes
[admin@MikroTik] > /tool/ping address=2001:db8:0:1::2 nd-ping=yes interface=ether1
In WinBox, Tools → Ping has a separate ND Ping checkbox next to ARP Ping with an interface selector.
MAC Ping
This submenu allows enabling the MAC Ping server.
When MAC ping is enabled, other hosts on the same broadcast domain can use the ping tool to ping a MAC address:
[admin@MikroTik] > /tool/mac-server/ping/set enabled=yes
Ping MAC address:
[admin@MikroTik] > /ping 00:0C:42:72:A1:B0
HOST SIZE TTL TIME STATUS
00:0C:42:72:A1:B0 56 0ms
00:0C:42:72:A1:B0 56 0ms
sent=2 received=2 packet-loss=0% min-rtt=0ms avg-rtt=0ms max-rtt=0ms
信息
By default, a MAC ping attempts to reach the destination through all active interfaces. This can generate unwanted traffic and duplicate replies if the destination is reachable via multiple interfaces. To restrict a MAC ping to a specific interface, use the interface selector (append
%followed by the interface name to the MAC address). For example:/ping 00:11:22:33:44:55%ether1