Test-Connection

Test-Connection [-ComputerName*] <String[]> [-AsJob] [-BufferSize <Int32>] [-Count <Int32>] [-DcomAuthentication{Default | None | Connect | Call | Packet | PacketIntegrity | PacketPrivacy | Unchanged}] [-Delay <Int32>][-Impersonation {Default | Anonymous | Identify | Impersonate | Delegate}] [-Protocol {DCOM | WSMan}][-ThrottleLimit <Int32>] [-TimeToLive <Int32>] [-WsmanAuthentication {Default | Basic | Negotiate | CredSSP |Digest | Kerberos}] [<CommonParameters>]

Test-Connection [-ComputerName*] <String[]> [-Source*] <String[]> [-AsJob] [-BufferSize <Int32>] [-Count <Int32>][-Credential <PSCredential>] [-DcomAuthentication {Default | None | Connect | Call | Packet | PacketIntegrity |PacketPrivacy | Unchanged}] [-Delay <Int32>] [-Impersonation {Default | Anonymous | Identify | Impersonate |Delegate}] [-Protocol {DCOM | WSMan}] [-ThrottleLimit <Int32>] [-TimeToLive <Int32>] [-WsmanAuthentication{Default | Basic | Negotiate | CredSSP | Digest | Kerberos}] [<CommonParameters>]

Test-Connection [-ComputerName*] <String[]> [-BufferSize <Int32>] [-Count <Int32>] [-DcomAuthentication {Default |None | Connect | Call | Packet | PacketIntegrity | PacketPrivacy | Unchanged}] [-Delay <Int32>] [-Impersonation{Default | Anonymous | Identify | Impersonate | Delegate}] [-Protocol {DCOM | WSMan}] [-Quiet] [-TimeToLive<Int32>] [-WsmanAuthentication {Default | Basic | Negotiate | CredSSP | Digest | Kerberos}] [<CommonParameters>]

The Test-Connection cmdlet sends Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request packets, or pings, to one or more remote computers and returns the echo response replies. You can use this cmdlet to determine whether a particular computer can be contacted across an IP network.

You can use the parameters of Test-Connection to specify both the sending and receiving computers, to run the command as a background job, to set a time-out and number of pings, and to configure the connection and authentication.

Unlike the familiar ping command, Test-Connection returns a Win32_PingStatus object that you can investigate in Windows PowerShell. You can use the Quiet parameter to force it to return only a Boolean value.

Parameters

-AsJob [<SwitchParameter>]

Default value is False
Accepts pipeline input False

Indicates that this cmdlet runs as a background job.

To use this parameter, the local and remote computers must be configured for remoting and, on Windows Vista and later versions of the Windows operating system, you must open Windows PowerShell by using the Run as administrator option.

When you specify the AsJob parameter, the command immediately returns an object that represents the background job. You can continue to work in the session while the job finishes. The job is created on the local computer and the results from remote computers are automatically returned to the local computer. To get the job results, use the Receive-Job cmdlet.

-BufferSize <Int32>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the size, in bytes, of the buffer sent with this command. The default value is 32.

-ComputerName <String[]>

This value is required
Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies the computers to ping. Type the computer names or type IP addresses in IPv4 or IPv6 format. Wildcard characters are not permitted. This parameter is required.

This parameter does not rely on Windows PowerShell remoting. You can use the ComputerName parameter even if your computer is not configured to run remote commands.

-Count <Int32>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the number of echo requests to send. The default value is 4.

-Credential <PSCredential>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a user account that has permission to send a ping request from the source computer. Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01, or enter a PSCredential object, such as one from the Get-Credential cmdlet.

The Credential parameter is valid only when the Source parameter is used in the command. The credentials do not affect the destination computer.

-DcomAuthentication <AuthenticationLevel>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the authentication level that this cmdlet uses with WMI. Test-Connection uses WMI. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

- Default. Windows Authentication - None. No COM authentication - Connect. Connect-level COM authentication - Call. Call-level COM authentication - Packet . Packet-level COM authentication - PacketIntegrity. Packet Integrity-level COM authentication - PacketPrivacy. Packet Privacy-level COM authentication - Unchanged. Same as the previous command

The default value is Packet.

-Delay <Int32>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the interval between pings, in seconds.

-Impersonation <ImpersonationLevel>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the impersonation level to use when this cmdlet calls WMI. Test-Connection uses WMI. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

- Default. Default impersonation. - Anonymous. Hides the identity of the caller. - Identify. Allows objects to query the credentials of the caller. - Impersonate. Allows objects to use the credentials of the caller.

The default value is Impersonate.

-Protocol <String>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a protocol. The acceptable values for this parameter are: DCOM and WSMan.

-Quiet [<SwitchParameter>]

Default value is False
Accepts pipeline input False

Indicates that this cmdlet suppresses all errors. If any pings succeed, this cmdlet returns $True. If all pings fail, this cmdlet returns $False.

-Source <String[]>

This value is required
Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the names of the computers where the ping originates. Enter a comma-separated list of computer names. The default is the local computer.

-ThrottleLimit <Int32>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the maximum number of concurrent connections that can be established to run this command. If you omit this parameter or enter a value of 0, the default value, 32, is used.

The throttle limit applies only to the current command, not to the session or to the computer.

-TimeToLive <Int32>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the maximum time, in seconds, that each echo request packet, or ping, is active. Enter an integer between 1 and 255. The default value is 80 (seconds). The alias of the TimeToLive parameter is TTL .

-WsmanAuthentication <String>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the mechanism that is used to authenticate the user credentials when this cmdlet uses the WSMan protocol. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

- Basic

- CredSSP

- Default

- Digest

- Kerberos

- Negotiate.

The default value is Default.

Caution: Credential Security Service Provider (CredSSP) authentication, in which the user credentials are passed to a remote computer to be authenticated, is designed for commands that require authentication on more than one resource, such as accessing a remote network share. This mechanism increases the security risk of the remote operation. If the remote computer is compromised, the credentials that are passed to it can be used to control the network session.This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable.

Inputs

None

You cannot pipe input to this cmdlet.

Outputs

System.Management.ManagementObject#root\cimv2\Win32_PingStatus, System.Management.Automation.RemotingJob,

System.Boolean This cmdlet returns a job object, if you specify the AsJob parameter. If you specify the Quiet parameter, it returns a Boolean . Otherwise, this cmdlet returns a Win32_PingStatus object for each ping.

Examples

Send echo requests to a remote computer:

PS C:\> Test-Connection "Server01"

   Source        Destination     IPV4Address     IPV6Address  Bytes    Time(ms)
   ------        -----------     -----------     -----------  -----    --------
   ADMIN1        Server01         10.59.137.44                32       0
   ADMIN1        Server01         10.59.137.44                32       0
   ADMIN1        Server01         10.59.137.44                32       0
   ADMIN1        Server01         10.59.137.44                32       1

This command sends echo request packets from the local computer to the Server01 computer. This command uses the ComputerName parameter to specify the Server01 computer, but omits the optional parameter name.

Send echo requests to several computers:
```
PS C:\> Test-Connection -ComputerName "Server01", "Server02", "Server12"
```
This command sends pings from the local computer to several remote computers.
Send echo requests from several computers to a computer:
```
PS C:\> Test-Connection -Source "Server02", "Server12", "localhost" -ComputerName "Server01" -Credential Domain01\Admin01
```
This command sends pings from different source computers to a single remote computer, Server01. It uses the Credential parameter to specify the credentials of a user who has permission to send a ping request from the source computers. Use this command format to test the latency of connections from multiple points.
Customize the test command:
```
PS C:\> Test-Connection -ComputerName "Server01" -Count 3 -Delay 2 -TTL 255 -BufferSize 256 -ThrottleLimit 32
```
This command sends three pings from the local computer to the Server01 computer. It uses the parameters of Test-Connection to customize the command.

Use this command format when the ping response is expected to take longer than usual, either because of an extended number of hops or a high-traffic network condition.
Run a test as a background job:
```
PS C:\> $job = Test-Connection -ComputerName (Get-Content "Servers.txt") -AsJob
PS C:\>  if ($job.JobStateInfo.State -ne "Running") {$Results = Receive-Job $job}
```
This example shows how to run a Test-Connection command as a Windows PowerShell background job.

The first command uses the Test-Connection cmdlet to ping many computers in an enterprise. The value of the ComputerName parameter is a Get-Content command that reads a list of computer names from the Servers.txt file. The command uses the AsJob parameter to run the command as a background job and it saves the job in the $job variable.

The second command checks to see that the job is not still running, and if it is not, it uses a Receive-Job command to get the results and store them in the $Results variable.
Ping a remote computer with credentials:
```
PS C:\> Test-Connection "Server55" -Credential Domain55\User01 -Impersonation Identify
```
This command uses the Test-Connection cmdlet to ping a remote computer. The command uses the Credential parameter to specify a user account that has permission to ping the remote computer and the Impersonation parameter to change the impersonation level to Identify.
Create a session only if a connection test succeeds:
```
PS C:\> if (Test-Connection -ComputerName "Server01" -Quiet) {New-PSSession Server01}
```
This command creates a session on the Server01 computer only if at least one of the pings sent to the computer succeeds.

The command uses the Test-Connection cmdlet to ping the Server01 computer. The command uses the Quiet parameter, which returns a Boolean value, instead of a Win32_PingStatus object. The value is $True if any of the four pings succeed and is, otherwise, $False.

If the Test-Connection command returns a value of $True, the command uses the New-PSSession cmdlet to create the PSSession .

Additional Notes

 This cmdlet uses the Win32_PingStatus class. A `Get-WMIObject Win32_PingStatus` command is equivalent to a 
 Test-Connection * command. The Source* parameter set was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. It is attributed to Microsoft Corporation and can be found here.

PowerShell Commands