Run a continuous ping with timestamps on Linux
Keep pinging a host until interrupted while printing a Unix timestamp on every reply — perfect for correlating packet loss with events.
01Command
$ ping -D 8.8.8.802What it does
A plain `ping host` also runs forever, but its output has no timestamps, so you can't tell later which minute the 10% loss happened in. The `-D` flag prints a Unix-epoch timestamp before every line, making logs easy to cross-reference with cron jobs, reboots, or ISP outage reports. Combine with `-i 5` to slow the interval or `-c 100` to stop after a fixed number of probes.
03Risk
04Undo
✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.
05Sources
- ping(8) — send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST to network hostsEvidence: Documents -D to print timestamps before each line and -i interval / -c count semantics.
Last verified: 2026-09-17 · Category: Network
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