A quick Windows 2000 command that lets you monitor network outage.

If you need to monitor a remote IP address on the Internet, for example your web page, an Internet-enabled printer, or another server, you can use the PING command at the Windows 2000 DOS prompt to see whether or not the device is active. PING displays the time it takes for communication to reach the site and back. The syntax is simple, and you may already know it.

ping SOME_SITE_ON_THE_INTERNET

To ping your own computer, the loop-back address, just type

ping 127.0.0.1

However, this only pings a device four times, and then stops. Using the "-t" parameter, however, PING will run until you press CONTROL-C at the prompt. For example:

ping -t 127.0.0.1

While this may prove useful, it can quickly fill a DOS window with tons of messages, making it hard to tell at first glance if an Internet address is not up. What you need is a way to display messages only if the intended address does not respond, or time out. Luckily, this DOS command will do the trick:

ping -t SOME_SITE_ON_THE_INTERNET | find "timed out"

Now, you will only see messages if the request times out.