Okay, so today I decided it was time to run my little routine, what I call the ‘silver ping test’. It’s nothing fancy, just my way of making sure my connection feels right, especially before settling in for a long session or when things feel a bit sluggish.
Getting Started
First thing I did was sit down at my main machine. Needed to check the line directly, you know, no Wi-Fi funny business for this. So, I made sure I was plugged in via Ethernet. Then, I popped open the command prompt. Always feels a bit old-school, but it gets the job done right.
I had a couple of servers in mind I wanted to check against. These are usually the ones that matter most for what I do online. Didn’t need anything complicated, just the standard addresses I keep handy.
Running the Test
I started simple. Just used the basic ping command. For the first server, I let it run for a bit longer than usual. Didn’t use a fixed count, just let it go with the -t option on Windows, so it pings continuously until I stop it. Watched the replies scrolling up the screen for a good minute or two.
Looked something like this in the window:
- Reply from [server IP]: bytes=32 time=22ms TTL=58
- Reply from [server IP]: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=58
- Reply from [server IP]: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=58
- …and so on.
After the first one seemed okay, I stopped it using Ctrl+C. Then I did the same for the second server address I had in mind. Again, let it run, watched the numbers.
What I Found
The results were pretty decent today, actually. Here’s the breakdown:
- Consistency: The ping times were mostly stable. For the first server, hovering around 20-25ms. The second one was a bit further, maybe 40-45ms, but it stayed in that range. No wild jumps, which is what I really look for. That’s the ‘silver’ part for me – nice and steady, not perfect gold, but reliably good.
- Packet Loss: This was key. I scanned the summary after stopping each test. Zero packet loss reported for both runs. That’s always a relief. Lost packets are the worst.
- Feel: Sometimes you just get a feel for it, watching the numbers. It felt smooth today. No long pauses between replies, no sudden ‘Request timed out’ messages popping up.
Wrapping Up
So, the ‘silver ping test’ passed today. Took maybe five minutes total. It just gives me that little bit of confidence that the line is behaving itself before I commit to anything important or time-sensitive online. It’s a simple check, really just involves running ping and paying attention to the output, but making it a small ritual helps me keep tabs on things. Connection feels solid, so I’m good to go.