fping

fping is a program like ping which uses the Internet Control Message Protocol to determine if a target host is responding. Contrary to it model fping can be use to target any number of targets. Its output is also designed to be easier to parse.

Command examples

To test a simple host:

fping 172.31.0.1
172.31.0.1 is alive

To scan an entire network by sending just one packet by IP:

fping -a -r 0 -g 172.31.0.0/24

You can make the process faster by decreasing the interval between packet with the -i parameter:

fping -a -i 1 -r 0 -g 172.31.0.0/24

To use a list of IP:

fping -a < host_list.txt