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Testing Network connection.

Ping: You can test if a network connection exists by pinging the other computer.

  • Open a command prompt
    • Type “ping <Remote Machine Name or IP address>” and press enter.

Telnet: You should also test the connection using telnet as this allows you to specify the TCP port.

  • Open a command prompt
  • Type in "telnet <IP ADDRESS OF SERVER PC> <PORT>" and press enter.
    • For example, we would type “telnet 192.168.1.100 21379”
  • If a blank screen appears then the port is open, and the test is successful.
  • If you receive a connecting... message or an error message then something is blocking that port.  It could be the Windows firewall, a third party firewall like Norton's or a hardware firewall between the PCs.

What a successful test will tell you:

  • If you can both ping and telnet to the other computer, this shows that there is a network connection and the port is open between the two computers.

What to do if you had problems during this test:

  • Verify the computers are physically connected to the same network.
  • Contact your Network Administrator. Their may be a firewall between the machines.
  • The IP address should always be tested in case the host name could not be resolved.
  • Some domains block telnet and ping as a security measure, and this test will not work in all cases.