Visualizing Multi‑Host Ping with gping: Features, ICMP Deep Dive, and Installation Guide

Overview

gping is a cross‑platform command‑line tool (Windows, Linux, macOS) that visualizes ping latency as real‑time line graphs, supporting simultaneous monitoring of multiple hosts.

ICMP Message Structure

ICMP packets consist of a type field, a code field, a checksum, and a data section whose format depends on the type/code. The data section can carry arbitrary payloads, enabling encapsulation of other protocols.

Encapsulation and ICMP Tunneling

Because the data field is flexible, a sender can wrap any payload in an ICMP message, place that message inside an IP packet, and transmit it. Tunnel software typically fragments a payload, encapsulates each fragment in separate ICMP messages, and sends them to the destination, where the software reassembles the original data. This technique can bypass firewalls that allow routine ICMP traffic.

Comparison with Traditional Ping

Traditional ping prints numeric latency for a single host.

gping renders live graphical plots for one or more hosts, making visual comparison straightforward.

Key gping Options

$ gping --help

--cmd

: graph execution time of commands instead of pinging hosts. -n, --watch-interval <SECONDS>: interval between probes (default 0.2 s for ping, 0.5 s for commands). -b, --buffer <SECONDS>: length of the time window displayed (default 30 s). -4 / -6: force IPv4 or IPv6 resolution. -i, --interface <IFACE>: specify network interface. -s, --simple-graphics: use dot characters instead of braille symbols. --vertical-margin <N> and --horizontal-margin <N>: adjust graph margins. -c, --color <color>: assign line colors (hex #RRGGBB or named colors). --clear: clear the terminal after exiting.

Installation

Linux

wget https://github.com/orf/gping/releases/download/gping-v1.14.0/gping-Linux-x86_64.tar.gz
mv gping /usr/local/bin
# Verify installation
gping

The command returns an error if no host is supplied, confirming the binary is executable.

Windows

Download the Windows executable from the GitHub releases page, place it in C:/Windows, and run gping from a command prompt.

Reference

GitHub repository: https://github.com/orf/gping