PsPing vs. Ping: When to Use Each Network Tool

PsPing: A Quick Guide to PowerShell Ping Alternatives

What PsPing is

PsPing is a command-line utility from Sysinternals (Microsoft) for measuring network performance. Unlike the standard ICMP-based ping, PsPing can measure TCP and UDP latency, bandwidth, and combination tests, and it supports more detailed timing and connection options.

Key features

• Protocols: TCP, UDP, and ICMP-style latency (via TCP connect).
• Latency tests: Measures round-trip time using TCP or UDP, including jitter and percentile statistics.
• Bandwidth tests: Measures throughput by sending a stream of data and reporting Mbps.
• Port tests: Target specific TCP or UDP ports (useful when ICMP is blocked).
• Server mode: Run as a listener to accept test connections for accurate end-to-end measurements.
• Flexible sizing and timing: Control payload size, test duration, and number of iterations.
• Windows-native: Distributed as a single executable, no install required.

Common use cases

• Measuring application-layer latency when ICMP is filtered.
• Verifying TCP/UDP throughput between hosts.
• Testing specific service ports (e.g., database, web) for responsiveness.
• Baseline network performance and compare changes over time.
• Troubleshooting intermittent latency and jitter.

Example commands

• TCP latency to host example.com on port 443:

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psping -n 10 example.com:443 

• Bandwidth test (send 10 seconds of data to a server listener on port 5201):

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psping -b -n 10 -l 64k example.com:5201 

• Run server listener on port 5201:

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psping -s 5201 

Tips and caveats

• Use TCP/UDP tests when ICMP is blocked by firewalls—results reflect service-layer behavior but not raw ICMP.
• For accurate bandwidth tests, run a listener on the destination and ensure no other traffic competes.
• Interpret results relative to test configuration (payload size, parallel streams, test duration).
• PsPing reports can differ from tools like iperf because of protocol and implementation differences.

Resources

• Download from Microsoft Sysinternals site (search “PsPing Sysinternals”).
• Run psping -? for full command-line options and examples.