PowerShell Test-Connection

The benefits of Test-Connection are two-fold, you can measure average response times, something that's not possible with ping, and you can employ Test-Connection as a vehicle for learning about PowerShell's mathematical cmdlets such as Measure-Object and [System:Math].

Topics for PowerShell Test-Connection

• Getting Started: Switch from Ping to Test-Connection
• PowerShell script to measure a server's response time
• Test-SystemHealth

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Test-Connection Measures Response Time for Website

Ping has been the traditional command to test connectivity.  My mission is to show how PowerShell can achieve better control through its cmdlet Test-Connection.

Getting Started: Switch from Ping to Test-Connection

Assumption: You not only have installed and setup PowerShell, but also it's PowerShell v 2.0 and not v 1.0.

Benefits of Test-Connection Compared to Ping

This following script contains 3 elements:
1) Test-Connection (Ping)
2) Measure-Object to calculate the average.
3) A static method called System.Math, which we'll use to round the number of milliseconds. 

There is no doubt that you could make a much more efficient script, however my version pays homage to divide and rule.  I believe that the easiest way to learn scripting is to break the task into chunks, then bolt all the bits together.  Furthermore, my version encourages you to make alterations, for example, change the value of $Server and the number of tests to 'count'.

Note 1:  Test-Connection is more flexible than Ping.  You can research more properties for your scripts by prefixing Get-Help to Test-Connection, also try suffixing Get-Member.

Note 2:  ResponseTime is a property of Test-Connection, the benefit of using this PowerShell cmdlet rather than ping is that we can calculate average connection times.

Note 3:  At first sight [System.Math]:: seems a strange way to call for mathematical functions such as Round, Truncate or log, however you soon get used to its ways!

Note 4:  See more on Measure-Object

Experiment:  You cannot learn without making mistakes, try changing the parameters below, some will make no sense, while others will be predictable.  Only by experimenting will you truly understand how to handle PowerShell's math functions.

One of the most attractive reasons for giving PowerShell a try is that you can still use familiar cmd.exe command such as ipconfig /all and ping in PowerShell.  Once started you, can build on existing knowledge and soon achieve higher levels of skill than were possible with cmd.exe. 

Taking ping as example, you can use the same switches that you used in DOS, but better still, switch to PowerShell's equivalent called Test-Connection.