How to test your server network connectivity
Updated 7/20/2026
When a service does not respond, a few simple commands tell you whether the problem is the network, DNS or the application.
1. ping: is the server reachable?
ping -c 4 example.com2. traceroute: where does traffic get stuck?
traceroute example.com3. dig: does DNS answer correctly?
dig example.com +short4. curl: does the web service respond?
curl -I https://example.comThe HTTP/2 200 header means the server responds correctly.
5. ss: what is listening on the server?
ss -tulnpHow to interpret
- ping fails but curl works: ICMP is probably blocked, not a real problem.
- dig does not return the right IP: a DNS problem, see DNS propagation.
- the port does not appear in ss: the service is not running or listens on another address.
- everything works locally but not from outside: check the firewall.
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