PING stands for Packet InterNet Groper in computer networking field. It is a computer network administration software utility used to test the network connectivity between two systems. These systems may be any type of normal personal computer, Server, Switch, Router or Gateway. It was created to verify that the specific computer on the network exists or not.
If two systems are connected to a network, a series of packets are sent from one system to another over the network to check the connectivity in order to generate a response from the other system. Other system sends an acknowledgment to specify that the both systems are connected with each other through that network.
The PING utility was developed by Mike Muuss in December 1983 as a tool to troubleshoot problems in an IP network.
The development of PING utility software was inspired by David Mills who uses the ICMP echo packets for IP Network diagnostic and measurements.