$p
->ping(host
[,timeout
])
Pings remote host and waits for a response. Takes the following arguments:
Specified as either the hostname or the IP number of the remote host.
Optional, must be greater than 0 seconds if specified. Defaults to whatever was specified when the ping object was created.
If
host
cannot be found or there is a problem with the IP number, returns
undef
. Otherwise, returns
1
if the host is reachable and
0
if it is not.