asmping(1)

📦 version 0.9.1, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 asmping — the manual, but make it make sense 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the asmping(1) page, straight outta the General Commands Manual section of the docs. grab a boba, we're talking multicast 🌸

✨ NAME ✨

asmping — check if you can receive IPv4/IPv6 multicast data from an internet host 🦋

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

asmping [ -46v ] [ -I interface ] [ -c count ] [ -s size ] group host

ssmpingd

like. that's the whole vibe. two lil programs, one whole manual page 💅

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so asmping and ssmpingd are network level multicast management tools, and their whole job is checking whether you can actually receive multicast packets via ASM from a host. that's it. that's the mission 🫶

here's the tea though, and it's important: the host you hand to asmping must be running the ssmpingd daemon. ssmpingd is sitting there listening on UDP port 4321 for IPv4 and IPv6 unicast requests. the second it gets one, it responds to the multicast group that asmping just joined. teamwork, honestly 👑

⚠️ but babes, listen — you can not use arbitrary groups. nope. no choosing your own adventure here. independent of what group is specified, the last quarter of the address is forced to be 234 or ::4321:1234 for IPv4 or IPv6 respectively. the tool decides. you just vibe. 💀

💅 OPTIONS 💅

first thing first: for ssmpingd there are no options. zero. none. it's giving minimalism ✨

for asmping though, the options are as follows, bestie:

  • -4 — Force IPv4 💙
  • -6 — Force IPv6 💜
  • -v — Print client and server version information. like a lil receipts check 🧾
  • -I interface — Interface to join on 🌉
  • -c count — Stop after sending (and receiving) count requests (and replies). so it doesn't go forever, periodt 🛑
  • -s size — Request replies to have a size of size bytes 📏

🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

  • ssmping(1) — a tool for checking whether can receive SSM. (yes that's the actual phrasing, we're keeping it, it's iconic) 🍓
  • dbeacon(1) — a distributed beacon multicast implementation. 🔥

😭 BUGS 😭

found one? please report them to Stig Venaas <venaas@uninett.no>, the author of this tool. be nice, he built the whole thing 🫶

👑 HISTORY 👑

asmping and ssmpingd were developed by Stig Venaas during the early days of the m6bone, the IPv6 multicast backbone. yes, the early days. certified OG behaviour, no cap 🏆

and that's the page!! this lil beauty lives under User Manuals as asmping(1) — go forth and multicast responsibly bestie, mwah 💖💅✨

📦 where this page comes from