---
title: Supported commands
description: "When your internet feels sluggish or a website refuses to load, knowing a few basic diagnostic commands can save you time and frustration. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through four essential tools—**Ping, Nslookup, Traceroute, and Dig**—that help you understand and…"
url: "https://ssh-assistant.com/docs/supported-commands/"
updated: "2025-12-17"
category: Site Load Tester / Network Diagostics
---

# Supported commands

When your internet feels sluggish or a website refuses to load, knowing a few basic diagnostic commands can save you time and frustration. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through four essential tools—**Ping, Nslookup, Traceroute, and Dig**—that help you understand and troubleshoot network connectivity issues.

## 1. Ping: Testing Connectivity

**Purpose:** Ping checks whether a server is reachable and measures how quickly data travels back and forth.

**How It Works:**

- Sends ICMP packets to a target server.
- Measures round-trip time (RTT).
- Reports packet loss percentage.
- By default, runs 10 pings or 10 seconds.

**Basic Syntax:** bash

```
ping example.com
ping 8.8.8.8
ping -c 20 example.com
```

**Interpreting Results:**

- `time=45ms` → Response time (lower is better).
- `icmp_seq=0` → Packet sequence number.
- `ttl=56` → Time to live (remaining hops).

**Response Time Guide:**

- < 20ms → Excellent (local server).
- 20–50ms → Good (most websites).
- 50–100ms → Fair (distant servers).
- 100–200ms → Poor (sluggish).
- 200ms → Bad (noticeable delays).

**Packet Loss Guide:**

- 0% → Perfect.
- < 1% → Excellent.
- 1–3% → Good.
- 3–5% → Fair.
- 5% → Poor.

**Connection Quality Grades:**

- A = Excellent (<30ms avg, 0% loss).
- B = Good (<50ms avg, <1% loss).
- C = Fair (<100ms avg, <3% loss).
- D = Poor (<200ms avg, <5% loss).
- F = Bad (>200ms avg or >5% loss).

**When to Use:**

- Website won’t load → Ping the domain.
- Slow browsing → Check response times.
- Internet issues → Ping Google DNS (8.8.8.8).
- Server monitoring → Regular pings for uptime.

## 2. Nslookup: DNS Lookups Made Simple

**Purpose:** Nslookup queries DNS servers to translate domain names into IP addresses.

**Basic Syntax:** bash

```
nslookup example.com
nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8
nslookup -type=MX example.com
```

**Output Explained:**

- **Server:** DNS server used.
- **Address:** IP address(es) returned.
- **Record Types:**
  - A → IPv4
  - AAAA → IPv6
  - MX → Mail servers
  - NS → Nameservers
  - TXT → Text records

**When to Use:**

- Website not loading → Verify DNS resolution.
- Email issues → Check MX records.
- DNS problems → Compare results with Google (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1).
- Domain setup → Confirm IP mapping.

## 3. Traceroute: Mapping the Path

**Purpose:** Traceroute shows the path your data takes across the internet.

**Basic Syntax:** bash

```
traceroute example.com
traceroute 8.8.8.8
```

**Output Example:** Code

```
1. 192.168.1.1 (2ms) - Your router
2. 10.0.0.1 (8ms) - ISP gateway
3. * * * - Timeout (normal)
4. 93.184.216.34 (45ms) - Destination
```

**What to Look For:**

- Sudden time spikes → Bottleneck.
- `* * *` → Router blocking ICMP (normal).
- Request timeout → Problem at that hop.
- High time early → Local/ISP issue.
- High time late → Destination issue.

**When to Use:**

- Slow connection → Identify delays.
- Connection drops → Spot failing routers.
- ISP troubleshooting → Pinpoint external vs internal issues.

## 4. Dig: Advanced DNS Queries

**Purpose:** Dig provides detailed DNS information, more comprehensive than Nslookup.

**Basic Syntax:** bash

```
dig example.com
dig example.com MX
dig example.com NS
dig example.com TXT
dig @8.8.8.8 example.com
```

**Output Sections:**

- **Query Time:** Duration of DNS query.
- **Server:** DNS server queried.
- **Answer Section:** DNS records found.
- **Authority Section:** Authoritative nameservers.
- **Additional Section:** Related records.

**Record Types:**

- A → IPv4
- AAAA → IPv6
- MX → Mail servers
- NS → Nameservers
- TXT → SPF/DKIM records
- CNAME → Domain alias

**When to Use:**

- Full DNS diagnostics.
- Email troubleshooting (MX records).
- Domain verification (NS, TXT).
- Compare DNS responses across servers.

# 5. Whois: Domain Registration Insights

**Purpose:** Whois provides detailed information about a domain’s registration, ownership, and configuration.

**What It Does:**

- Displays domain registration details.
- Shows registrar information.
- Lists registration and expiration dates.
- Reveals nameservers.
- Indicates domain status (locked, active, etc.).
- Typically completes in 5–10 seconds.

**Basic Syntax:** bash

```
whois example.com
```

**Understanding Whois Output:** The output includes comprehensive domain data such as:

- **Registrar:** The company managing the domain.
- **Registration Date:** When the domain was first registered.
- **Expiration Date:** When the domain must be renewed.
- **Nameservers:** DNS servers associated with the domain.
- **Status:** Domain lock status and other flags.
- **Contact Information:** Registrant, admin, and technical contacts (if publicly available).

**Example Command:**

- `whois example.com` → Retrieves full domain registration details.

**When to Use:**

- Check domain expiration dates.
- Identify domain owner information (if public).
- Verify nameserver configuration.
- Confirm domain availability.
- Research registration details for auditing or troubleshooting.

**Note:** Whois output can be lengthy. Results are displayed in a scrollable output box, and you can copy the entire output to your clipboard using the **Copy** button.