Final answer:
Using the ping command, one can determine the average round-trip time it takes for a packet to travel to the destination and back, and whether the destination device is reachable through the network. It does not give information about the number of routers or the IP address of the nearest router.
Step-by-step explanation:
The ping command is a diagnostic utility used in networking to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. By using the ping command, two primary things can be determined:
- The average time it takes a packet to reach the destination and for the response to return to the source (this is often referred to as latency or round-trip time).
- Whether the destination device is reachable through the network, indicating if the device is operational and connected within the network path.
However, the ping command does not provide direct information about the number of routers between the source and destination device or the IP address of the router nearest the destination device. For these types of information, a different command, like traceroute, would be used.