What is ping signal?

The Malaysian government's declaration of the fate of MH370 comes from the process of analyzing "ping" signals. This technical phrase is also used a lot in the series of recent desperate days of MH370. So, what is "ping"?

The Malaysian government's declaration of the fate of MH370 comes from the process of analyzing "ping" signals. This technical phrase is also used a lot in the series of recent desperate days of MH370. So, what is "ping"?

Ping signal is a form of message sent from one device to another device. The "ping" packet contains only very little information, and after sending the "ping" packet, the sender will wait for a "echo" response from the machine receiving the ping signal. The purpose of ping is to confirm whether the machine sends a ping signal and the ping signal receiver can communicate with each other via a network connection.

The last position of MH370, according to Inmarsat's analysis

The term "ping" was invented in 1983, and according to the author of the technology, the name "ping" comes from the sounds emitted by submarine radar radar. This tracking system will continuously emit ultrasonic sounds and wait for sound waves to hit objects in the echo to the submarine, thereby identifying obstacles and ships enemy.

Similarly, ping on digital devices sends a packet of signals that require the receiver to send back the echo response packet to the source. Pinging on digital devices is primarily sent via the ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) protocol. The entire ping process will be timed, including the time information in the IMCP signal sent by the source machine. This time will then be compared to the time the source device receives the echo (echo) signal.

According to industry standards, servers and routers are required to send echo feedback signals. The source machine can perform multiple ping requests to more accurately measure the transmission time to the receiver, and also to quickly detect a connection failure.

Information from the ping test includes the minimum time to send / receive signals, average sending time, maximum time as well as differences in these numbers. Ping testing will also clarify the signal loss ratio.

According to the South China Morning Post, after the communication system on MH370 is turned off, the aircraft continues to send ping feedback that can be used to synchronize time on the plane. These ping signals are sent from an underground station to a satellite, which is then sent to the plane by the satellite. The aircraft will automatically send feedback signals to satellites and the ground.

The ping signal of MH370 does not include GPS location information, so Inmarsat (the last satellite master company to receive ping from MH370) had to use a special technique to determine the location of MH370 in the last hours in the South Indian Ocean. This remote area has no airports, so the Malaysian prime minister concluded that: "Flight MH370 ended its journey in the South Indian Ocean" on March 24.