Github Status

External Services

fping

fping is a program to send ICMP echo probes to network hosts, similar to ping, but much better performing when pinging multiple hosts. fping has a long long story: Roland Schemers did publish a first version of it in 1992 and it has established itself since then as a standard tool.

Current maintainer:
David Schweikert <david@schweikert.ch>

Website:
https://fping.org/

Mailing-list:
https://groups.google.com/group/fping-users

Installation

If you want to install fping from source, proceed as follows:

0. Run ./autogen.sh (only if you got the source from Github).
1. Run ./configure with the correct arguments. (see: ./configure --help)
2. Run make; make install.
3. Make fping either setuid, or, if under Linux: sudo setcap cap_net_raw,cap_net_admin+ep fping

If you can't run fping as root or can't use the cap_net_raw capability, you can also run fping in unprivileged mode. This works on MacOS and also on Linux, provided that your GID is included in the range defined in /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ping_group_range. This is particularly useful for running fping in rootless / unprivileged containers. The --fwmark option needs root or cap_net_admin.

CentOS 7 RPM builds

The CentOS 7 RPM workflow builds an x86_64 RPM from the checked-out source on every push (branches and tags), or manually via Actions > CentOS 7 RPM > Run workflow. GitHub only offers the manual button after the workflow exists on the repository's default branch. Enable GitHub Actions in your fork if it is disabled. No additional secrets are needed.

The workflow runs Actions on Ubuntu and compiles inside centos:7.9.2009, using GCC 4.8, glibc 2.17 and the signed CentOS Vault repositories. It does not build on Ubuntu and relabel the result as an EL7 package. The version comes from configure.ac; the release includes the workflow run number, attempt and commit ID, for example fping-5.5-0.ci123.1.git0123456789ab.el7.x86_64.rpm. CI releases sort before a future stable 5.5-1 RPM.

After a successful run, download the fping-centos7-x86_64-... artifact from its Actions run page. It contains the binary RPM, source RPM, SHA256SUMS, package metadata and runtime dependency list. Artifacts are retained for 30 days; build logs are uploaded separately for 7 days, including when the build fails. This workflow does not publish a GitHub Release or push a container image.

Extract the artifact, verify it, and install only the binary RPM:

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS
sudo yum localinstall ./fping-*.el7.x86_64.rpm
/usr/sbin/fping --version
/usr/sbin/fping -4 -c 1 127.0.0.1
/usr/sbin/fping6 -c 1 ::1

fping6 is a symlink to the dual-stack binary. RPM installs file capabilities cap_net_raw,cap_net_admin=ep instead of a setuid executable. The workflow checks RPM installation, file integrity, IPv4/IPv6 loopback and an unprivileged user's IPv4 loopback probe. The filesystem must support file capabilities; nosuid mounts and restricted containers may prevent their use. The RPMs are not signed with a project signing key; checksums verify download integrity, not publisher identity. Existing third-party fping packages may have different release ordering or file ownership; review them before replacing an installation.

To reproduce the build locally on an x86_64 Linux Docker host:

mkdir -p artifacts
docker run --rm --platform linux/amd64 \
  --cap-add NET_RAW --cap-add NET_ADMIN \
  --sysctl net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6=0 \
  --sysctl net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6=0 \
  --mount "type=bind,source=$(pwd),target=/source,readonly" \
  --mount "type=bind,source=$(pwd)/artifacts,target=/output" \
  centos:7.9.2009 bash /source/ci/build-centos7-rpm.sh /output

CentOS 7 reached end of life on June 30, 2024. This package does not restore OS security support. Builds depend on Docker Hub and the availability of https://vault.centos.org/7.9.2009/; repository GPG and HTTPS verification remain enabled. A container validates EL7 userspace compatibility, but uses the host's kernel, so deployments on a real CentOS 7 kernel should still be tested. The existing upstream test workflow remains separate from this packaging smoke test.

EL9 RPM builds

The EL9 RPM workflow runs on every push (branches and tags), or manually via Actions > EL9 RPM > Run workflow once the workflow exists on the default branch. It builds inside rockylinux:9 using the official Rocky Linux repositories, with no additional secrets. Packages target EL9 x86_64 userspace (Rocky Linux 9, AlmaLinux 9 and RHEL 9); validate installation and behavior on your target distribution before deployment. EL7 and EL9 RPMs are separate builds and should not be installed interchangeably.

Download the fping-el9-x86_64-... artifact from the successful run. It includes binary and source RPMs, SHA256SUMS, package metadata and runtime dependencies, with the same retention and smoke tests as the CentOS 7 workflow. EL9 packages use the .el9 release suffix, for example fping-5.5-0.ci123.1.git0123456789ab.el9.x86_64.rpm.

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS
sudo dnf install ./fping-*.el9.x86_64.rpm
/usr/sbin/fping --version
/usr/sbin/fping -4 -c 3 127.0.0.1
/usr/sbin/fping6 -c 3 ::1

To reproduce locally on an x86_64 Linux Docker host:

mkdir -p artifacts
docker run --rm --platform linux/amd64 \
  --cap-add NET_RAW --cap-add NET_ADMIN \
  --sysctl net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6=0 \
  --sysctl net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6=0 \
  --mount "type=bind,source=$(pwd),target=/source,readonly" \
  --mount "type=bind,source=$(pwd)/artifacts,target=/output" \
  rockylinux:9 bash /source/ci/build-el9-rpm.sh /output

Use a separate or empty output directory for each distribution. Builds require Docker Hub and Rocky Linux repositories to be available. The rockylinux:9 tag tracks the current Rocky Linux 9 minor release; the build is not pinned to a specific container digest. These RPMs are unsigned, and container smoke tests do not replace testing on the target system's kernel and security policy.

Usage

Have a look at the fping(8) manual page for usage help. (fping -h will also give a minimal help output.)

Docker usage

You can use the current Docker image from the develop branch directly from GitHub.

Github Docker: ghcr.io/schweikert/fping:latest

The following example uses podman, but you can replace podman with docker if you prefer.

Load or update Docker image

podman pull ghcr.io/schweikert/fping:latest

Run fping

podman run --rm fping:latest 127.0.0.1

Credits

• Original author: Roland Schemers (schemers@stanford.edu)
• Previous maintainer: RL "Bob" Morgan (morgan@stanford.edu)
• Initial IPv6 Support: Jeroen Massar (jeroen@unfix.org / jeroen@ipng.nl)
• Other contributors: see CHANGELOG.md