Introduction

A server administrator or user may need to disable PING or ICMP temporary replies from an Ubuntu server for several reasons, including:

1. Security.
2. Avoiding network congestion.
3. Preventing network flooding ping hostname -f.

This guide explains how to temporarily disable and re-enable PING or ICMP replies from an Ubuntu Server 16.04.2 using the command line.

Prerequisites

1. Ubuntu Server 16.04.2.
2. Root or sudo access to the server.

Implementation

Follow the instructions below to disable PING or ICMP replies from the Ubuntu server temporarily.

Step 1: Disable PING or ICMP Replies

From the command line, run:

echo "1" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all

This temporarily disables ICMP echo replies from the server.

Step 2: Re-enable PING or ICMP Replies

To re-enable PING and ICMP replies, run:

echo "0" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all

Alternatively, you can reboot the server to restore the setting.

Note: This configuration is temporary. Once the server is rebooted, the setting will be reset, so you will need to apply it again if required.

Conclusion

Using the /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all setting, you can temporarily disable PING or ICMP replies on Ubuntu Server 16.04.2. Setting the value to 1 disables the replies, while setting it to 0 re-enables them.

FAQs

1. How do I temporarily disable ping on Ubuntu?

Run:

echo "1" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all

2. How do I enable ping again?

Run:

echo "0" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all

3. Will this setting remain after a reboot?

No. The setting is temporary and will be reset after the server is rebooted.

4. Does disabling ping block all network connections?

No. This setting specifically disables ICMP echo replies. Other network services, such as SSH, can continue to operate normally.

5. Why would an administrator disable ICMP replies?

It may be done for security considerations, to reduce unnecessary network traffic, or to avoid certain types of ping-based network flooding.

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