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How to Allow Ping to Your VPS From an External IP

External ping requires matching ICMP or ICMPv6 allow rules in both the VPS provider firewall and the guest operating system. This guide shows how to scope sources, configure Google Cloud, OpenStack, or EC2 rules, add nftables allowances, test from outside, and diagnose timeouts.
Length10 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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To make an external ping reach your VPS, allow inbound ICMP (for IPv4) or ICMPv6 (for IPv6) in both places that can filter traffic: the VPS provider’s cloud firewall or security group and the firewall inside the guest operating system. A public IP address does not bypass either deny rule.

Ping has no TCP or UDP port to open. You must select the ICMP protocol, restrict the rule to the monitor or administrator’s public CIDR where possible, then test from a network that is genuinely outside the provider’s private network.

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How the packet reaches your VPS

An echo request can be discarded before Linux ever sees it. The path normally has at least two independent policy layers:

  1. Provider layer: a VPC firewall, network ACL, or security-group rule decides whether traffic addressed to the VPS is delivered to its virtual network interface.
  2. Guest layer: nftables, iptables, UFW, firewalld, or another host firewall decides whether the operating system accepts the request and sends an echo reply.

Both layers must allow the same address family and source range. Allowing ICMP in the guest while the provider firewall drops it produces a timeout; allowing it at the provider while a host-level drop rule remains in place produces the same symptom.

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IPv4 and IPv6 are separate rules

For IPv4, choose ICMP protocol number 1. For IPv6, choose ICMPv6 protocol number 58. Cloud consoles commonly present separate protocol and source-range fields for the two families. An IPv4 rule does not make an IPv6 address respond, and an IPv6 rule does not make an IPv4 address respond.

There is no ping port

Do not create a rule for TCP 22, UDP 53, or any other destination port to enable ping. Echo request and echo reply are ICMP message types. In nftables, the relevant match is icmp type echo-request for IPv4 and icmpv6 type echo-request for IPv6.

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Prepare the source and destination details

Before editing a rule, write down the public address you will test and the source address that should be permitted. A monitoring service may publish one or more fixed CIDR ranges; an office or home connection may have one address today and a different address after the ISP changes it.

  • Destination: the VPS’s actual public IPv4 address, public IPv6 address, or both.
  • Source: the external tester’s public address or the smallest CIDR that contains all approved testers.
  • Address family: use an IPv4 source and destination together, or an IPv6 source and destination together.
  • Target: the exact VPS, network tag, interface, or security group to which the provider rule applies.

To discover what address a test host is using, check the address shown by the monitoring platform or an IP-discovery service from that host. Do not assume that the private address shown by an operating-system command is the source seen by the cloud firewall; NAT can replace it with the router’s public address.

Add the provider firewall or security-group rule

Create an ingress allow rule. Select ICMP rather than TCP or UDP, set the source to the tester’s public CIDR, and target only the VPS or its intended group. If your provider has an explicit IPv6 option, create a second rule for ICMPv6 and the approved IPv6 source range.

Google Cloud

Google Cloud’s firewall documentation describes an ingress rule that permits ICMP and supports separate IPv4 and IPv6 source ranges. The documented command pattern includes --direction=INGRESS, --action=ALLOW, --rules=icmp, and --source-ranges=.... A narrowly scoped example is:

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gcloud compute firewall-rules create allow-icmp-from-monitor 
  --direction=INGRESS 
  --action=ALLOW 
  --rules=icmp 
  --source-ranges=203.0.113.44/32

203.0.113.44/32 is an example single-host CIDR; replace it with the tester’s real public address. Select the correct VPC network and, if your design uses them, target tags or service accounts so the rule reaches the intended VPS and not every instance. Google’s default network is documented as having a default-allow-icmp rule, but custom networks and edited defaults may not. Verify the effective rules attached to the instance rather than relying on a rule name.

For IPv6, use the provider console or command form that specifies ICMPv6 and an IPv6 source range. Google documents IPv4 and IPv6 source ranges as distinct controls; an IPv4 0.0.0.0/0 source does not cover IPv6. The broad IPv4 range allows every IPv4 source, so it should be used only when that exposure is intentional.

OpenStack

OpenStack security groups deny unmatched inbound traffic by default. The documented way to allow ping is:

openstack security group rule create --protocol icmp SECURITY_GROUP

Replace SECURITY_GROUP with the group attached to the VPS. OpenStack also provides options to constrain the rule’s remote source range or to reference another security group. Use those options when only a monitoring network or a management group should be able to send echo requests. Confirm that the group is attached to the correct server port; creating a rule in an unused group has no effect.

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Amazon EC2 security groups

AWS describes ping as ICMP traffic and requires an inbound ICMP rule in the instance’s security group. In the console, add an inbound custom ICMP rule, choose the echo-request type when the interface offers message-type selection, and enter the tester’s public IPv4 or IPv6 CIDR. Check every security group attached to the network interface and any network ACL that can impose an additional deny. A rule in a different, unattached group will not change the packet path.

Provider settings that are easy to overlook

  • Rule direction: ping begins as inbound traffic at the VPS, so an egress-only allowance cannot permit the initial request.
  • Rule priority: some firewalls evaluate an explicit deny before a later allow. Move the allow above the deny or adjust its priority.
  • Target selection: tags, labels, interfaces, projects, and security-group attachments can silently leave the VPS outside the rule’s scope.
  • Public address association: a reserved address that is not attached to this instance, or a load-balancer address that does not forward ICMP, will not reach the guest.
  • Logging: enable provider flow or firewall logging temporarily if available. A log entry proves the provider received the packet; it does not prove the guest accepted it.

Allow echo requests in the guest firewall

After the provider rule is active, inspect the VPS’s local policy. Identify the frontend actually managing the rules. Editing nftables directly while UFW or firewalld reloads its own configuration can make a change disappear or be superseded by a later drop.

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nftables IPv4 rule

In an existing inet table and input chain, add an accept rule matching echo requests:

nft add rule inet filter input ip protocol icmp icmp type echo-request accept

The rule must be evaluated before a later rule that drops the same packet. If your table or chain has a different name, substitute those names. Use nft list ruleset to inspect the active order and verify that the rule appears in the chain receiving traffic from the public interface.

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nftables IPv6 rule

Add a separate match for IPv6:

nft add rule inet filter input ip6 nexthdr icmpv6 icmpv6 type echo-request accept

On systems with a dedicated IPv6 table, place the equivalent icmpv6 type echo-request rule in that table’s input chain. Neighbor discovery and other ICMPv6 control messages are important to IPv6 operation, so do not replace a complete IPv6 policy with a blanket drop or an overly broad exception.

Persist the change

The commands above alter the running ruleset. Save them using the persistence mechanism supplied by your distribution, or add the equivalent rule to the configuration managed by UFW or firewalld. Reload the firewall and reboot-test it on a maintenance window. A rule that works until the next restart is not a reliable monitoring configuration.

UFW, firewalld, and other frontends

If the VPS uses UFW, firewalld, a hosting control panel, or a vendor agent, create the equivalent ICMP echo-request allowance through that frontend and confirm its generated nftables or iptables rules. Command names and support for ICMP message types vary by distribution and release, so do not paste an iptables example into a host whose active backend is nftables without checking the resulting rules. The essential result is an ordered accept for the approved source and address family, followed by the existing default policy for everything else.

Test from a truly external network

Run the test from a host that is not inside the VPS provider’s private network, VPN, or peering fabric. A request from another instance in the same VPC may take a different path and can succeed even when the public path is blocked.

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  1. From an external IPv4 host, run ping -4 <VPS_PUBLIC_IPV4>.
  2. From an external IPv6 host, run ping -6 <VPS_PUBLIC_IPV6>.
  3. Send several requests and note whether you receive replies, timeouts, or an unreachable message.
  4. At the same time, watch provider firewall logs and the nftables rule counters with nft list ruleset.

Some operating systems resolve a hostname to IPv6 first. Testing with explicit -4 and -6 avoids mistaking a failed IPv6 path for a failed IPv4 path. If the VPS has no routeable IPv6 address, an IPv6 ping cannot work regardless of firewall settings.

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Use counters and logs to locate a timeout

A timeout is a symptom, not a layer diagnosis. Check the controls in order:

No packet or counter at the provider

If the provider firewall shows no matching request, investigate the tester’s actual public address, the destination address association, the rule’s target, and any upstream network policy. A home or corporate network may block outbound ICMP before the packet leaves. Confirm the test with a second external network when possible.

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The provider sees the request, but the host counter stays at zero

The packet may not be reaching the guest interface. Common causes are an incorrect public address, a load balancer or NAT service that does not forward ICMP, a provider rule attached to another interface, or an IPv4/IPv6 family mismatch. Check the VPS interface addresses and routes and verify that the rule targets that interface or instance.

The host counter increments, but no reply returns

A later drop rule, a kernel ICMP setting, or a routing problem is likely. Inspect the complete nftables chain order, not just the newly added line. Check reverse-path routing and the default route, then confirm that the reply uses the same address family as the request. A host can receive an IPv6 echo request yet fail to return it if its IPv6 route or address configuration is incomplete.

IPv4 works while IPv6 fails

Treat this as two independent configurations. Verify that the VPS has a globally routeable IPv6 address and default route, add an ICMPv6 provider rule with the tester’s IPv6 CIDR, and add the guest’s icmpv6 type echo-request allowance. Provider documentation treats IPv4 and IPv6 controls separately, so copying the IPv4 rule is insufficient.

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Choose a safe source range

The quickest test is often a rule from every IPv4 source (0.0.0.0/0) or every IPv6 source (::/0). That proves whether the path works, but it also lets any Internet host send echo requests. Google Cloud’s guidance recommends specifying the particular IPv4 or IPv6 ranges needed instead of all sources.

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For routine monitoring, permit only the monitoring service’s published CIDR. For administration, permit the office, VPN, or bastion range rather than an individual laptop if addresses rotate within that managed network. If your ISP changes a residential address frequently, use a VPN with a stable egress address or update the rule through automation instead of leaving a global rule permanently open.

What allowing ping exposes

nftables documentation notes that accepting echo requests lets probes discover that the host is alive. That is the principal security trade-off. Ping does not open a TCP service or authenticate a user, but it adds observable response traffic and can attract high-rate probes. Keep the source narrow, rate-limit where your firewall supports it, and monitor counters. Do not confuse hiding ping with hardening exposed services: SSH, web services, databases, and management interfaces still need their own authentication and access controls.

Make the configuration reproducible

Record the provider rule name, target, protocol, source CIDR, and address family in the same infrastructure configuration used for the VPS. Store the nftables or frontend rule in version control, and apply it during provisioning so replacement instances receive the same policy. Include a post-deployment test from an external monitoring location.

  • Document why each source CIDR is allowed and who owns it.
  • Keep IPv4 and IPv6 rules visibly separate.
  • Set an expiration or review date for temporary /0 rules.
  • Verify rule counters after deployment and after a firewall reload.
  • Remove stale monitor addresses when a provider changes its published ranges.

Common mistakes and their fixes

Symptom Likely mistake Fix
SSH works but ping times out SSH’s TCP rule exists, but ICMP is denied at the provider or guest layer. Add the correctly scoped ICMP echo-request allowance in both layers.
Rule for port 22 or 443 did nothing Ping is not TCP or UDP and has no destination port. Select ICMP or ICMPv6, not a port-based rule.
Only one monitoring site works The rule allows one source address, while the service uses several CIDRs or NAT egress points. Use the service’s complete published ranges, or consolidate monitoring through a fixed egress.
Change disappears after reboot The running nftables rule was never persisted, or a frontend overwrote it. Save it in the active firewall frontend and reboot-test the configuration.
IPv4 succeeds, IPv6 times out Only the IPv4 protocol, source range, or host rule was configured. Create and verify the separate ICMPv6 provider and guest rules and the IPv6 route.
Provider logs traffic but the host sees none The public address, interface target, or forwarding path is wrong. Check address association, interface attachment, load-balancer behavior, and family selection.

When you should not allow public ping

Some environments intentionally block unsolicited ICMP to reduce reconnaissance or unwanted traffic. If your monitoring system can check a TCP service, HTTPS endpoint, or an agent connection instead, that may provide a more meaningful health signal. Do not enable public ping merely because a dashboard has a generic “host down” alert; first decide whether reachability of the network layer is the property you need to measure.

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If you do need network-layer monitoring, a narrowly scoped rule is usually preferable to a global one. Keep the provider and guest policies aligned, retain logs or counters long enough to troubleshoot, and review the allowance whenever the VPS moves networks or changes address.

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