# Verifying startup

To verify that the Derby Network Server is currently running, use the `ping` command.

You can use the `ping` command in the following ways:

- You can use the script `NetworkServerControl.bat` for Windows systems or `NetworkServerControl` for UNIX systems with the `ping` command. For example:

      NetworkServerControl ping [-h <hostname>;] [-p <portnumber>]

- You can use the NetworkServerControl `ping` command:

      java org.apache.derby.drda.NetworkServerControl
         ping [-h <hostname>] [-p <portnumber>]

- You can use the NetworkServerControl API to verify startup from within a Java application:

      ping();

The following example uses a method to verify startup. It will try to verify for the specified number of seconds:

    private static boolean isServerStarted(NetworkServerControl server, int ntries) {
        for (int i = 1; i <= ntries; i ++) {
            try {
                Thread.sleep(500);
                server.ping();
                return true;
            } catch (Exception e) {
                if (i == ntries) {
                    return false;
                }
            }
        }
        return false;
    }

Parent topic: Managing the Derby Network Server
Related concepts
Overview of Derby Network Server management
Related tasks
Setting Network Server properties