While Net::Ping::External neatly maneuvers around Net::Ping‘s root access requirement, sometimes you want to use a feature of Net::Ping that Net::Ping::External doesn’t provide, such as getting ping response time. (Net::Ping::External is a bit slower; timing it doesn’t provide adequately accurate data for me.)
You can ask your sysadmin to allow you sudo access to a script that uses Net::Ping, but that sometimes leads to file ownership issues.
There is another option available, provided:
1. You are using Solaris10
2. You have a pretty good relationship with your sysadmin.
Request that your sysadmin add net_icmpaccess to your entry in /etc/user_attr, as described here.
Log out & log back in to activate your new perms, and voila.
the gabriellephant 