import subprocess
import platform

hostname = "something"

# ping parameters
# -c (count): number of packets to send
# -W (timeout): time to wait for a response, in seconds
ping_count = 5
ping_timeout = 1

# determine the system type (Windows or Unix-based)
system = platform.system().lower()
if system == "windows":
    ping_args = ["ping", "-n", str(ping_count), "-w", str(ping_timeout * 1000), hostname]
else:
    ping_args = ["ping", "-c", str(ping_count), "-W", str(ping_timeout), hostname]

# run the ping command
result = subprocess.run(ping_args, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)

# check if the ping was successful
if result.returncode == 0:
    print(f"{hostname} is reachable.")
else:
    print(f"{hostname} is unreachable.")