Docker images are pretty minimal, But you can install ping in your official ubuntu docker image via: apt-get update apt-get install iputils-ping Chances are you dont need ping your image, and just want to use it for testing purposes. Above example will help you out. But if you need ping to exist on your image, you can create a Dockerfile or commit the container you ran the above commands in to a new image. Commit: docker commit -m "Installed iputils-ping" --author "Your Name <name@domain.com>" ContainerNameOrId yourrepository/imagename:tag Dockerfile: FROM ubuntu RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y iputils-ping CMD bash