ping server status on python

1import platform    # For getting the operating system name
2import subprocess  # For executing a shell command
3
4def ping(host):
5    """
6    Returns True if host (str) responds to a ping request.
7    Remember that a host may not respond to a ping (ICMP) request even if the host name is valid.
8    """
9
10    # Option for the number of packets as a function of
11    param = '-n' if platform.system().lower()=='windows' else '-c'
12
13    # Building the command. Ex: "ping -c 1 google.com"
14    command = ['ping', param, '1', host]
15
16    return subprocess.call(command) == 0