+proc ping_server {host port} {
+ set retval 0
+ if {[catch {
+ set fd [socket $::host $::port]
+ fconfigure $fd -translation binary
+ puts $fd "PING\r\n"
+ flush $fd
+ set reply [gets $fd]
+ if {[string range $reply 0 4] eq {+PONG} ||
+ [string range $reply 0 3] eq {-ERR}} {
+ set retval 1
+ }
+ close $fd
+ } e]} {
+ puts "Can't PING server at $host:$port... $e"
+ }
+ return $retval
+}
+