This utility will make a socket connection to a server on port 80 and request
a resource (generally "/"), but you can request a specific page. If it is
successful in making a connection and the server returns the requested resource
you'll receive an "Alive" message. HTTP Ping is useful for determining if a
webserver is responding to requests (is alive) and with a small amout of
modification to this script it can be incorporated into your existing page to
do something like test if a server is responding before redirecting your visitor
there.
