public function ping()
    {
        $options = static::getOptions();
        $debug = @$options['debug'] === true;

        $gmClient = new GearmanClient();
        $gmClient->addServer($options['gearman']['host'], $options['gearman']['port']);

        $ping = $gmClient->ping(self::generateUnique());

        if ($debug)
            echo "==> Pinging job server: " . ($ping ? 'Success' : 'Failure') . PHP_EOL;

        $code = $gmClient->returnCode();
        if ($code != GEARMAN_SUCCESS)
            throw new \Exception("Ping failed ($code)");

        return $ping;
    }