The domain does not have to be active nor does the firewall have to allow pings to go through, the theory is could you ping it, is a path via the network possible
Requirements
Target Platforms: Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2