Traveling Through a Network: Understanding Ping and Traceroute Commands

Using the ping and Traceroute commands can provide valuable insights into how packets travel through a network and help troubleshoot internet connection problems. “A computer communicates via the Internet by sending a packet, containing information like an address for a destination computer, the data size, and the data itself” (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019).

Traceroute Result Analysis: The Traceroute command reveals the path packets take to reach a destination, hop by hop, showing the IP addresses and roundtrip times for each hop. In the example provided, we traced the route to "google.com" (IP address 142.250.217.78) from the local network. The first hop is the local router with a minimal roundtrip time (3ms). Subsequent hops traverse through various routers within Comcast's network. Eventually, the packets reach Google's servers with an increasing roundtrip time.

The ping command measures the roundtrip time for a packet to travel from the source to the destination and back. It provides a single roundtrip time measurement and can help determine if a destination is reachable and how long it takes for a response to return (Levent-Levi, 2023). Traceroute, on the other hand, reveals the entire path that packets take, displaying each hop's IP address and roundtrip time. This can be invaluable for diagnosing network issues, identifying bottlenecks, and understanding the route packets are following.

Several factors, including geographical distance, network congestion, and routing decisions, influence the roundtrip time (often referred to as latency). In the provided Traceroute, roundtrip time is influenced by geographical location and network conditions, and these commands provide insights into these aspects of network performance (Michaelson, 2021). This is a common observation as data traveling longer distances or passing through multiple network nodes typically incurs higher latency.

Ping can determine if a destination is reachable. If a ping request times out or returns an error, it suggests a connectivity issue between the source and destination. It can help identify network latency problems. Consistently high ping times may indicate network congestion or other issues. Traceroute shows the specific path packets take, making it helpful in identifying network bottlenecks or routing problems. If one or more hops in the traceroute result have significantly higher latency or timeout errors, it can pinpoint where the problem is occurring in the network.

A ping request might time out if the destination is unreachable, firewalled, or a network issue prevents a response. It can also happen due to high packet loss. Traceroute may return an error if it encounters firewalls, filters, or routers configured not to respond to traceroute requests. It can also fail if it encounters network congestion that prevents it from reaching the destination.

To support my data I ran a ping command for Google, an AU site, and a CN site. I looked at how many packets were sent, received, and lost, and the range of response time. I then did a Traceroute command for the same sites and looked at: # of router hops, time it takes, and if it failed before reaching its destination. 

In conclusion, both ping and Traceroute are valuable tools for troubleshooting network issues and understanding how packets travel through a network. 



References:

Levent-Levi, T. (2023, March 21). Round-trip time. Spearline. https://www.spearline.com/blog/what-is-round-trip-time-and-how-it-relates-to-network-latency/

Michaelson, G. (2021, November 26). What are Ping and Traceroute, really?. APNIC Blog. https://blog.apnic.net/2021/06/21/what-are-ping-and-traceroute-really/

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). Computing technology for all. zyBooks.

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