Traceroute

How it is used

Used as a noun and a verb: run a traceroute, traceroute to a server. On Windows the command is 'tracert'. It works by sending packets with increasing TTL values, so each hop reports back in turn. Engineers attach traceroute output to tickets they open with ISPs.

Example sentences

1. The traceroute stops at the ISP's second hop, so the problem isn't inside our network.

2. Please run a traceroute to the payment provider's server and paste the output into the ticket.

Common collocations

• run a traceroute
• traceroute output
• traceroute to a host
• tracert

Related terms

• pingTo send a small test message to another device and wait for a reply, in order to check whether it can be reached and how long the round trip takes.
• hopOne step in the path of a packet, from one router to the next; the number of hops shows how many routers a packet passes through to reach its destination.
• ICMPShort for Internet Control Message Protocol: a protocol that network devices use to send error and status messages, such as 'destination unreachable'; ping and traceroute rely on it.
• latencyThe time it takes for data to travel from one point of a network to another, usually measured in milliseconds; lower latency means a faster response.
• troubleshootTo find the cause of a technical problem step by step, usually by testing one possible cause at a time, and then fix it.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• traceroute · Software Engineering

More terms: Troubleshooting and Monitoring

• outage
• go down
• downtime
• maintenance window
• packet capture
• SNMP
• network monitoring