Are you interested in conducting an online traceroute test on your IP address? Naturally, many users are intrigued by the internet and how data packets are transferred between devices. The web is a complex space where dozens of actions are performed in seconds.

But, it gets interesting when it comes to data transfer and knowing which path a packet takes to reach the destination. For example, the network request is initiated when you put in a website’s URL on the browser. So, the data has to pass through many places before reaching the destination.

A traceroute tool finds and displays these locations to the users. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? Keep on reading to learn about the traceroute tool.

Traceroute tool

A traceroute tool like the name suggests is an online tool to track packets’ pathways and transit delays on an IP network. It keeps a track record of every path the data takes to reach its destination. Users need the IP address or domain name to track these paths.

Traceroute is a computer program that was released in 1987. All the traceroute tools work around the schedule to track data packets’ paths and transit delays. The device also keeps track of every hop till the destination point and displays it.

Windows operating systems refer to traceroute as tracert, while Linux systems call it traceroute. It uses ICMP packets to record ways from one network to another on the web. Additionally, it measures the time each hop takes to reach the destination. 

The traceroute tool is valuable and reliable. The best thing about it is that it’s a free web-based tool that doesn’t require any subscription or registration. But, some networks frequently block the traceroute messages due to various reasons. This can result in inaccurate or incomplete results.

How to Use the Traceroute Tool

Using the traceroute tool is not at all complex or challenging. Even first-time users can quickly locate delays in data packets using this software. It is web-based, and the best thing is that it’s free for unlimited searches.

To use the traceroute tool, follow these steps:

• Open the online-traceroute.php website using your web browser.
• The device will instantly open and be ready to use.
• Enter your domain or IP address in the search bar and press the ‘trace route’ button.
• The device will quickly trace all the routes the network requested for that specific IP or domain and display it.
• The search will look something like this:

 Start: 2022-08-18T00:05:05+0500

HOST: DNSChecker.org Loss% Snt Last Avg Best Wrst StDev

  1.|– ??? 100.0 3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

  2.|– 10.74.132.219 0.0% 3 0.6 1.1 0.6 2.0 0.8

  3.|– 138.197.251.12 0.0% 3 7.3 10.0 1.3 21.5 10.4

• All the routes will be displayed, and you can get the IPv4 or IPv6 results based on your network type.
• You can also use other tools like IP Pinger, IP to location, and IP to Hostname by clicking on the buttons on the page’s center-right side. 

Bonus tip: To know your device’s IP address and for the traceroute tool, search ‘what’s my IP?’ on Google. 

Measure IP Path

As discussed above, the traceroute tool tracks the pathways of a data packet of specific IP addresses. But, how are the IP pathways measured? First, the data packets are sent between different networks using TTL values. The time to live values means the period or duration for which any particular data or a packet stays on a network. 

Once the packets reach a network router, the TTL is increased. The packets are mostly ICMP or Internet Control Message Protocol echo packets. Various protocols are used. The reason for different protocols is that some network firewalls or routers may end up blocking the packets.

If that happens, the pathway will be left incomplete. So, using a number of different protocols guarantees a complete pathway as the packets easily pass through the system. 

After that time passes, the packet is discarded by the network. The traceroute commands help users find the pathways or paths packets take to travel between two networks. When a computer connects with another network, multiple routers (hops) are mostly used to transfer the data.

The traceroute command will bring back all the internet protocols of routers between two such connections. The traceroute tool is handy for pinpointing network delays and loops between networks. 

Conclusion

Now that you know how the packets on the web work, you can better understand network science. If ever the need be, you can easily locate and identify pathways of your IP packets. The traceroute tool will display all the passed locations in a few moments.