Traceroute
See the path your data takes across the internet: every router between our server and the destination, which company runs each network, and where delays build up. Trace to your own connection to check the route into your internet provider.
- Every hop, up to 30
- Network owner and country
- Delay per hop
Reading a traceroute
- Each line is a router that passed your data on. The number is how many steps away it is.
- No reply just means that router doesn't answer traceroute probes. It's normal and the data still goes through, as long as later hops answer.
- A jump in time that stays high for all later hops shows where delay is added, often an undersea cable or a busy link. A jump on one hop only is usually just a router that's slow to answer probes.
- A new network is where your data passes from one company to another, such as from our host to a transit provider, then to your ISP.
Run one from your own computer
- Windows: open Command Prompt and type
tracert example.com, orpathping example.comfor loss at each hop. - Mac and Linux: open Terminal and type
traceroute example.com. On Linux,mtr example.comgives a live view. - Comparing your own trace with ours shows whether a problem is near you, in the middle, or near the destination.
- Use the Ping Test for a quick up-or-down check.