Ping & Trace

Ping

A ping is a tool for that internet that lets a user test and verify if the targeted IP address is accessible. It also accepts request in the network administration. 

Traceroute

A traceroute is a tool for the internet that traces packets from the computer that it is sent from to the host/IP address. A packet is a large amount of data that is broken down into smaller quantities in order for the information to reach its destination. When it reaches its destination, the smaller packets are reassembled. When a trace route is done it will provide the number of hops, or transfers through different routers, taken for the packet to reach its destination. 

How to Use Ping & Traceroute Command Using Windows System

1. Locate the start menu. Once located right click and select run.
2. When the screen appears type the command cmd into textbox.
3. Click ok.
4. When the command prompt appears type ping.
5. Hit the spacebar once and then type in the name of the website (IP Address) you would like to run.
6. Press enter.

To run a traceroute the steps are all the same until step four is reach. When running a traceroute instead of typing the command ping, the command tracert is used instead. 

How to Use Ping & Traceroute Command Using MAC System

1. Locate the applications folder.
2. Select utilities.
3. Select network utilities.
4. Select ping.
5. Type the name of the website (IP Address).
6. Press enter.

To run a traceroute the steps are all the same until step four is reach. Once step four is reach instead of selecting ping, traceroute is selected. 

Ping & Traceroute Activity

The first site that was pinged was icloud. I typed in the website address/domain. The first thing that showed up once the ping begin was the websites IP Address. The ping sent four packets and each packet consisted of 32 bytes of data. The ending result was four packets were received and no packets were lost. This means that the ping was successful. The average time for the packet to leave its location and reach its destination was 35 milliseconds. A traceroute was done for the same site and again the first thing that appears when the traceroute begins is the IP Address. There was a max of 30 hops. There were 13 hops total, but the request timed out at hops 11 and 12. Although there was a timeout the trace was complete at hop 13.

 

The second site that was pinged was a website for London government. The web address used was www.london.gov.ukLinks to an external site.. Again, the websites IP Address came up first. The ping sent four packets and each packet consisted of 32 bytes of data. Four packets were received and no packets were lost. The average time for the packet to leave its location and reach its destination was 7 milliseconds. A traceroute was done for the same site and again the first thing that appears when the traceroute begins is the IP Address. There was a max of 30 hops. There were 11 hops total, but the request timed out at hops 6 and 7. Although there was a timeout the trace was complete at hop 11.

 

A traceroute was also done for google and again the first thing that appears when the traceroute begins is the IP Address. There was a max of 30 hops. There were 17 hops total and no timeouts. The traceroute was completed successfully.

Timeout

A ping command can timeout due to network problems or if the users network adapter settings are corrupt. A traceroute command can timeout due to network congestion or firewall issues.

Reflection

“The packets get routed to their destination by various networking devices such as routers and switches. When the packets arrive at their destination, the receiving device reassembles the packets in order and can then use or display the data (How the Internet Works)”.  Because of the way in which packets are sent from the source to the destination no one connection can control the network. Because a ping tests the reachability a device has on a network when a ping command is used a user is able to see if a host is reachable or not. A traceroute command literally traces the path taken by the pack to reach a destination. Because the user is able to see the path that the packet takes it can help the user determine connection issues.

Reference

How does the internet work?. Cloud Flare. (n.d.). https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/network-layer/how-does-the-internet-work/