What is the trace route?

A 'traceroute' is a linux/unix based command has been using for tracing a network/host.For windows, you should use 'tracert'.

Traceroute gives you details about how many routers(It says hops) you need to accross to reach that specific host/network.

I can see some other users have already given example and snapshot of traceroute.

The most important thing I want to mention is :

'Traceroute' and 'Tracert' do not work in same way but their objective is the same.

Traceroute is a linux/Unix or some OS based.Traceroute uses specific port for its operation.

Traceroute uses UDP 33434 to33534 port for echo request(Type8)

Tracert uses ICMP.

For windows you can use another command "pathping' that will also show all the hops with detail information.

Traceroute

Is a network tool used to determine the path packets take from one IP address to another.

Traceroute is a command which can show you the path a packet of information takes from your computer to one you specify. It will list all the routers it passes through until it reaches its destination, or fails to and is discarded.

Tracerout is a network tool used to determine the path packets take from one IP address to another

Traceroute is a computer network tool used to show the route taken by packets across an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

In computing, traceroute is a computer network diagnostic tool for displaying the route (path) and measuring transit delays ofpackets across an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The history of the route is recorded as the round-trip times of the packets received from each successive host (remote node) in the route (path); the sum of the mean times in each hop indicates the total time spent to establish the connection. Traceroute proceeds unless all (three) sent packets are lost more than twice, then the connection is lost and the route cannot be evaluated. Ping, on the other hand, only computes the final round-trip times from the destination point.

Tracerout tool displays the path Internet packets traverse to reach a specified destination. The tool works by identifying the IP addresses of each hop along the way to the destination network address

its useful to detect where the packet lost and needed for diagnosis

Traceroute is a tool to determine how many hops the packet has travelled before reaching its destination and also to ddetermine their identities if not hidden.

Traceroute

A traceroute, in the simplest terms, is a way to see how information travels from one computer to another. Usually, information sent from one computer does not reach the destination computer in one single jump. In fact, it usually requires several computers to transmit the information. A traceroute identifies each computer on that list, and the amount of time it takes to get from one computer to another. If there is an interruption in the transfer of data, the traceroute will show where in the chain the problem occurred.

Each computer on the traceroute is identified by its IP address, which is a9 digit number separated by periods. The journey from one computer to another is known as a 'hop.' The amount of time it takes to make a hop is measured in milliseconds. The information that travels along the traceroute is known as 'packets.' Generally, a traceroute will display three separate columns for the hop time, as each traceroute sends out three separate packets of information to each computer. At the very top of the list, the traceroute will give the limit of how many lines of hops it will display;30 hops is a typical maximum number.

Aside from being an entertaining exercise, requesting a traceroute also has more practical uses. If you are having difficulty accessing a particular website or computer, for example, performing a traceroute allows you to quickly see where the problem is occurring. When a traceroute has difficulty accessing a computer, it will display the message "Request timed out." Each of the hop columns will display an asterisk instead of a millisecond count.

On occasion, a traceroute will show one hop time, with the next two columns displaying asterisks. This usually indicates that although one packet was accepted by the computer, the other two packets were discarded. This is not unusual; due to security concerns, many computers routinely reject multiple packages, or forward them to different sources.

In the past, hackers would routinely use traceroutes to map how information moved within a given company, and then hone their attacks. Now, certain networks will not allow you to perform a traceroute to eliminate this security threat. As long as you are not attempting to tap into heavily secured networks, you can perform a traceroute using the traceroute utility on the Windows operating system. To do this, you must know the domain name, IP address, or name of the computer itself that you are trying to reach. Using the utility, you would type 'tracert x' where x stands for either the IP address, the domain name, or the computer name. Also, if you are using the Macintosh OS X or any subsequent versions, you may use either the Terminal program, or the network utility to generate a traceroute. The utility will then display the traceroute on your screen.

Tracerout is a computer network diagnostic tool for displaying the route (path) and measuring transit delays of packets across an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Similar to Ping.

Traceroute is a command which can show you the path a packet of information takes from your computer to one you specify. It will list all the routers it passes through until it reaches its destination, or fails to and is discarded. In addition to this, it will tell you how long each 'hop' from router to router takes.