Traveling Through a Network

The ping and traceroute commands are valuable tools for diagnosing problems with internet connectivity.

Ping

When processing a ping for Google.com, four packets were sent and received. The speeds ranged between 34 and 43 milliseconds (ms), averaging 37ms. All replies had the same time to live (TTL) value of 117 and were received from the IP Address associated with Google.com. Results: Google Ping

Three additional sites hosted in different regions include seek.com.au, blog.jp, and google.com.jp. Seek.com.au sent four packets, and all four timed out, resulting in a 100% loss. The same results occurred for blog.jp. Wanting to see if a more globally recognized site would generate different results, I also pinged Google.co.jp. This ping resulted in four packets sent and received, ranging in speed from 34ms and 36ms, an average roundtrip time of 35ms, and TTLs of 117. Results: Regional Ping

Traceroute

The next step was to run traceroutes on the previously pinged sites. Google.com resulted in a successful traceroute of 14 hops with the fastest average roundtrip time of just over 4ms, drastically increasing to just over 22ms from my ISP. Slight increases occurred throughout the traceroute, maxing at one router's average roundtrip time of about 75ms. The traceroute ran on Seek.com.au returned eight consecutive hops, followed by a timeout, an additional hop, another timeout, five more successful hops, and 14 timed-out responses. The range in speeds was 3ms to 311ms. Blog.jp returned 14 successful hops, followed by 16 hops resulting in "Request timed out" errors. Speeds ranged from 4ms to 749ms. Finally, a traceroute to Google.com.jp was completed successfully, resulting in 14 hops without errors. The quickest average ms was from my home router, followed by my ISP network. From these first two hops, the average ms increases in one instance as large as 105ms. Results: Google Traceroute; Seek Traceroute; Blog Traceroute; Google JP Traceroute

Traveling Through a Network Reflection

The ping command sends a single packet of data to a destination and measures the time it takes for the packet to be sent and received. This time is known as the "roundtrip time" in milliseconds. The ping command helps check the basic connectivity to a destination and can be used to diagnose problems with a network connection. On the other hand, the traceroute command sends three packets to a destination, each with a different "time to live" (TTL) value. This process allows the traceroute command to trace the path the packets take as they pass through various network routers on their way to the destination. The traceroute command can diagnose routing problems and other issues that may affect the path of the packets.

If the ping or traceroute command times out or returns with an error response, there could be several possible reasons. One possible explanation is that the destination is unreachable or is experiencing a temporary outage. Another possible reason is a problem with the network connection, such as a failed router or other network devices.

Regarding the relationship between roundtrip time and geographical location, it is generally true that the further the destination is from the source, the longer the roundtrip time will be. This increase in time is because the packets of data must travel a longer distance and thus take more time to be sent and received. Many other factors can affect roundtrip time, such as the speed and efficiency of the network and the number of hops between the source and destination.

The ping and traceroute commands are valuable tools for diagnosing problems with internet connectivity. These tools measure the roundtrip time of packets and trace the path they take as they pass through the network by comparing the results from different destinations; it is possible to gain insight into the factors that affect internet performance and diagnose problems with internet connectivity.