Traveling Through a Network

To start off, pings and traceroutes are network diagnostic tools used to analyze network connectivity and troubleshoot internet connection issues. They provide information about the roundtrip time between devices and specific destinations as well as the path taken by packets through the network.

Ping is a tool that checks the speed and quality of your connection. It sends a small message to a specific destination, like a website or IP address, and measures how long it takes for the message to go there and come back. This measurement is called roundtrip time. Ping also tells you if any messages get lost along the way. If the roundtrip time is high or there is packet loss, it could mean there are network problems or too much traffic.

Traceroute is a tool that shows the path packets taken from your device to a specific destination. It tells you the routers or devices the packets encounter along the way. Traceroute works by sending packets with different values that decrease as they travel. When a packet reaches a router, it decreases the value and sends a message back to the sender if the value reaches zero. By analyzing these messages, traceroute identifies the routers and the time it takes for packets to reach each one. Traceroute helps you understand the network path, the number of hops, and any potential issues.

The following are my Ping results for websites across different regions. 

Ping results:

Google:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)

Round trip times: Min = 4ms, Max = 6ms, Avg = 4ms

Australia (https://usa.embassy.gov.au):

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)

Round trip times: Min = 35ms, Max = 36ms, Avg = 35ms

Japan (https://www.japan.go.jp):  

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)

Round trip times: Min = 3ms, Max = 25ms, Avg = 9ms

 The following are my Traceroute results for websites across different regions. 

Traceroutes:

Google:

Router hopped: 8 times

Australia:

Router hopped: 13 times

Japan:

Router hopped: 9 times

This activity was interesting and straightforward as the instructions on the “Guide to Ping and Traceroutes Commands” were clear. While using the ping and traceroute commands, I have gained insight into how packets travel through the network and how the paths to different destinations can differ. The ping command allows us to measure the roundtrip time between our device and a specific destination, while the traceroute command provides a detailed report of the route taken by packets to reach a target.

Comparing the ping and traceroute results from different websites, such as Google, Australia, and Japan, I observed significant differences in the paths taken. The ping results for Google show a low average roundtrip time of 4ms, indicating a fast connection. However, when pinging a website in Australia, the roundtrip time increases to 35ms, suggesting a longer distance and more network hops. The ping results for Japan indicate an even lower average roundtrip time of 9ms, likely due to closer geographical location.

When initiating a request for a webpage, like Google, the computer sends packets containing the request to the server. The server then responds by sending packets containing the webpage back to your computer. This exchange of packets between the computer and the server continues until the transfer of data is complete. Packets play a crucial role in enabling efficient data transfer and can be routed through routers or switches as they navigate a network from one computer to another.

Ping and traceroute are valuable tools for troubleshooting internet connections. By using Ping, you can determine if the roundtrip times between your device and a target destination are high. Elevated roundtrip times indicate potential network issues. Traceroute is particularly useful in identifying internet connection problems as it helps track the path of packets. When encountering delays in packet delivery or receiving error messages, or requests timing out, these are  indications of connection issues that need attention.

Two possible reasons why a Ping request or Traceroute command might time out or return with an error response are malfunctioning hardware such as routers or network cables and network overload which are high level of network traffic result in packet delays or even loss.

Here are visuals of my Ping results:

 

Here are visuals of my Traceroute results: 

 References

Candela, M., Di Bartolomeo, M., Battista, G. D., & Squarcella, C. (2018). Radian: Visual Exploration of Traceroutes. IEEE Transactions on Visualization & Computer Graphics, 24(7), 2194–2208. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2017.2716937

Liu, C. J. (2012). Enhanced IPv6 ping and traceroute. 2012 21st Annual Wireless and Optical Communications Conference (WOCC), Wireless and Optical Communications Conference (WOCC), 2012 21st Annual, 51–58. https://doi.org/10.1109/WOCC.2012.6198147