Thursday, 25-Apr-2024 23:36:32 EDT

     Do You Know The Way To San Jose?

TRACEROUTE checks all the hosts that pass along packets between two computers. In some cases, it can be more than two dozen steps - and if the internet routing tables are hosed, you cannot get there because you go in a loop.

If you are behind a firewall, and you say "trace me", this traces the steps between PauldingNet and your firewall.

This shows the path data takes from PauldingNet, which is not necessarily the same as the return path. What's more, if you are sending a large transmission, it is unlikely that all packets will take the same route every time.

You might use traceroute to determine whether a hosting company is near the backbone or far from it; if you are in the electronic boondocks, users will have more difficulty getting fast service from your website.

Traceroute is also useful in checking to see how a spammer is connected to the internet. Typically, the nearest one or two steps will belong to a company directly selling services to the spammer.