I have a reason to run TraceRoute on my Windows computer today and share the result with my hosting company. But, I was so disappointed that there are limited articles on that detailed how to run TraceRoute on Windows, Mac, and Linux OS.
All the articles I came about will either discussed how to run a TraceRoute command on Linux and don’t care for the Windows users or discussed in detail how to use TraceRoute command on Windows neglecting Mac users.
However, after many findings, I put this guide together for you on how to turn TraceRoute successfully on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
What is TraceRoute?
TraceRoute is a built-in tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux to track in real-time the pathway taken by the packet of your IP address from the source to a particular destination.
Just like checking the steps you go through from connecting to a particular source (website) on your IP address.
While running a TraceRoute, you will see the information in milliseconds, and at the same time, you will “TraceRoute request timed out” if there is a problem with the track in real-time from the source (computer) to the destination.
How Does Traceroute Works?
Trace Route works by setting the TTL for a packet to 1, sending it towards the requested destination host IP, and listening for the reply via CMD on how far it responded or request timed out.
When the initiating machine receives a “time exceeded” response, it examines the packet to determine where the packet came from – this identifies the machine one hop away and provides information to rely on judging the source and destination combined.
Also, the tracing machine creates a new packet 2 on a new command line with TTL 2 and uses the result to determine the machine 2 hop way. The machine follows the same approach until it creates or generates all hop way.
With the TraceRoute, you will have an idea of how long it takes a source (Website) to live, and that is what is required to as TTL. However, the TTL is set by the terminating router when packet 1 is created and decreases normally.
What Does Traceroute Request Timed out Mean?
When I ran the TraceRoute command on Windows, I had 2 traceroute request timed out, so, what does it mean? However, it typically means that the command doesn’t respond to ICMP.
TraceRoute Command
Traceroute command is either “tracert domainname.com” or tracert -6 domainname.com” where the “Domain name” represents the source you want s to run the command to. If you don’t want to use the domain name, you can use the IP address, as tracert IP address or tracert -6 IP address.
Now that you know the TraceRoute command, how do you use this TraceRoute command on Linux, Windows, and Mac?
How to Run a TraceRoute on Windows 10
You should be able to access your Windows 10 command OR run box to be able to run the traceRT on the PC.
- Press the Windows + R button to open the “Run” box.
- Type “cmd” and “Click “OK” or “Enter” on your Keyboard.
- Type the “TraceRoute command” “tracert “sitename.com” and click “Enter.”
- The TraceRoute will start, and once it’s done, you will “Trace Complete.”
This may take some minutes to complete, and you can record as many as “TraceRoute request timed out,” just ignore it.
How to Run TraceRoute on Linux
To run TraceRoute Linux is a bit different from TraceRoute Windows. And here is how to go about it.
- Open your Linux terminal.
- Type “traceroute domain.com and replace “domain.com” with your URL or IP address.
- Hit the “Enter” button to start running the command.
Meanwhile, If the TraceRoute is missing on your Linux or Ubuntu, you need to download and install it.
How to Trace TraceRoute on Mac
Mac provides a terminal to run the TraceRT on your Mac device, and here is how to TraceRoute Mac command.
- Go to “Network Utility” on your Mac computer by searching for it via the search box to the right.
- Tap “TraceRoute” and enter the “Domain name” or IP address.”
- Tap on the “Enter” button to start running the TraceRT on your Mac computer.
This is unlike the Windows OS where you need to enter the command to run TraeRoute on it