traceroute

/TRAYS-root/ · noun · Development · Origin: 1987

Definitions

  1. A network diagnostic tool that maps the path packets take from source to destination by sending packets with incrementally increasing TTL values. Each router along the path decrements the TTL and sends back an ICMP Time Exceeded message when it hits zero, revealing the hop-by-hop route and latency at each point.

    In plain English: A tool that shows you the exact path your internet traffic takes to reach a destination, including every router it passes through and how long each hop takes.

    Example: Traceroute showed the traffic was taking a bizarre detour through a data center in Frankfurt before reaching a server in the same city as the client.

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