Traceroute
Traceroute maps intermediate hops between source and destination so you can isolate where latency, filtering, or packet loss begins.
π§ͺ Run this tool π Excessive Explanation β Frequently asked questions
π§ͺ Run this tool
π Excessive Explanation
𧩠Technical Details
What this tool checks
- Hop-by-hop visibility up to configured maximum depth.
- Path completion status and probable breakpoint location.
- Timing signals that indicate route instability or congestion.
How to read the output
- Result Summary indicates whether destination was reached within limits.
- Overview surfaces longest-latency hops and incomplete traces.
- Technical Details is essential for path-level provider escalation.
- Raw Output can be replayed in incident analysis and postmortems.
Common failure patterns
- Mid-path timeouts from ICMP/TCP response suppression.
- Route changes causing inconsistent hop signatures over time.
- Congestion spikes concentrated at specific transit boundaries.
- Policy filtering near destination edge preventing final hop visibility.
Remediation workflow
- Compare multiple traces over time before escalation.
- Correlate problematic hops with provider and ASN ownership context.
- Validate destination service health independently from route data.
- Escalate with timestamped hop evidence and repeated sample set.
Next steps
β Frequently asked questions
Why do some hops show asterisks?
Many routers deprioritize or block trace responses while still forwarding traffic.
Is a long route always bad?
Not necessarily. Consistent stable latency can still be healthy for the service path.
Can trace results differ by region?
Yes. Routing policies and transit peers vary by source location.
Should I panic if final hop is missing?
Not always. Destination networks may suppress replies even when service is reachable.
How do I use traceroute in escalation?
Provide repeated traces with timestamps and note where degradation starts.