Post #4 – Traveling Through a Network: Using Ping and Traceroute to Understand Internet Paths

 Course Learning Outcome: CLO 6

Understanding how data travels across the internet is essential to diagnosing connectivity issues and optimizing performance. In this post, I reflect on my experience using the ping and traceroute commands to explore how data packets travel from my computer to three international websites: Google (U.S.), BBC (UK), and ABC (Australia). These tools helped me visualize the path data takes and identify factors that influence latency and connectivity.

What Ping Measures

The ping command tests how long it takes for a small data packet to travel to a destination and back. It's a quick way to check connectivity and response time. Here's what I found when I pinged the three websites:

WebsiteAverage Round-Trip Time (ms)Packet Loss
Google (U.S.)18ms0%
BBC (UK)20ms0%
ABC (Australia)25ms0%

These times were surprisingly close, even though the physical distance to Australia is much greater. This is likely due to the use of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), which cache content on servers located closer to the user.


What Traceroute Reveals

The traceroute command shows the path that packets take through each router—or “hop”—between my computer and the destination website. This helps identify where slowdowns or failures may occur.

WebsiteNumber of HopsObservations
Google9Consistent latency increase, no timeouts
BBC9One minor timeout mid-route
ABC12Several timeouts but completed successfully

Timeouts in traceroute are not always errors—some routers are simply set to ignore ICMP traffic (used by these tools), especially when under heavy load or configured for security.


What I Learned

Despite the geographic distances, the round-trip times stayed relatively low due to optimized routing and global infrastructure. CDNs and international internet exchange points help content reach users faster, regardless of physical location.

From this activity, I observed:

  • Latency usually increases with distance, but infrastructure minimizes the impact.

  • CDNs play a big role in speeding up international access.

  • Timeouts don’t always mean failure—they can simply mean traffic was deprioritized or blocked for security.

Troubleshooting with Ping and Traceroute

Both tools are essential for diagnosing internet problems:

  • Ping confirms whether a destination is reachable and how fast.

  • Traceroute shows where the connection might slow down or stop.

Two Common Reasons Ping/Traceroute Might Time Out:

  1. Firewalls or routers blocking ICMP packets, especially in corporate networks.

  2. Congested or misconfigured routers that delay or drop low-priority diagnostic traffic.

Final Thoughts

These simple yet powerful commands gave me hands-on insight into how internet connections work behind the scenes. Tools like ping and traceroute are not just for IT professionals—they're also helpful for everyday users who want to understand why a website might be slow or unreachable.

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