Online Traceroute
View a traceroute-style path from our remote environment to any hostname using deploy-safe network checks and a simple hop-by-hop view.
See the route packets appear to take.
Helpful for locating network delays or breaks.
Check the path from outside your local network.
What this traceroute tool shows
This tool shows a traceroute-style path based on remote checks in a hosted environment where real OS-level traceroute is not available.
That makes it useful for developers, operations teams, support teams, and anyone who wants to understand where along a route delay or failure may be happening.
Why it matters
Traceroute can show where a route slows down, stops responding, or changes unexpectedly, which is useful when ping alone is not enough.
How does traceroute work?
Traceroute works by sending packets with increasing TTL (Time To Live) values. Each router that forwards the packet decrements the TTL by one. When TTL reaches zero, the router discards the packet and sends an ICMP "time exceeded" message back, revealing its IP and elapsed time.
By incrementing TTL from 1 upward, traceroute maps the full path hop-by-hop until the destination is reached. A * (asterisk) means no reply was received — the router may be filtering ICMP or is too busy to respond.
When is traceroute useful?
Traceroute is invaluable for diagnosing where in the network a problem occurs — whether the issue is local, at your ISP, mid-internet, or at the destination server. High latency at a specific hop often points to congestion or a poorly peered link at that location.
Reading traceroute results
- Hop number — each row is one router step along the path. A typical internet route spans 10–20 hops.
- RTT (ms) — round-trip time to that hop. Latency naturally increases with each hop as packets travel further.
- * (asterisk) — no ICMP reply received. The router may be filtering ICMP or rate-limiting responses. Not necessarily a problem.
- Sudden latency spike — a large jump between two consecutive hops often indicates congestion or a long-distance link (e.g. an intercontinental cable).
- Latency drops after a spike — this is normal. Routers may deprioritise ICMP responses; the final destination latency is what matters most.
Traceroute vs ping
Ping tells you whether a host is reachable and its average latency. Traceroute tells you exactly which path packets take and where delays or failures occur along the way.
Use ping for a quick health check, and traceroute when you need to diagnose where a problem is occurring on the network path.
Frequently asked questions
Why does traceroute stop midway?
If the trace stops or shows many asterisks, a router or firewall may be filtering ICMP replies.
Is traceroute the same as tracert?
Yes, broadly speaking. tracert is the Windows command name for a similar tool.
Why run traceroute from a remote server?
A remote view helps separate local connectivity issues from wider internet routing issues.
What should I use after traceroute?
Ping, DNS lookup, and website monitoring tools can help you add more context around the route behavior.