Traveling Through a Network

I had some interesting results from Google.com, along with every other site I pinged.  I followed the instructions on how to ping on a Mac, and when I executed the command, it would just continue to run and never stop on its own.  I would have to stop the command manually each time it ran.  By using the ping and traceroute commands, we get an idea of how long it takes packets to travel from one computer to another until they reach their destination.  Through these exercises, the closer an IP address is located, the less time it will take to return.  I also ran these during a thunderstorm while the power was going off and on, so that may have had some effect on times and speeds.

Packets sent- 6

Packets received- 6

Packets lost- 0

Range of approximate round-trip time- ~10.5ms

 

 

Yahoo.ca ping

Packets sent- 21

Packets received- 21

Packets lost- 0

Range of approximate round-trip time- ~75.8ms

 

 

Yahoo.jp ping

Packets sent- 14

Packets received- 14

Packets lost- 0

Range of approximate round-trip time- ~167.3ms

 

Google.com traceroute

Total hops w/ TOs- 10

Total hops w/o TOs- 8

Time per hop- ~9.4ms

 

 

Yahoo.ca traceroute

Total hops w/ TOs- 13

Total hops w/o TOs- 11

Time per hop- ~56.6ms

 

 

Yahoo.jp traceroute

Total hops w/ TOs- 11

Total hops w/o TOs- 9

Time per hop- ~66.6ms

 

 

Reflecting on my experience of ping and traceroute commands from the exercises, packets travel through the network via communication links.  These communications links can be cable tv wires, fiber optic cables, and also wireless satellite communications.  Packets containing detailed information travel through those wires toward a specific location.  Generally, the computers know how to route the packet, but depending on internet traffic conditions, packets might have to follow a less direct route.  

These commands can help troubleshoot internet connection problems by following the path to see where there could be a break in the route.  A break in the route could cause slower speeds or an error.  A slower speed could result from a server being down and having to get rerouted, while an error could occur if a computer was trying to print and the printer wasn't powered on.  Knowing the workflow and how to ping and traceroute run can be helpful in multiple ways.  They can give a more detailed look into the speed your computer and network are running and if there are any timeouts.  This can help you troubleshoot to see if the issue involves your computer or elsewhere.