There are a number of popular misconceptions and
misunderstandings about traceroutes. Traceroutes are used by
computer networks, small ones like in your office or large-scale
ones like the Internet, to determine which route will be taken
by packets (a block of data) sent across IP (Internet Protocol
suite) networks. Traceroutes are often used for network
troubleshooting; by reviewing the path taken, it is possible to
find out problems with routing or firewalls that might be
blocking access. In this four-part series, I will go through
four common misconceptions about traceroute: - Traceroute can be
used to measure performance. - Traceroute/tracert-like
applications or commands will provide accurate results. - * * *
s (apparent packet loss) somewhere in the route is always bad
and a sign of problems. - A uni-directional traceroute (run only
in one direction) can be used to accurately spot a problem area
in a route. Each of these points will be addressed in an
individual post, and will help provide a better unde