What to do when you encounter a network failure? Teach you a trick to use route tracking to locate the fault point

In the Internet world, we interact with various network devices every day, such as routers, switches, etc. However, when a network problem occurs, how can we quickly locate the problem? As an IT operation and maintenance personnel of an enterprise, what is the most effective solution when encountering a network failure?

The answer is traceroute.

The following content introduces the concept of route tracking, application scenarios, and mainstream route tracking methods on Linux and Windows platforms in detail.

1. What is Traceroute?

What is routing?

Routing is an important concept in computer networks. It refers to the process of transferring packets of data from a source address to a destination address. Routing can be likened to the process of people choosing the best path to get from one place to another in a city. In computer networks, packets are the basic unit of transmission through the network. When we type a URL into a browser, such as www.chat54.xyz, the computer converts the URL to the corresponding IP address and then sends the packet from our computer to the destination server. Routers are key devices in the network. They are responsible for transferring packets of data from the source address to the destination address. The router looks at the destination IP address in the packet and determines the path to the next hop based on its own routing table. This process is like looking at a map in a city to find the best path to reach the destination. Routers communicate with each other through the Internet Protocol (IP). They exchange routing information with each other and update their routing tables to choose the best path. This is like a traffic control center in a city, constantly updating traffic conditions to provide drivers with the best driving route.

In summary, routing is the process of transferring data packets from source address to destination address by selecting the best path in the network through routers. This process is similar to the process of people choosing the best path to get from one place to another in a city.

What is Traceroute?

Traceroute, also known as Traceroute, is a network diagnostic tool used to determine the network path that a data packet takes from the source host to the destination host. By analyzing the transmission of data packets between various routers, we can determine the quality of the network connection, identify potential problems, and optimize them accordingly.

2. In what situations is it necessary to trace the route?

• Network troubleshooting: When the network is interrupted, slow, or unable to access a specific website, we can use route tracking to locate the root cause of the problem, whether it is a problem with the local device or the network link.
• Performance optimization: By analyzing the route tracking results, we can find the bottlenecks in the network and adjust the network configuration to improve the overall performance.
• Network security: Route tracking can help us detect potential attack behaviors, such as DDoS attacks, ARP spoofing, etc., and take preventive measures in time.
• Network planning: When building or expanding a network, route tracing can help you understand the communication between different devices and provide a reference for network layout.

3. Commonly used routing traceback methods in Linux/Windows

Linux Platform

On the Linux platform, commonly used routing tracking tools include traceroute (built-in command) and mtr (third-party tool).

(1) traceroute command

Traceroute is a simple and practical command line tool that comes with Linux system. It can be used to trace the path of data packets from source host to destination host. The following is a simple usage example:

 traceroute www.chat54.xyz

Common parameters of the traceroute command are as follows:

• -I: Specifies the network interface to use.
• -q: Display only the IP address of the target host without displaying the domain name.
• -n: Set the number of times to execute tracking, the default is 3 times.
• -w: Set the timeout (unit: milliseconds). The default value is 2000 milliseconds.

(2) mtr command

mtr is a real-time route tracking tool based on Wireshark, which provides rich functions and a more intuitive interface. First, you need to install the Wireshark and mtr software packages:

 sudo apt-get install wireshark mtr

After the installation is complete, you can use the following command to perform route tracing:

 mtr -r -c 3 www.chat54.xyz

Among them, -r means using Raw mode, and -c means setting the concurrency number to 3.

Windows Platform

On the Windows platform, commonly used routing tracking tools include tracert (built-in command) and third-party tools such as PathPing and Nmap.

(1) tracert command

Tracert is a command line tool that comes with Windows system, which can be used to trace the path of data packets from source host to destination host. The following is a simple usage example:

 tracert www.chat54.xyz

Common parameters of the tracert command are as follows:

• -d: Display only the IP address of the target host without displaying the domain name.
• -h: Display help information.
• -w: Set the timeout period (in seconds). The default is 40 seconds.
• -R: Sets tracing to round trip paths instead of just one way.
• -s TCP or -s UDP: Displays only the trace results of the TCP or UDP protocol.
• -4 or -6: Display only trace results for IPv4 or IPv6.