C:\Users\MYPC>tracert
www.reef2reef.com
Tracing route to reef2reef.com [72.52.222.37]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
Let's break this particular hop down into its parts.
Hop # RTT 1 RTT 2 RTT 3 Name/IP Address
12 50 ms 57 ms 53 ms host.reef2reef.com [72.52.222.37]
Hop Number - This is the first column and is simply the number of the hop along the route. In this case, it is the 12 hop.
RTT Columns - The next three columns display the round trip time (RTT) for your packet to reach that point and return to your computer. This is listed in milliseconds. There are three columns because the traceroute sends three separate signal packets. This is to display consistency, or a lack thereof, in the route.
Domain/IP column - The last column has the IP address of the router. If it is available, the domain name will also be listed.
Checking the hop times
The times listed in the RTT columns are the main thing you want to look at when evaluating a traceroute. Consistent times are what you are looking for. There may be specific hops with increased latency times but they may not indicate that there is an issue. You need to look at a pattern over the whole report. Times above 150ms are considered to be long for a trip within the continental United States. (Times over 150ms may be normal if the signal crosses an ocean, however.) but issues may show up with very large numbers.
Increasing latency towards the target
If you see a sudden increase in a hop and it keeps increasing to the destination (if it even gets there), then this indicates an issue starting at the hop with the increase. This may well cause packet loss where you will even see asterisks (*) in the report.
1 6 ms 4 ms 4 ms 10.0.0.1
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 16 ms 17 ms 13 ms te-0-0-0-7-sur01.bloomfield.ct.hartford.comcast.net [68.86.227.17]
4 42 ms 44 ms 18 ms be-200-ar01.needham.ma.boston.comcast.net [162.151.53.229]
5 27 ms 53 ms 48 ms be-7015-cr02.newyork.ny.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.90.217]
6 50 ms 48 ms 48 ms be-10305-cr02.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.85.202]
7 61 ms 51 ms 50 ms hu-0-11-0-0-pe03.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.87.250]
8 50 ms 48 ms 43 ms 50.242.150.126
9 52 ms 53 ms 54 ms lw-dc2-core1-vlan53.rtr.liquidweb.com [209.59.157.224]
10 52 ms 56 ms 53 ms 209.59.157.126
11 49 ms 59 ms 49 ms lw-dc2-dist1-te8-2.rtr.liquidweb.com [209.59.157.74]
12 50 ms 57 ms 53 ms host.reef2reef.com [72.52.222.37]
High latency in the middle but not at beginning or end
If the hop immediately after a long one drops back down, it simply means that the router at the long hop set the signal to a lower priority and does not have an issue. Patterns like this do not indicate an issue.
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 173.247.246.116
2 30 ms 7 ms 11 ms 10.10.0.2
3 200 ms 210 ms 189 ms 4.71.136.1
4 111 ms 98 ms 101 ms ip10-167-150-2.at.at.cox.net [70.167.150.2]
5 99 ms 100 ms 98 ms 205.134.225.38
High latency in the middle that remains consistent
If you see a hop jump but remain consistent throughout the rest of the report, this does not indicate an issue.
1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 173.247.246.116
2 30 ms 7 ms 11 ms 10.10.0.2
3 93 ms 95 ms 92 ms 4.71.136.1
4 95 ms 99 ms 101 ms ip10-167-150-2.at.at.cox.net [70.167.150.2]
5 99 ms 100 ms 98 ms 100ge7-1.core1.nyc4.he.net [184.105.223.166]
6 95 ms 95 ms 95 ms 10g1-3.core1.lax2.he.net [72.52.92.122]
7 95 ms 96 ms 94 ms 205.134.225.38]
High latency in the beginning hops
Seeing reported latency in the first few hops indicates a possible issue on the local network level. You will want to work with your local network administrator to verify and fix it.
Timeouts at the beginning of the report
If you have timeouts at the very beginning of the report, say within the first one or two hops, but the rest of the report runs, do not worry. This is perfectly normal as the device responsible likely does not respond to traceroute requests.
Timeouts at the very end of the report
Timeouts at the end may occur for a number of reasons. Not all of them indicate an issue, however.
- The target's firewall may be blocking requests. The target is still most probably reachable with a normal HTTP request, however. This should not affect normal connection.
- The return path may have an issue from the destination point. This would mean the signal is still reaching, but just not getting the return signal back to your computer. This should not affect normal connection.
- Possible connection problem at the target. This will affect the connection.
Do I need to contact my hosting company?
Once you have found a hop that seems to have an issue, you can identify its location and determine where the issue lies. It may be within your network, your ISP, somewhere along the route, or within your hosting provider's domain.
@AZDesertRat can you run a "tracert
www.reef2reef.com" and post what your results are?
