Traveling Through a Network: Ping vs Traceout

A computer communicates through the internet by sending out packets that contain information about the destination address and also the actual data itself ie email message. The packets travel much like physical packages do. They have a specific destination and the route is preplanned based on what is the quickest. If a portion on the route is busy, the packet will reroute to the next best option. The router is what determines the route the packet will take.

Ping tells you how many packets were sent and the trace routes gives us information on the routes taken and the routers the packet goes through.

I first tried to use the ping and trace route commands on my MacBook and it kept timing out. I switched to windows and was able to complete the tasks with ease.

I used the websites google.com, google.ca (canada) and google.et (ethopia). (pictured below)  (Links to an external site., google.ca

 (Links to an external site.)(canada) and google.et (Ethiopia). I found that the Canada website had a slightly longer trip time than the local google but Ethopia had the longest trip time. I’m assuming because it is further away, it takes longer to retrieve the data.

A ping can tell us if there is an error in the route and a trace out will provide information on exactly where the error is. A ping might time out if the network is busy or there is too much traffic.