Chasing Data Across the Internet
In week 3, I used ping and traceroute commands to
see how data packets race through the internet. It’s like tracking a relay
race, with each router passing the baton!
I pinged Google.com, nla.gov.au (Australia), and asahi.com
(Japan) from my Windows system. Google.com was lightning-fast, with all four
packets back in 57–59 milliseconds. Nla.gov.au took 333–335 ms, and asahi.com
hit 59–63 ms, all with no packet loss. Traceroute showed Google.com zipping
through 11 routers (2–65 ms, 2 timeouts), nla.gov.au crawling through 18 hops
(2–341 ms, 2 timeouts), and asahi.com taking 16 hops (3–94 ms, timeouts at hops
13–15). Paths differ because servers are in different regions, with ISPs
choosing unique routes.
The farther the server, the longer the roundtrip
time as nla.gov.au’s Australian location meant slower responses compared to
Google’s nearby servers or asahi.com’s closer Japan-based ones. Ping checks if
a site’s reachable; slow pings point to network clogs. Traceroute spots where
delays happen, like a router hiccup. If Google Docs lags, traceroute could find
the slow link.
Timeouts can occur because:
Firewalls block ICMP packets, stopping ping or traceroute
replies.
Network congestion or server outages cause dropped packets.
These tools are IT superheroes for fixing internet issues!
Ping results for Google.com, clocking in at 57–59 ms.
Traceroute to nla.gov.au, showing 18 hops.
References
TestOut Corp. (2024). CertMaster Learn Tech+. http://www.testout.com
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