What is Tracert and How to Check Error on Website?

Posted by George W on in Hosting Tips

Have you ever visited a website with a slow loading? It could be that the problem is not with the website, but with your internet connection.

Then, how to find out? Tracert is the solution.

Traceroute or tracert is one method to check for slow network problems when opening websites. If the problem is known, it will be easier for you to solve it.

For that, this article will help you understand what tracert is and how to use it to check for errors when opening websites. So, let’s start this tutorial!

What is Tracert?

Traceroute or tracert is a network diagnostic tool that is used to track every network route traversed by an IP address in real-time.

Simply put, if you visit a website, the data you get from that website will of course have to traverse several devices and networks along the way, especially routers. Traceroute tracks how data on the internet moves from its source to its destination.

While tracking the network journey, tracert is also able to find errors or failures that occur during the data exchange process. That’s where tracert comes into play as a network diagnostic tool. So that it can show you where the location is causing your internet connection to be problematic.

How Tracert Works

After getting an idea of what a traceroute is, it’s time to find out how this diagnostic tool works. As the name implies, tracert works by tracing the trace route of a network.

The tracking is done by sending Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) packets. This package, serves to provide information whether the router used in the journey can transfer data effectively or not.

How to Read Tracert

When you traceroute, you will see some terms that may seem unfamiliar. So, you need to know how to read a traceroute in order to know the result.

When traceroute is running, the route with the IP address will be displayed on your device screen. The route is referred to as a ‘hop’, which is the stage point that is passed by the data to the server.

Hops are numbered on the left side of the report window, such as “1” “2” “3” and so on. Each number in a hop represents several things, such as:

  • Hops 1-3: Your Device
  • Hop in the middle: ISP
  • Hop at the end: Destination server

Each line in the tracert report also has the router’s domain name and IP address. In addition, there are also three time measurements displayed in milliseconds, which will tell you how long it will take to send an ICMP packet from your device to a router until it comes back again.

In the process, checking tracert does not always run smoothly. The following are the terms of the obstacles that may occur when performing a tracert:

– Star sign ()

Sometimes a hop displays an asterisk () which means the server on that hop did not respond to tracert requests. If it appears once, you can wait for a response in the next hop. However, if several stars appear, it’s possible that the server is down.

– Request time out

If the traceroute displays “request time out”, it means that the server on that hop did not receive ICMP. This can happen because the server is busy.

– Destination net unreachable

This means ICMP cannot go to the first route. This usually occurs due to incorrectly entering the destination server URL or incorrect network settings.

Tracert Function

In addition to knowing how to read a traceroute, you also need to know the functions or uses of tracert as follows:

  1. Help you find where the problem is on the network, so it will be easier for you to fix it
  2. Help find out if the website server has problems through route tracking that is carried out
  3. See the name of the ISP and the network you are using. This information will usually appear on hop 4
  4. Monitor the network quality of your device based on the response when doing a traceroute

How to Do Tracert

The best way to understand what a traceroute is is to do it directly. Here’s how to do a tracert on some operating systems:

Tracert on Windows

  1. Open Command Prompt on your device, by pressing the Windows key and R simultaneously on the keyboard. Then, type “cmd“, then press Enter
  2. Enter the destination website traceroute, then press Enter. For example, tracert hostforlife.eu
  3. Wait a while until the traceroute results appear

Tracert on Mac

  1. Open Terminal on your device
  2. Enter the destination website traceroute, then press Enter. For example, tracert hostforlife.eu
  3. Wait a while until the tracert results appear

Tracert on Linux

  1. Open Terminal on your device
  2. Enter the destination website traceroute, then press Enter. For example, tracert hostforlife.eu
  3. Wait a while until the tracert results appear
  4. If your device doesn’t have traceroute, you can install the module by typing the command:

OR

in Terminal on your Linux operating system.

Tracert Online

The next way to do a traceroute, apart from using Cmd or Terminal, is through an online browser. Here are the steps:

  • Visit a website that provides an online traceroute, such as Keycdn, IP2Location, or HackerTarget.
  • Enter the address of the website you want to track, then click “Trace” or “Test”
  • Wait a while until the traceroute results appear

Here’s an example of a traceroute via Keycdn:

Conclusion

Tracert is a way you can do to check for errors that occur when you visit a website. What is traceoute itself can be explained as a network diagnostic tool to track every network route traversed by an IP address in real-time.

You can traceroute through your device using the Command Prompt on Windows, as well as the Terminal on Mac and Linux. In addition, you can also traceroute online in a browser.

After understanding what tracert is, you can find out immediately where the problem lies when your device can’t connect to a website. Good luck!

George W
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