Which command-line utility shows the hop-by-hop path that packets take to a destination and measures latency at each hop?

Which command-line utility shows the hop-by-hop path that packets take to a destination and measures latency at each hop?

• A. Ping
• B. Tracert
• C. Ipconfig
• D. Traceroute

Answer: (D)

Traceroute is used to map the actual path packets take to a destination and measure how long it takes to reach each hop along the way. It works by sending probes with limited or gradually increasing TTL values. As routers along the route decrement the TTL and forward the packet, when TTL expires a router replies with an ICMP Time Exceeded message. By collecting these replies, traceroute reveals each hop’s address and the round-trip time to that hop, giving a hop-by-hop view of both the route and the latency at each step. This makes it ideal for diagnosing where delays are occurring on the path. In Windows, the equivalent command is tracert, while on Unix-like systems the command is traceroute. Ping, by contrast, tests reachability to a single destination and reports its latency, but does not show the route. Ipconfig displays local network configuration rather than path information.

Traceroute is used to map the actual path packets take to a destination and measure how long it takes to reach each hop along the way. It works by sending probes with limited or gradually increasing TTL values. As routers along the route decrement the TTL and forward the packet, when TTL expires a router replies with an ICMP Time Exceeded message. By collecting these replies, traceroute reveals each hop’s address and the round-trip time to that hop, giving a hop-by-hop view of both the route and the latency at each step. This makes it ideal for diagnosing where delays are occurring on the path. In Windows, the equivalent command is tracert, while on Unix-like systems the command is traceroute. Ping, by contrast, tests reachability to a single destination and reports its latency, but does not show the route. Ipconfig displays local network configuration rather than path information.