Traveling Through a Network

Please see below for my Ping and Traceroute results:

www.unitedairlines.comLinks to an external site.

Ping Results:

Packets sent = 4

Packets received = 4

Approximate round trip times:

• Minimum = 33ms
• Maximum = 37ms
• Average = 35 ms

Traceroute Results:

This website went through 19 routers; three failed/timed out.

www.yahoo.co.jpLinks to an external site.

Ping Results:

Packets sent = 4

Packets received = 4

Approximate round trip times:

• Minimum =164ms
• Maximum = 185ms

Average = 169 ms

Traceroute Results:

This website went through 18 routers; four failed/timed out.

www.bbc.co.ukLinks to an external site.

Ping Results:

Packets sent = 4

Packets received = 4

Approximate round trip times:

• Minimum = 17ms
• Maximum = 27ms
• Average = 20 ms

Traceroute Results:

This website went through 8 routers; one failed/timed out.

Traveling Through a Network Reflection Essay

The "ping" and "traceroute" commands are fundamental tools in network diagnostics, allowing users to understand how packets travel through a network and to troubleshoot connectivity issues.

When looking at website results, we learn how network routes work and their complexity. Starting with the "ping," the results show the round trip times (RTTs) it takes for packets to travel to different places. For www.unitedairlines.com, the average round-trip time is about 35 milliseconds. For www.yahoo.co.jp, it jumps to 169 milliseconds. On the other hand, www.bbc.co.uk has a much faster average of 20 milliseconds. These differences are often because of where servers are located and how networks are set up. It also depends on how many routers the packets pass through.

The traceroute results show how data moves through a network. The command tracks the route packets take to reach a website, showing the routers they pass. For example, packets sent to www.unitedairlines.com went through 19 routers. Packets to www.yahoo.co.jp passed 18 routers, and www.bbc.co.uk only went through 8 routers. This shows that the path to www.bbc.co.uk is shorter or set up on a more efficient network infrastructure than the other two websites.

When you get timeouts during ping or traceroute, it can mean different things. If a ping request times out, it might be because the network is too busy or the server is set to ignore those requests. Traceroute might time out if routers block certain packets or if firewalls stop them. Sometimes, a router might be overloaded or broken, which causes it to drop packets.

The connection between round-trip time (RTT) and location is essential for understanding networks. Usually, servers closer to users have lower RTT since the data travels a shorter distance. But network design also matters. A good network with fewer stops works better, no matter the distance. Tools like ping and traceroute help find network problems and show how internet connections change. Network managers can fix issues and improve the user experience by studying these tools.