Using Traceroute

Traceroute can be used to discover the paths that router packets follow when traveling to their destinations. There are three ways to start the Traceroute utility:

• From the Tools menu—Select Device Utilities, and click Traceroute. You must then manually enter the IP address.
• From the Network Workshop—Select the device, right-click, and click Traceroute. The IP address of the selected device is automatically entered in the Address field.
• From the Device Workshop—Select the System folder, right-click, and click Traceroute. The IP address of the selected device is automatically entered in the Address field.

Using Basic Traceroute Settings

To check a device traceroute by using basic settings:

1. Start the Traceroute utility by using one of the methods described above. The Traceroute dialog box appears.
2. Select the Origination method (see descriptions in Using Basic Ping Settings):

• NMC-RX to Device
• Device to IP Address

3. Enter the target address and source address (if applicable).
4. Enter Common Traceroute Options (Table 60).

 Table 60:  Traceroute Parameters  

 Parameter
 Description

 Max Time to Live/Max Hops

 Maximum number of hops to search for target


 Timeout

 Time traceroute waits for each reply:

  
 NMC-RX to Device uses milliseconds (ms)
  
 Device to IP Address uses seconds (sec)




 

5. Click Traceroute.

The results appear in the dialog box.

NOTE: Depending on the origin selected, different results appear. When you click Ping again, the previous results are cleared, the command is executed, and the new results are displayed.

Using Advanced Traceroute Settings

To check a device traceroute using advanced settings:

1. Perform Steps 1-4 in Using Basic Traceroute Settings.
2. Click Advanced.

Depending on the Origination type selected, one of the following Advanced Traceroute Options dialog boxes appears.

Figure 15: NMC-RX to Device Advanced Traceroute Options (Windows)

Figure 16: Device to IP Address Advanced Traceroute Options (Windows)

3. Set the Advanced Traceroute options (Table 61 or Table 62).

 Table 61:  NMC-RX to Device Advanced Traceroute Parameters 

 Parameter
 Description

 Resolve Addresses

 Select to resolve addresses to host names.


 Loose Source Route Host List


  
 Identifies certain milestone routers that must be used in route to the destination address. However, any path can be used to get to these milestone routers.
  
 Routes packets through the hosts specified by the host list.
  
 Consecutive hosts can be separated by intermediate gateways (loose source routed).
  
 Maximum allowed by IP is 9.




 

 Table 62:  Device to IP Address Advanced Traceroute Parameters 

 Parameter
 Description

 Initial Time to Live

 Sets the number of hops (routers) that the traceroute request can traverse before it is discarded. The TTL field in the packet is decremented by one each time it passes through a router. When the number reaches zero, the router discards the packet and sends a TTL Expired ICMP message back.


 Probes Per Hop

 Number of ICMP packets to send for each hop.


 Type of Service

 Sets the ToS value in the ICMP packet for routers that are set up to treat packets with certain types of service differently than others. ToS is not used very often, and most routers ignore it.


 Max Failures

 Maximum number of failures before the command is terminated.


 Data Size

 Specifies the size of the ICMP payload.


 Max Row

 Maximum number of rows displayed.


 Don't Fragment

 Sets the don't fragment (DF) bit. Routers that see these packets will not fragment them.



 

4. (Optional) Enter a host IP address in Host IP Address, press Enter, and click Add.

The host IP address is added to the list.

5. Click OK to close the Advanced Traceroute dialog box.
6. Click Traceroute.

The results appear in the dialog box.

NOTE: Depending on the origin selected, different results appear. When you click Ping again, the previous results are cleared, the command is executed, and the new results are displayed.