Network
Open Traceroute →What a hop tells you
Traceroute sends diagnostic probes with progressively larger hop limits. Replies can reveal routers along the outward route, but each measured delay includes the return journey. The hop names are clues, not a verified diagram of your provider’s infrastructure. Some routers answer from a different interface, and the return route can differ from the outward path.
Run a comparable test
Open Traceroute, enter a public hostname or IP address, and choose the IP version you want to investigate. Record the resolved address, time and source of the check. An online test observes a route from its test location, so a successful result does not rule out a problem between your own connection and that destination. Repeat the same target before comparing two traces.
Read asterisks alongside later hops
A timeout means that a particular probe did not produce a reply in time. If later routers or the destination respond, traffic clearly passed beyond the silent hop. Routers may filter or limit diagnostic replies independently of forwarding normal traffic. Escalate a suspected outage with destination-level evidence such as failed HTTPS requests, rather than treating the first asterisk as the failed device.
Decide whether high latency matters
A slow middle hop followed by faster later hops usually needs different investigation from a delay that persists through every subsequent hop. Neither pattern alone proves congestion or a precise fault location. Compare repeated traces with Ping and HTTP Status. If only your local connection is slow, collect a trace from your own device as well; if one IP family fails, inspect A and AAAA records separately.
Worked example
Illustrative example — not a live test Hop 4: * * * Hop 5: 28 ms Destination: 31 ms Conclusion: hop 4 was silent; the destination still replied.
What to check next
- Keep the target IP and IP version fixed.
- Compare repeated destination results, not just one intermediate hop.
- Use HTTP Status to check whether the service itself responds.
Common questions
Does a missing hop prove packet loss?
No. A router can forward traffic without sending a diagnostic reply. Check subsequent hops and end-to-end service results.
Why does an online trace differ from my computer?
The tests start on different networks. Different routing, DNS answers and IP versions can all change the observed path.