Traceroute

Traceroute is another tool used to diagnose network problems. It asks the question, “What is the route used to get there, and what are the road conditions like along the way?”

In other words, traceroute will give you information about the condition of the connection between your computer and your FTP server. Think of it like Google Maps or Mapquest directions for data.

Using 'tracert' on Microsoft Windows

To use tracert on Microsoft Windows, you'll need to open the command line (this used to be called a DOS prompt):

1. Open a command line by hold down the Window key on your keyboard and press R (WinKey + R).

2. In the Run pop-up, enter the following and then click the OK button: CMD

3. In the command window, enter the following:

tracert  your-account.exavault.com

Using traceroute on a Microsoft Windows machine.

After you've entered the command, you should see responses like those in the picture below. If you see asterisks, that means that a router or server along the way didn't respond.

Note that when you traceroute to your ExaVault server, our firewalls may not send responses back. If the last lines in the tracert list asterisks instead of a server and response times, don't worry about it. Use ping to test connectivity to the server.

Using 'traceroute' in Mac OS X

Using traceroute in Mac OS X is really easy:

1. Open a terminal (Applications > Utilities).

2. Enter the following:

traceroute  your-account.exavault.com

After you've entered the command, you should see responses like those on in the picture on the right. If you see asterisks, that means that a router or server along the way didn't respond.

Note that when you traceroute to your ExaVault server, our firewalls may not send responses back. If the last lines in the traceroute list asterisks instead of a server and response times, don't worry about it. Use ping to test connectivity to the server.

Using 'traceroute' in *nix

Using traceroute in Linux, BSD, and other Unices is really easy:

Open a terminal.
Enter the following:

traceroute  your-account.exavault.com

Using traceroute in Linux and other Unices.

Note: on some systems, the command will be /usr/sbin/traceroute

After you've entered the command, you should see responses like those in the picture. If you see asterisks, that means that a router or server along the way didn't respond.

Why 'traceroute' is Useful

traceroute works in a similar way to data transfers:

It sends out packets of data to a destination.
It asks each router /server it encounters along the way to respond three times with how long it took to process the sent packet.

Therefore, if you are experiencing slow transfer speeds, a traceroute can help point out where the bottleneck is.

Interpreting 'traceroute' Results

Here are the rules of thumb we use at ExaVault for traceroute response times:

Overland: 30 to 50 milliseconds for every 1000 miles (18 to 30 milliseconds for every 1000 KM) in distance.
Overseas: Overseas data lines (e.g.: trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific, etc.) will impact response times ten-fold.