In this test, the sensor will perform a traceroute to a user-specified host. Once outside of your own environment, a packet will need to bounce between many different routers to reach its final destination. Traceroute is a network utility that helps us see exaclty which routers or hops the connection took.
This is a great network test to use over WAN connections, especially if you are using an SD-WAN solution. While we allow the test to be run every 10 minutes, it is uncommon for routes to update that frequently.
¶ How Traceroute Works
IP packets include a value called the time-to-live (TTL) which defines the maximum number of hops for a destination. When forwarding, routers decrement this TTL by 1 and discard the packet if it has reached zero, commonly responding with an ICMP message. Traceroute works by sending packets to a host with incrementally increasing TTL values (from 1 to 30). By listening for responses, or the lack thereof, the route taken and total hops to the final destination can be determined.
In addition to this, the sensors perform a reverse DNS lookup for each router in attempts to resolve the FQDN. Optionally, up to 5 packets can be sent to each hop for averaged latency metrics.
Note: Some routers may not respond to packets sent by traceroute due to firewall policies. This is common on many connections and will be displayed as three asterisks (***) in the test results. The sensor will not be able to determine the latency to this specific hop but the packets should still be forwarded. If the final destination cannot be reached within 30 hops, the test will fail.
¶ Configurable Test Parameters
| Parameter | Accepted Value |
|---|---|
| Host | IP or Domain |
| Count | Integer |
| Max Hop Limit | Integer |
| Packet Type | ICMP or UDP |
| IPv6 | True or False |
¶ Supported Interfaces
Wireless and Wired
¶ Supported Wireless Options
Auto - The sensor will connect to the closest AP based on current RF environment
Specific AP - The sensor will connect to the user-specified radio of an AP
Band Restriction - The sensor will connect to the strongest AP on specified frequency band
¶ Outbound Firewall Requirements
| Protocol | Hosts |
|---|---|
| ICMP | Defined by test config |
| UDP | Defined by test config |
