How to Traceroute Your ISP

Trace the number of hops from your computer to your ISP server.

The traceroute command is a Windows command-line utility used to trace communication from your computer to another computer. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has a domain server you use to communicate with online. You can use the traceroute command to see how long it takes for your communication to reach the server and how many "hops" it takes to get to the server. "Hops" are the number of routers and servers the information must pass through to reach the destination.

Instructions

1. Click the Windows "Start" button. Enter "cmd" into the text box and press "Enter." This opens the Windows command line utility.

2. Enter "tracert /?" into the command line to view a list of options and the proper syntax for the traceroute utility. Although the utility is called "traceroute," the command syntax used is "tracert."

3. Enter the following command into the prompt:

   tracert ISPdomain.com

   Replace "ISPdomain.com" with your own ISP's domain name.

4. Press "Enter." The trace starts and continues until the communication packet reaches the destination ISP domain server. You can view each "hop" as the traceroute command completes the trace.

References

• Medial College: How to Use the Traceroute Command