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traceroute
The traceroute port facilitates the tracking of the path data packets take through a network..
Traceroute is a network diagnostic tool used to track the path that packets take from a source computer to a destination over an IP network. It works by sending a series of Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request packets to the destination with incrementally increased Time to Live (TTL) values. Each router that handles the packet decreases the TTL by one until it reaches zero, at which point the router sends an ICMP 'Time Exceeded' message back to the source, allowing the source to identify each hop along the path.
This process allows for detailed insights into the intermediate points packets encounter, enabling network engineers and administrators to diagnose routing problems, find bottlenecks, and assess connectivity issues. The output typically consists of a visual representation of the path and the round-trip time for each hop, demonstrating the latency and reliability of each segment.
The traceroute tool can use both TCP and UDP packets to initiate the process, depending on the implementation and underlying network architecture, providing flexibility in how users can traverse and diagnose their networks.