raceroute is a useful diagnostic tool to trace the route data takes from your computer to the destination server. If you're experiencing connectivity issues with your website, running a traceroute can help identify where the problem lies.
Here’s how to perform a traceroute on different operating systems:
To Run a Traceroute in Windows:
For Windows 98 or ME:
-
Go to Start > Run.
-
Type command and press Enter.
This will open a black command prompt window that looks like this:
-
To run the traceroute, type the following command:
Replace yourdomain.com with the domain of the server you’re having difficulty connecting to.
The traceroute may take a few seconds or several minutes depending on how far your target location is.
For Windows 2000, XP, or Vista:
-
Go to Start > Run.
-
Type cmd and press Enter.
This will open the command prompt window.
-
Run the traceroute with the following command:
As before, replace yourdomain.com with the server or website you're checking.
To Save the Output to a Text File:
If you have trouble copying the traceroute information or if it runs off the screen, you can save it to a file by typing:
This will save the traceroute results to a file named trace.txt on your C: drive.
To Run a Traceroute on a Mac:
For Mac OS X (using Network Utility):
-
Click on the Hard Drive icon on your desktop.
-
Navigate to the Applications folder > Utilities folder.
-
Open the Network Utility program.
-
Select the Traceroute tab and enter the hostname or domain name of the server you're having trouble with.
Using Terminal (Mac OS X):
-
Open the Terminal program from the Utilities folder.
-
Type the following command:
Replace yourdomain.com with the target domain name or IP address you want to trace.
Once the trace is complete, you will see the results in the terminal window.
For Older Versions of Mac OS:
If you're using an older version of Mac OS that doesn't include the built-in tools, you can download third-party software utilities. One example is DNS Expert Professional, which can be found on websites like Tucows. Once downloaded, you can use it to run a traceroute.
What to Do Next:
Once you’ve gathered the traceroute results, you can send them to StickyHosting Support for further analysis. This can help our support team identify whether there is a problem with your connection to the server or if the issue is related to the server itself.
