# What is Traceroute?

> Traceroute is an active network diagnostic technique that estimates the sequence of Internet Protocol (IP) hops toward a destination.

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- Language: en
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## Content

It sends probes with progressively larger IPv4 TTL or IPv6 Hop Limit values. Each expiry can elicit an ICMP Time Exceeded response identifying a responding hop, while a destination response indicates that the probe reached its target.

Implementations may use different probe protocols and report response round-trip times. The sequence is one observation, not an authoritative topology map: forwarding can be load-balanced or asymmetric, and routers may filter, rate-limit, or deprioritize replies.

### Key points

- **Useful output:** Hop addresses, response times, timeouts, and destination or filtering responses can narrow the part of a path associated with a reachability or delay change.
- **Interpretation:** Repeat comparable tests and correlate them with routing, interface, latency, loss, and endpoint evidence. A silent hop can still forward later probes.
- **Safe operation:** Probe only destinations and networks for which testing authorization exists. Rate-limit and schedule testing, and follow site-specific safety-assessment and change-control requirements before active diagnostics in OT environments.
- **Important limitation:** Traceroute does not reveal every device, the return path, or necessarily the path used by other traffic. Results can expose infrastructure details and addresses, so collect, retain, and share them only for a defined purpose under applicable privacy and security rules.

### Related terms

[Time to live (TTL)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/time-to-live/>) · [Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/internet-control-message-protocol/>) · [Network latency](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/network-latency/>) · [Packet loss](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/packet-loss/>) · [Network traffic](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/network-traffic/>)

### Sources

[RFC 5388: Information Model and XML Data Model for Traceroute Measurements](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5388) · [RFC 1812: Requirements for IP Version 4 Routers](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1812) · [RFC 4443: ICMPv6](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4443) · [NIST SP 800-82r3: Guide to Operational Technology Security](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/82/r3/final)

## Attribution and scope

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