There are frequently several links established along the road when machines interact with one another over the Internet. This is due to the fact that the Internet is composed of a network of networks, and two distinct machines may be connected to two different networks in various locations around the globe. As a result, in order for a computer to interact with another system on the Internet, data must first pass through a number of smaller networks before reaching the Internet backbone and then another smaller network where the target computer is located.

Known as "hops," these particular network links are frequently ignored by regular users. Since you only care about talking with the target machine, why bother keeping account of all the different connections? Tracing the route of links along the way, however, can be beneficial if a connection cannot be established or is taking an abnormally long period. The traceroute program does precisely this.

With the help of the TCP/IP tool Traceroute, a user can follow a network link from one place to another while keeping track of each step. You can execute the program by entering tracert [domain name] from a Unix or Windows command line, where [domain name] is either the domain name or the IP address of the machine you're attempting to contact. Various networking tools, such as Apple's Network Tool for Mac OS X, can also be used to perform a traceroute.

When a traceroute is executed, a summary of network steps is returned, along with each connection's server name and IP address. Additionally, it provides the duration it took for each link to establish itself (usually in milliseconds). This reveals if there were any connection-establishing hiccups. As a result, if a network link is sluggish or inactive, a traceroute can frequently pinpoint the problem's position and provide an explanation for its cause.