Traceroute helps us to show the route or path that the packets follow from our PC to the destination, measuring the transit latencies and the round trip times through the different routers where all the data travels. The traceroute tool is really useful to detect if there is any intermediate node with collapse or with some problem. Along with the popular “ping”, it is one of the most widely used. Today in this article we are going to show you a selection of the best Traceroute programs that you can use.
We will start by explaining what we can use it for and then we will talk about the best Traceroute programs.
What is traceroute or tracert and what is it for
One of the functions of a network administrator as part of their daily duties, may include ensuring network uptime and performance. In that case, being able to measure the time between hops on your network is really very important. Tracert on Windows or Traceroute on Unix / Linux is a command line tool that allows us to measure the path taken by your packets on the network, and also shows us the time it takes for each hop, ideal for detecting possible problems between nodes.
In the event that a failure occurs in our network, thanks to these two commands we will be able to determine how far the data packet we have sent travels, and in which IP address, or jump, the failure is occurring. Next, we are going to offer you a list of the best Traceroute programs, because there are even more complete tools than the typical ones that come with operating systems.
Solarwinds TraceRouteNG
One of the best Traceroute programs that we can use is Solarwinds TraceRouteNG. Among its key characteristics, it stands out that it allows detecting route changes, allows continuous polling of our network and provides notifications. As for polling, it offers options in both TCP and ICMP, and also saves a record by creating a history file in txt format.
In addition, it allows to identify IP addresses, host, packet loss and latency. It should also be noted that it supports IPV4 and IPV6 so it guarantees that the diagnoses we carry out can continue to be done in the future. In this case, it is a free version that you can download from here .
Path Analyzer Pro
The next tool we are going to mention is Path Analyzer Pro. Thanks to it, we will be able to track advanced network routes with performance tests, DNS, Whois and network resolution to investigate network problems. In addition, it has a simple graphical interface and is available for Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.
A very important feature is that it is up to 20 times faster than a traditional traceroute. Also noteworthy is its “synopsis” function, by which we will not have to search for data from five or ten Whois servers, registrars, routers and other sources and then correlate them and obtain summary information. If you want to download a trial version of the program you can do it from here , if you like the most basic version it costs € 30.
Open Visual Traceroute
Open Visual Traceroute is a free and open source application, its source code is also available to download from its website. Its Traceroute function will allow us to see on a world map in 3D to indicate which route the data is taking to go from our PC to the destination server.
It also has a network packet tracker that will allow us to see what data is sent and received from the local system to the Internet. In addition, it has the Whois service to consult public information about a domain. Computers with fewer resources, or having problems with OpenGL drivers, will be able to choose a 2D display. You can download the program from its website .
VisualRoute Lite
Another of the best Traceroute programs is VisualRoute Lite, it is free software, as long as its use is not commercial. With VisualRoute Lite we can get an instant analysis of Internet connection performance, network latency, poor connection quality caused by packet loss, and identify the responsible service provider (ISP). Thus, we can determine if the Internet malfunction is due to our ISP, or to an Internet problem.
This Lite version has two display sections available. Thus, at the top it provides an overview showing the basic statistics discovered during the crawl path. At the bottom, we find a route graph that represents how the route was made in relation to round-trip travel time. If you want to try this program in its version for Windows or Mac OS X, you can do so by clicking on the following link .
PingPlotter
PingPlotter is another of the best Traceroute and route mapping software for your network traffic. Thanks to this tool, we can detect and inspect the route and speed-related problems with alerts and conditions. We can consider this useful for the purpose of network monitoring.
Also, we can configure conditions that begin to register as soon as routing problems appear. In this way we can record any deviation from normal operating procedures on our network, and detect abnormal behavior.
In addition, it has graphs that facilitate the visualization and understanding of the problems in a simpler and more intuitive way. We have a 14-day trial version. Then we can opt for a standard version, aimed at small companies and home users, and another pro version aimed at large companies. It is available for download for the Windows operating system from here .
CountryTraceRoute
Nirsoft’s CountryTraceRoute is a Traceroute utility, similar to the Windows tracert tool. The main difference with the Microsoft operating system is that it has a graphical user interface, and it is also much faster. It will also show us the country of the owner of each IP address found and the response times in milliseconds.
This tool works on any version of Windows, from Windows 2000 to Windows 10 in 64-bit and 32-bit versions. As for the great limitation of this program, it is that it does not support IPv6 so it is not prepared for the future. In the case of wanting to obtain this free program, you can do it from here .
HyperTrace
AnalogX HyperTrace is a version of traceroute with a graphical user interface. If you have ever had internet connection problems, but you don’t know where the problem is, this tool can help you.
Thanks to HyperTrace, we will be able to visually inspect the route that our data packets are taking through the Internet. Thus, we obtain accurate information about the current state of our Internet connection and if we are experiencing an incident. It should also be noted that it is a basic tool, compared to others of this type. However, it has one very positive thing, it is compatible with all versions of Windows and it is also free. If you want to try HyperTrace, click on the following link .
NetScanTools Basic
To finish off the best Traceroute programs, let’s do it with NetScanTools Basic. We find a free program with the basic network tools, such as DNS, Ping Scan, Graphical Ping, Traceroute and Whois tools.
Although it shows some graphs like ping, it would not do much for report generation and export. This means that this program would be more suitable for home use rather than professional use. If you want to try NetScanTools Basic you can do it by clicking here .
Without a doubt, Traceroute is an indispensable diagnostic tool, especially if you are a network technician or system or network administrator. When we have problems in our network, it is very important to be able to quickly visualize where the interruption of connectivity lies in your network or on the Internet, so that we can solve it as soon as possible. Finally, in this tutorial we have shown you the best Traceroute programs so that you can use them in both a professional and home environment.
