Trace the network path and each hop from global nodes to your target
After you submit a task, the path map and hop list will appear here
• Target: enter a domain or IP address (e.g. example.com or 1.1.1.1)
• Path map: each hop is plotted on a world map by GeoIP — hover to see IP, location, and RTT
• Hop list: full table of hop / IP / hostname / location / latency
• * or timeout: the router does not respond to ICMP, or is a private/carrier NAT node — cannot be geolocated
• Nodes: pick a source node; defaults to all available nodes
Traceroute sends packets with incrementally increasing TTL values to your target, collecting a reply from each router hop along the path and measuring the round-trip time to each one. Running it from multiple global nodes in parallel shows how the path to the same destination differs by region, making it straightforward to pinpoint where latency accumulates or where a path becomes unreachable.
Common uses include identifying which hop is responsible for high latency or packet loss, diagnosing asymmetric routing between regions, and investigating why a host is reachable from some locations but not others. Hops marked with * have not responded to ICMP, which is normal for many routers.
Those routers do not respond to ICMP TTL-exceeded messages — common behavior for routers configured to drop or not generate ICMP. It does not necessarily mean a problem; the path can still succeed through those hops.
Look for the first hop where latency jumps significantly or where packet loss appears. Everything before that hop is fine; the problem is at or after the jump point. If all hops after a certain point show * it may indicate a block there.
Each region reaches the destination through its own local carriers and peering points. Different paths are normal — the interesting finding is when one path is significantly longer or more lossy than others.
Traceroute performs a single pass showing each hop once. MTR repeats the probes continuously and aggregates loss and latency statistics per hop, making it better for confirming intermittent issues.