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4.1.1.7_Lab___Tracing_a_Route

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30 views

4.1.1.7_Lab___Tracing_a_Route

Uploaded by

MICAH WALDRON
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lab - Tracing a Route

Lab 4.1.1.7 – Tracing a Route


This lab has been updated for use on NETLAB+.
www.netdevgroup.com

Objectives
Part 1: Tracing a Route to a Remote Server Using Traceroute
Part 2: Trace a Route to a Remote Server Using Web-Based Traceroute Tool

Background
Tracing a route will list each routing device that a packet crosses as it traverses the network from source to
destination. Route tracing is typically executed at the command line as:
tracert <destination network name or end device address>
(Microsoft Windows systems)
or
traceroute <destination network name or end device address>
(Unix and similar systems)
The traceroute (or tracert) tool is often used for network troubleshooting. By showing a list of routers
traversed, it allows the user to identify the path taken to reach a particular destination on the network or
across internetworks. Each router represents a point where one network connects to another network and
through which the data packet was forwarded. The number of routers is known as the number of "hops" the
data traveled from source to destination.
The displayed list can help identify data flow problems when trying to access a service such as a website. It
can also be useful when performing tasks such as downloading data. If there are multiple websites (mirrors)
available for the same data file, one can trace each mirror to get a good idea of which mirror would be the
fastest to use.
Two trace routes between the same source and destination conducted some time apart may produce different
results. This is due to the "meshed" nature of the interconnected networks that comprise the Internet and the
Internet Protocols’ ability to select different pathways over which to send packets.
Command-line-based route tracing tools are usually embedded with the operating system of the end device.

Scenario
You will use two route tracing utilities to examine the Internet pathway to destination networks. First, you will
use the traceroute utility on the Linux command line. Second, you will use a web-based traceroute tool
(http://www.monitis.com/traceroute/).

© 2018 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public. Page 1 of 3
Lab - Tracing a Route

Part 1: Tracing a Route to a Remote Server Using Traceroute


Routes traced can go through many hops and a number of different Internet Service Providers (ISPs),
depending on the size of your ISP and the location of the source and destination hosts. Each “hop” represents
a router. A router is a specialized type of computer used to direct traffic across the Internet. Imagine taking an
automobile trip across several countries using many highways. At different points in the trip you come to a
fork in the road, in which you have the option to select from several different highways. Now further
imagine that there is a device at each fork in the road that directs you to take the correct highway to your
final destination. That is what a router does for packets on a network.
Because computers talk in decimal or hexadecimal numbers, rather than words, routers are uniquely
identified using IP addresses. The traceroute tool shows you what path through the network a packet of
information takes to reach its final destination. The traceroute tool also gives you an idea of how fast traffic is
going on each segment of the network. Packets are sent to each router in the path, and the return time is
measured in milliseconds.

To do this, the traceroute tool is used. Since the internet is not accessible within the environment, captured files
are preloaded onto the virtual machine for review.
a. Launch the CyberOps Workstation VM. Log on to the CyberOps Workstation VM as the analyst, using
the password cyberops and open a terminal window.

b. At the command prompt, change to the /home/analyst/lab.support.files/traceroute_files/ directory.

[analyst@secOps ~]$ cd /home/analyst/lab.support.files/traceroute_files/

c. Analyze the captured cisco-traceroute.txt file using the cat command.


[analyst@secOps traceroute_files]$ cat cisco-traceroute.txt

d. While in the same directory, use the cat command to view captured traceroute traffic for the following
websites with their associated filenames. These are the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) websites located
in different parts of the world:

Africa: www.afrinic.net afrnic-traceroute.txt


Australia: www.apnic.net apni-traceroute.txt
Europe: www.ripe.net ripe-traceroute.txt
South America: www.lacnic.net lacnic-traceroute.txt

© 2018 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public. Page 2 of 3
Lab - Tracing a Route

Part 2: Trace a Route to a Remote Server Using Web-Based Traceroute


Tool
a. Open a web browser on your client machine with internet accessibility and
navigate to http://www.monitis.com/traceroute/.
b. Enter any website you wish to replace Example: google.com and press Start Test.

c. Review the geographical locations of the responding hops. W hat did you observe regarding the path?

Reflection
How is the traceroute different when going to www.cisco.com or other websites from the terminal (see Part 1)
rather than from the online website? (Your results may vary depending upon where you are located
geographically, and which ISP is providing connectivity to your school.)

© 2018 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public. Page 3 of 3

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