Recently, I had the opportunity to assist a competitor facing a peculiar internet issue: some websites were accessible while others were not. Using a simple yet powerful tool — traceroute — we quickly identified where the problem was occurring within the network path.
What We Saw
The traceroute results revealed that traffic was being filtered or dropped at a specific point. Insights like these are invaluable for diagnosing whether it is a routing misconfiguration, a firewall ACL, or a provider-level block.
Why It Matters
- Pinpoints which network segment (LAN, edge, upstream) is responsible.
- Guides conversations with ISPs or upstream providers with concrete evidence.
- Reduces time-to-resolution by avoiding blind configuration changes.
Quick Commands
Windows: tracert <destination>
Linux/macOS: traceroute <destination> # sudo apt install traceroute (Debian/Ubuntu)Takeaway
Never underestimate foundational tools. Traceroute and its relatives (mtr, pathping) can save hours of troubleshooting by showing exactly where packets fail.