The traceroute command (or trace for short) shows the path a packet takes to get to a
remote device. It uses time to live (TTL) timeouts and ICMP error messages to outline the path
a packet takes through an internetwork to arrive at a remote host. Let’s take a look at the traceroute
command being used on a router:
Corp#traceroute ?
WORD Trace route to destination address or hostname
appletalk AppleTalk Trace
clns ISO CLNS Trace
ip IP Trace
ipv6 IPv6 Trace
ipx IPX Trace
The trace command shows the hops that a packet traverses on its way to a remote device.
Here’s an example:
Corp#traceroute r1
Type escape sequence to abort.
Tracing the route to R1 (10.2.2.2)
1 R1 (10.2.2.2) 4 msec * 0 msec
Corp#