Kingsley FAQ's - internet access, adsl and Broadband solutions, website hosting.

The trace route utility checks how many "hops" (transfers through other computers on a network) it takes for your computer to contact another computer. A "trace route" is a function which traces the path from one network to another. To be effective, the trace route MUST be run during the time when you are experiencing the problem, from a computer and DSL line that is experiencing the problem.

Steps to follow:

1. Click on start
2. Select Run
3. Type: cmd
4. Press Enter or click ok
5. In the DOS command window type in the command and chosen domain.
E.g.: tracert www.kingsley.co.za

Description of results provided by the Traceroute

Have a look at the above screenshot, the first column, the hop count, represents the number of stops the trace request has made along the route to attempt to contact the server represented by the domain.

The next three columns are the round-trip times in milliseconds for three attempts to reach the destination. The last column is the name of the host that responded to the request.

When connecting via SAIX to International services, you can expect to receive a response of 200-400ms. Whilst on an IS connection, a response of 400-700ms is normal due to IS utilising a satellite connection where lag is greater.


How to create a Ping Test

Ping is a computer network tool used to test whether a particular host is reachable and whether the host reacts to the ping test. Ping can test the speed of your connection, "distance" to target, and whether or not your connection is up and running. The trace route given above also covers this however a trace route gives a lot more information that may be redundant. Ping tells you how long a packet of data takes to travel from your computer to a specified host and back again.

The screenshot below shows whether or not the host replied, with how many bytes (size of packet), round trip time (in milliseconds), and the TTL is how many routers the packet will go through before giving up trying to find the host.

Steps to follow:

1. Click on start
2. Select Run
3. Type: cmd
4. Press Enter or click ok
5. In the DOS command window type in the command and chosen domain.
E.g.: ping www.kingsley.co.za