How to:- Install and Use Traceroute Command using Yum on Linux

In this tutorial we will learn how to Install and Use Traceroute Command using Yum on Linux. Traceroute command is used in Linux to map the journey that a packet of information undertakes from its source to its destination. One use for traceroute is to locate when data loss occurs throughout a network, which could signify a node that’s down.

Because each hop in the record reflects a new server or router between the originating PC and the intended target, reviewing the results of a traceroute scan also lets you identify slow points that may adversely affect your network traffic.

In this article I will show how to install and use Traceroute in Linux.

Install and Use Traceroute in Linux

Follow the below steps to install and use the Traceroute in Linux.

1. If you got the below warning on your Linux VPS or Dedicated server means traceroute command is not installed on your server.

# traceroute www.google.com
-bash: traceroute: command not found

Or you can verify the traceroute install or not by issue which command.

# which traceroute
/usr/bin/which: no traceroute in (/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/root/bin)

2. Run the below command to install the Traceroute.

# yum install traceroute -y

3. Verify the command install or not.

# which traceroute
/bin/traceroute

Traceroute Usage Command

1. Find the network path from my centos6 server to google.com.

# traceroute [options]

Example:

# traceroute www.google.com
traceroute to www.google.com (58.27.108.153), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
 1  192.168.2.1 (192.168.2.1)  9.233 ms  9.020 ms  8.857 ms
 2  219.93.218.177 (219.93.218.177)  20.717 ms  20.529 ms  27.526 ms
 3  60.49.55.93 (60.49.55.93)  57.368 ms  57.446 ms  57.187 ms
 4  10.55.32.58 (10.55.32.58)  76.846 ms 10.55.32.56 (10.55.32.56)  66.418 ms  66.906 ms
 5  58.27.105.125 (58.27.105.125)  75.779 ms  65.556 ms  65.592 ms
 6  * * *
 7  * * *
 8  * * *
 9  * * *
10  * * *
11  * * *
12  * * *
13  * * *
14  * * *
15  * * *
16  * * *
17  * * *
18  * * *
19  * * *
20  * * *
21  * * *
22  * * *
23  * * *
24  * * *
25  * * *
26  * * *
27  * * *
28  * * *
29  * * *
30  * * *

1st is the internet gateway on the network this traceroute was done (ADSL modem local IP)
2nd is the ISP the origin computer is connected to.

2. Now Find the network path from my centos6 server to google.com and do not resolve IP addresses to their domain names.

# traceroute www.google.com -n

3. Find the network path from my centos6 server to google.com and set the number of seconds to wait for response to a probe to 0.1 seconds (Default is 5.0).

# traceroute www.google.com -w 0.1

4. Find the network path from my centos6 server to google.com and set the number of probes per each hop to 5 (Default is 3).

# traceroute www.google.com -q 5

Traceroute Basic Command Options

Display basic command line options help for more usage.

# traceroute --help
Usage:
  traceroute [ -46dFITnreAUV ] [ -f first_ttl ] [ -g gate,... ] [ -i device ] [ -m max_ttl ] [ -N squeries ] [ -p port ] [ -t tos ] [ -l flow_label ] [ -w waittime ] [ -q nqueries ] [ -s src_addr ] [ -z sendwait ] host [ packetlen ]
Options:
  -4                          Use IPv4
  -6                          Use IPv6
  -d  --debug                 Enable socket level debugging
  -F  --dont-fragment         Do not fragment packets
  -f first_ttl  --first=first_ttl
                              Start from the first_ttl hop (instead from 1)
  -g gate,...  --gateway=gate,...
                              Route packets through the specified gateway
                              (maximum 8 for IPv4 and 127 for IPv6)
  -I  --icmp                  Use ICMP ECHO for tracerouting
  -T  --tcp                   Use TCP SYN for tracerouting
  -i device  --interface=device
                              Specify a network interface to operate with
  -m max_ttl  --max-hops=max_ttl
                              Set the max number of hops (max TTL to be
                              reached). Default is 30
  -N squeries  --sim-queries=squeries
                              Set the number of probes to be tried
                              simultaneously (default is 16)
  -n                          Do not resolve IP addresses to their domain names
  -p port  --port=port        Set the destination port to use. It is either
                              initial udp port value for "default" method
                              (incremented by each probe, default is 33434), or
                              initial seq for "icmp" (incremented as well,
                              default from 1), or some constant destination
                              port for other methods (with default of 80 for
                              "tcp", 53 for "udp", etc.)
  -t tos  --tos=tos           Set the TOS (IPv4 type of service) or TC (IPv6
                              traffic class) value for outgoing packets
  -l flow_label  --flowlabel=flow_label
                              Use specified flow_label for IPv6 packets
  -w waittime  --wait=waittime
                              Set the number of seconds to wait for response to
                              a probe (default is 5.0). Non-integer (float
                              point) values allowed too
  -q nqueries  --queries=nqueries
                              Set the number of probes per each hop. Default is
                              3
  -r                          Bypass the normal routing and send directly to a
                              host on an attached network
  -s src_addr  --source=src_addr
                              Use source src_addr for outgoing packets
  -z sendwait  --sendwait=sendwait
                              Minimal time interval between probes (default 0).
                              If the value is more than 10, then it specifies a
                              number in milliseconds, else it is a number of
                              seconds (float point values allowed too)
  -e  --extensions            Show ICMP extensions (if present), including MPLS
  -A  --as-path-lookups       Perform AS path lookups in routing registries and
                              print results directly after the corresponding
                              addresses
  -M name  --module=name      Use specified module (either builtin or external)
                              for traceroute operations. Most methods have
                              their shortcuts (`-I' means `-M icmp' etc.)
  -O OPTS,...  --options=OPTS,...
                              Use module-specific option OPTS for the
                              traceroute module. Several OPTS allowed,
                              separated by comma. If OPTS is "help", print info
                              about available options
  --sport=num                 Use source port num for outgoing packets. Implies
                              `-N 1'
  -U  --udp                   Use UDP to particular port for tracerouting
                              (instead of increasing the port per each probe),
                              default port is 53
  -UL                         Use UDPLITE for tracerouting (default dest port
                              is 53)
  -P prot  --protocol=prot    Use raw packet of protocol prot for tracerouting
  --mtu                       Discover MTU along the path being traced. Implies
                              `-F -N 1'
  --back                      Guess the number of hops in the backward path and
                              print if it differs
  -V  --version               Print version info and exit
  --help                      Read this help and exit

Arguments:
+     host          The host to traceroute to
      packetlen     The full packet length (default is the length of an IP
                    header plus 40). Can be ignored or increased to a minimal
                    allowed value