Chapter 4 - Where’s My Data Going? A Network Travel Log

Where’s My Data Going? A Network Travel Log

I don't know about you, but I personally never questioned what happens behind the scenes when I try to access a website have you? In this blog post we are going to explore what happens when we access or 'ping' and trace a website. 

First things first, let's begin by going over the basics. This activity is done using a Command Prompt; a simple, black-and-white window that lets you talk directly to your computer using typed commands. With the Ping command I sent tiny digital signals (like a virtual "Are you there?") to websites to see how fast and reliably they responded. Then, using traceroute, I tracked the exact path my data took to reach those websites. Each stop along the way is called a hop; like checkpoints or pit stops on a road trip across the internet. By using these tools, I learned how data travels through networks, what can slow it down, and how to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. Spoiler alert: the results weren’t what I expected!

Websites used

1. Google.com
2. Mexicana.gob.mx
3. ZenMarket.jp

Part 1: Ping Activity

Part 2: Traceroute Activity

Part 3: Traveling Through a Network Reflection Essay

Unexpected results is a good way to summarize this experience in just a couple of words. 

For the ping results, all three websites returned four out of four successful responses, with no packet loss at all. The main difference was in the average roundtrip time. You’d think Google would be the fastest because it’s local and super popular, but in my case, it actually had the slowest average time at 87 milliseconds. Both of the international sites were quicker, with ZenMarket.jp averaging 73 ms, and Mexicana.gob.mx being the fastest at 58 ms. I’m guessing Google had a slightly higher delay because of how much traffic it handles.

The traceroute results showed that each site took exactly 9 hops to reach, which was pretty consistent. Again, the Mexican website performed the best, with fewer timeouts and faster hop responses overall. Google and ZenMarket each had two timeouts, while the Mexican site only had one.

So, based on my tests, I noticed that geographical location doesn’t always mean faster speed. Websites outside my region responded faster than Google, probably because of things like server load, routing paths, or internet traffic at the time.

Both the ping and traceroute commands are great tools to troubleshoot internet issues. Ping checks if a site is reachable and how long it takes to respond. Traceroute goes deeper, showing every step your data takes to get there. It’s super helpful to see where things are slowing down or failing.

If a ping or traceroute times out, it could be because a firewall is blocking the request, or the router is too busy or set up not to respond to those kinds of requests.

 

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