Traceroute displays every network hop (router) between your device and the destination server, along with the response time at each hop. This helps identify where slowdowns or failures occur in the network path.

Asterisks (***) mean a router did not respond to the traceroute probe. Many routers are configured to drop or deprioritize ICMP/UDP traceroute packets for security. This is normal and does not necessarily indicate a problem.

Each line shows a hop number, the router's IP address or hostname, and three response times in milliseconds. A sudden large increase in latency at a specific hop indicates a bottleneck. Consistent high latency from a certain hop onward suggests the issue is at or after that point.

Ping tests the connection to a single destination and measures overall round-trip time. Traceroute maps the entire path and measures latency at each hop along the way, making it better for diagnosing where network issues occur.