Windows Server® 2012 Unleashed

Using the Tracert Command-Line Utility

The Tracert utility is a valuable resource that gives you an idea of the path that a DNS query takes when being sent over a network. By directing Tracert at www.microsoft.com, for example, you can get an idea of how many routers and DNS servers the packet is crossing. The way that Tracert works is simple, but actually quite interesting. A DNS query that has a TTL of 1 is sent out. Because all routers are supposed to drop the TTL by 1 on each packet that they process, this means that the first router will refuse to forward the packet and send that refusal back to the originator. The originating machine then increments the TTL by 1 and resends the packet. This time the packet will make it past the first router ...