How do I use traceroute (tracert)?

Traceroute, or tracet, is a tool used for diagnosing network-related issues. It does this by displaying the route to the destination specified - a domain name or an IP address - and records how long it takes packets to reach that destination. Occasionally your Web Hosting Provider may ask you to perform a traceroute.

How to use traceroute?

Here's how to run tracet on the 3 most common OS: 

Windows

• Click 'Start'
• Type in ​Run and then click on the icon that appears (a box should open)
• Type cmd and then press OK to open command prompt.
• In the window that appears, type in: tracert yourdomain.com (or the IP address depending on the issue) and then press 'Enter'.

macOS

• Browse to Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal 
• Then type traceroute followed by a space and then a website or IP address you need to diagnose, i.e. traceroute yourdomain.com then press 'Enter'.

Linux

• Open a Terminal window
• Type: traceroute yourdomain.com (or replace 'yourdomain.com' with an IP address if requested to do so)