Question

Use the traceroute (UNIX) or tracert (Windows) programs to trace the route from your computer to various universities on other continents. Make a list of transoceanic links you have discovered. Some sites to try are www.berkeley.edu (California) www.mit.edu (Massachusetts) www.vu.nl (Amsterdam) www.ucl.ac.uk (London) www.usyd.edu.au (Sydney) www.u-tokyo.ac.jp (Tokyo) www.uct.ac.za (Cape Town)

Short answer

Use tracert (Windows) or traceroute (UNIX) commands on each university's domain, identify transoceanic links, and list them.

Step-by-step solution

Open Command Line Interface

To begin tracing the route, you need to open the Command Line Interface on your computer. If you are using Windows, press the 'Windows key + R', type 'cmd', and press 'Enter'. On a UNIX-based system, such as Linux or macOS, open the 'Terminal'. This will allow you to input commands.

Start the Traceroute Command

Using the command line interface, you will use the `tracert` command for Windows or the `traceroute` command for UNIX-based systems. Begin by typing `tracert` (or `traceroute`) followed by a space, and then the domain name of the university you wish to trace. For example: `tracert www.berkeley.edu` for Windows or `traceroute www.berkeley.edu` for UNIX-based systems.

Analyze the Output

Run the command and wait for the output to generate. The traceroute command will provide you with a list of hops (intermediate routers) that your data passes through to reach the destination. Each line corresponds to a router on the path, showing the IP address and sometimes the domain name of the router.

Identify Transoceanic Links

Identify the transoceanic links in your traceroute results. These are typically long-distance hops that involve crossing an ocean. Locations might be inferred from the domain names or you might need to use additional tools to determine the geographical location of specific IP addresses. Hops with large latency times may also indicate transoceanic links.

Repeat for Other Universities

Repeat Steps 2 to 4 for each university website listed: - www.mit.edu - www.vu.nl - www.ucl.ac.uk - www.usyd.edu.au - www.u-tokyo.ac.jp - www.uct.ac.za Ensure you record which hops correspond to transoceanic links for each destination.

List Transoceanic Links

Create a list of all transoceanic links you have discovered. For each university, note down which hops represent these links, including any relevant details such as IP address or geographical implications obtained from the analysis.

Key concepts

Transoceanic Links

Transoceanic links are critical components in global internet connectivity as they allow data packets to travel between continents. These links usually involve underwater fiber-optic cables, which span thousands of kilometers under the ocean. For example, if you're tracing a route from the United States to Australia, you'll likely encounter a transoceanic link in the traceroute output.

When analyzing traceroute results, identifying transoceanic links can be done by looking for hops with notably higher latency times. Latency increases because of the vast distances the data must travel. Additionally, transoceanic links may involve certain hub cities known for their major internet exchange points, like New York, London, or Sydney.

Understanding these transoceanic links helps in grasping the backbone of global internet communication, demonstrating how expansive and interconnected our networks really are. This perspective can also reveal the complexities of internet speed, reliability, and potential bottlenecks arising from these vast communications networks.

Network Hops

In the process of using traceroute, network hops refer to the steps or stages that data packets go through to reach their final destination. Each hop represents an intermediate device, usually a router, that forwards the data to the next point.

Understanding network hops is crucial because they indicate the path data takes across the network. Examining each hop provides insight into the route the data follows, revealing potential problem areas or delays if a connection is slower than usual. When you type traceroute followed by a web address, the program sends packets with increasing "time-to-live" (TTL) values. This method allows you to see each router the data passes through, as each hop replies with a message when the packet expires.

By analyzing hops, you can identify specific routers that might be causing delays or note how many hops it takes to reach a destination. Knowing the number of hops isn’t just academic; it impacts network efficiency and can be vital for troubleshooting connectivity issues.

Command Line Interface

The Command Line Interface (CLI) is a powerful tool for executing commands and managing the operating system through text input. It's particularly useful for network diagnostics. When using traceroute or tracert, the terminal or command prompt is where you'll start.

To open the command line, press 'Windows key + R', type 'cmd', and hit 'Enter' on Windows. On UNIX-based systems like macOS, open the 'Terminal'. A simple text interface stands ready here for entering commands like traceroute, showcasing its flexibility.

The CLI may seem intimidating at first, but it provides detailed feedback and finer control over network functions than graphical interfaces. By practicing basic CLI commands, users can efficiently execute tasks and gain confidence in managing network diagnostics and monitoring tasks.

Geographical Location of IP Addresses

Determining the geographical location of IP addresses gives context to the hops that appear in a traceroute output. Each IP address in your results corresponds to a specific device on the internet, like a router, and these devices have physical locations.

There are online tools and databases that help map an IP address to a geographical location. This process, known as IP geolocation, grants insight into where your data is traveling. By understanding the physical locations of these IP addresses, you can better assess the efficiency and path of the data's journey.

IP geolocation can have varying accuracy depending on the provider and any anonymous or proxy servers in use. Nevertheless, it's a useful technique for tracking how data moves across countries and oceans, adding another layer of understanding to network diagnostics and global web infrastructure.