WinTraceRoute

Long time Windows users know that the operating system brings to the table plenty of utilities and among them is the possibility to trace the route of a connection from the time the request is initialized by the user to the destination.

Installation and interface

WinTraceRoute is a third party utility designed with the same purpose in mind, but running in a graphical user interface, for more comfortable handling.
It installs easily, and all you need to do to complete the process successfully is to follow the instructions on the screen.
The interface does not have any bells and whistles as it is straightforward; it consists in a simple window that includes a field for typing in the destination address for the connection.

Functionality

As soon as the tracing is started WinTraceRoute automatically displays the nodes the connection goes through, complete with details like the minimum, average and maximum RTT (round-trip delay time), routers that receive and forward the packet and its IP address.
Monitoring the packet is done until either the destination or the maximum hop limit is reached.
Besides determining the route of a connection, WinTraceRoute can also help find out if there are any issues that prevent reaching the destination.
The application features the possibility to export the results of a trace session, but in our case the operation could not be completed.

Conclusion

WinTraceRoute is very simple to use but interpreting the results does require some computer knowledge. However, most users that know what the utility is for should also be aware of the “tracert” command its parameters in Windows console.