Post 4 - Traveling Through A Network

     

I have only used ping and traceroute commands once before a long time ago for a different cyber course. I never think about how data moves across the Internet daily. Like most people who use the Internet, I just open a browser and go to a website. After using these commands though, I have a slightly better understanding of how my inputs in a browser end up connecting to websites across the world.

The ping command sent small packets of data to a website and sent back information, letting me know how long it took to get there and back. As far as I know up to this point in this course, the results were interesting, as all three ping relatively fast. Google.com was the quickest because they have data centers everywhere.

The traceroute command gave me a deeper look into showing each stop the data made along the way. It was very interesting to see data take a road trip to its destination. There were more timed-out responses than I thought there would be. This could be because the server is blocking those requests for security reasons or could be a problem with the network. I am using public Wi-Fi while waiting for my daughter to finish her gymnastics. There are quite a few parents here who work on their laptops while waiting as well.

This assignment has taught me that location is super important and affects round trip time. Being closer to a server nets you a faster response. I also read that traffic can play a major role in connectivity.

 Overall, I enjoyed using these tools to better understand and remember that the Internet is a giant, complicated highway system, and these tools help display traffic jams. I look forward to the opportunity to use these commands again in the future.