Use our Server-Side Traceroute Tool to examine the network path between the NetTools Pakistan hosting server and an approved public IP address. The tool identifies responding network hops, displays their IP addresses, and shows response times in milliseconds (ms).
This diagnostic runs from our website’s hosting server, not from your computer, mobile phone, home Wi-Fi router, or PTCL internet connection.
Select a destination below to check its network path.
See the network hops from this website’s hosting server to an approved public destination. This is not a traceroute from your own device or PTCL connection. Each numbered hop represents a responding network router along the route. A * means no reply was received for that probe; it does not always indicate an outage. Private or special-use hop IP addresses are hidden. Routes vary by server location, routing policy, time, and destination. A server-side trace cannot diagnose the Wi-Fi signal or local router inside your home.Trace a Route from Our Server
How to read your results
How to Use the Server-Side Traceroute Tool
When the diagnostic service is available, follow these steps:
- Select a destination: Choose a public IP address from the available destination list.
- Run the traceroute: Click the Run traceroute button to start the network check.
- Review the results: Examine the numbered hops, responding IP addresses, and response times.
- Identify potential issues: Look for unanswered probes or changes in response times. These are clues for further investigation, not automatic proof of a network fault.
The available destinations are controlled by the website administrator. The tool does not accept arbitrary IP addresses or website URLs entered by visitors.
What Is a Server-Side Traceroute?
A server-side traceroute is a network diagnostic that examines the route packets take from a server toward a destination on the internet.
Data travelling across the internet may pass through several routers and interconnected networks before reaching its destination. Each router along the path represents a network hop.
Traceroute sends diagnostic packets with increasing Time to Live (TTL) values. Routers may respond when a packet’s TTL expires, allowing the diagnostic to identify parts of the network path.
Unlike a traceroute performed on your own computer, this tool runs from the NetTools Pakistan hosting environment. The results describe that server’s route to the selected destination.
Understanding Your Traceroute Results
The traceroute results can provide three useful types of information.
Network Hops
Each numbered hop represents a position along the network route. A responding router may reveal its public IPv4 address.
The tool displays up to 10 hops. If the destination lies beyond this limit, the diagnostic may stop before reaching it.
Response Time (ms)
Response time is the approximate round-trip time between the hosting server and a responding network device.
Lower values generally indicate a shorter response time for that probe. However, a high reading at one intermediate router does not necessarily mean that router is slowing down ordinary application traffic.
This tool sends one probe per hop, so a single measurement should not be treated as a reliable long-term latency benchmark.
Unanswered Hops (*)
An asterisk indicates that the diagnostic did not receive a usable response for that probe.
Possible explanations include router configuration, filtering, response rate limiting, or a timeout.
An unanswered hop does not automatically mean the internet connection has failed. A later router or the destination may still respond successfully.
For security and privacy reasons, private and special-use network addresses are hidden when they appear in the results.
When Is a Server-Side Traceroute Useful?
A server-side traceroute can provide additional information when investigating website connectivity problems.
Website connection timeouts: If a website or network service is intermittently unreachable, a traceroute may help identify how far diagnostic packets travel.
Hosting network troubleshooting: Website administrators can examine routes originating from their hosting server rather than from their own local internet connection.
Routing investigations: Repeated diagnostics at different times may help identify changes in responding hops or possible routing differences.
Technical support: Traceroute output can provide supporting evidence when discussing network connectivity problems with a hosting provider or network administrator.
A traceroute alone cannot confirm the cause of a slowdown or outage. Results should be considered alongside other checks, such as application availability, server health, DNS resolution, and connection tests.
Server-Side Traceroute vs. Traceroute From Your Computer
These diagnostics may produce different results because they begin at different locations.
| Feature | Server-Side Traceroute | Local Traceroute |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Website hosting server | Your computer or device |
| Route examined | Server to destination | Your device to destination |
| Local Wi-Fi diagnosis | No | Limited indirect clues |
| Home ISP route | Not necessarily | Usually includes the user’s access-network path |
| Software needed by visitor | Web browser | Operating-system diagnostic |
| Destination selection | Approved IPv4 addresses | Depends on local tool |
If you want to investigate the route from your own PTCL, Nayatel, StormFiber, Transworld, or other Pakistani internet connection, perform a local traceroute from a device connected to that network.
On Windows, the built-in tracert command can be used for this purpose. Linux and macOS systems commonly provide a traceroute command.
Why Might the Traceroute Be Incomplete?
An incomplete trace is not necessarily evidence of a broken network route.
Some routers do not respond to traceroute probes. Firewalls may restrict diagnostic packets, and hosting providers may limit the network operations available to websites.
This tool also uses a restricted diagnostic configuration to reduce server resource usage. It supports approved public IPv4 destinations, uses UDP-based traceroute probes, and checks a maximum of 10 hops.
If the destination is not confirmed within the hop limit, the result should be interpreted as inconclusive rather than a verified outage.
What If the Traceroute Tool Is Unavailable?
The live diagnostic depends on the hosting server supporting the necessary network commands and permissions.
If the service is disabled, not configured, or unsupported by the hosting environment, the page will show an unavailable message instead of displaying invented results.
Usage limits may also temporarily prevent additional checks. Try again later if a request limit or busy-server message appears.
Important Limitations
The Server-Side Traceroute Tool does not measure your internet download speed, upload speed, Wi-Fi signal strength, or the performance of your PTCL connection.
It cannot establish whether a particular ISP is experiencing a nationwide outage. It also does not guarantee that a website or application is working simply because its destination responds to a network probe.
Traceroute paths and response times can change with routing policies, server location, network conditions, and the destination being tested.
For meaningful troubleshooting, combine traceroute findings with other appropriate network diagnostics and information from your service provider.
About NetTools Pakistan: NetTools Pakistan is an independent internet connectivity information and diagnostic website. It is not an official PTCL, PTA, or internet service provider service.