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@ jb55
2024-06-26 19:03:35Here's a neat tip for figuring out exactly where your packet went during a traceroute. You can simply paste the output of traceroute into ChatGPT, asking where the packet actually went geographically.
The question
Here's the input I gave it:
``` can you get a sense of this route geographically ?
monad> tracepath nghttp2.org1?: [LOCALHOST] pmtu 1500 1: _gateway 0.445ms 1: _gateway 0.363ms 2: 24.86.64.1 11.495ms 3: rc1st-be118-1.vc.shawcable.net 8.924ms 4: 24.244.60.69 12.607ms asymm 3 5: 24.244.63.101 9.884ms asymm 3 6: rc1st-be214.vc.shawcable.net 11.561ms asymm 3 7: rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net 14.402ms asymm 3 8: rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net 14.334ms asymm 3 9: ge3-0.cr02.sea01.pccwbtn.net 13.858ms asymm 4 10: ge3-0.cr02.sea01.pccwbtn.net 13.936ms asymm 4 11: 63-216-84-226.static.pccwglobal.net 191.730ms asymm 8 12: ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com 154.284ms asymm 9 13: ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com 160.912ms asymm 9 14: ae7.r01.tyo03.icn.netarch.akamai.com 156.906ms asymm 9 15: a23-56-142-37.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com 189.058ms asymm 10 16: a23-56-142-37.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com 189.577ms asymm 10 ```
Response
Tracing the geographical path from your local host to nghttp2.org involves a series of hops that typically represent different network routers or devices. Let's break down the route step-by-step:
- Localhost to Gateway:
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This is your local network's gateway, indicating the first point of contact outside your computer.
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24.86.64.1:
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This IP is likely the first hop within your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) network. Given the IP range, this looks like a Canadian IP address, possibly Vancouver (Shaw Communications).
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rc1st-be118-1.vc.shawcable.net:
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This indicates a Shaw Communications router, likely in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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24.244.60.69 and 24.244.63.101:
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These are further hops within Shaw Communications' network, still in Vancouver.
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rc1st-be214.vc.shawcable.net:
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Another router in Vancouver within Shaw's network.
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rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net:
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This hop seems to indicate a transition from Vancouver to Washington state in the USA.
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rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net:
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This appears again, indicating it's a key router in Washington state, likely Seattle.
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ge3-0.cr02.sea01.pccwbtn.net:
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This shows the transition to PCCW Global's network, a major international telecommunications provider, in Seattle, Washington.
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63-216-84-226.static.pccwglobal.net:
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Another hop within PCCW Global's network, possibly still in Seattle but preparing for a trans-Pacific jump.
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ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com:
- This hop indicates a significant jump to Hong Kong, to an Akamai router. This suggests the use of Akamai's CDN (Content Delivery Network).
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ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com:
- Another Akamai router in Hong Kong.
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ae7.r01.tyo03.icn.netarch.akamai.com:
- Transition from Hong Kong to Tokyo, Japan, within Akamai's network.
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a23-56-142-37.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com:
- The final destination is likely a server hosted by Akamai in Japan, which is hosting nghttp2.org.
In summary, the geographical path likely follows this route:
- Vancouver, Canada (Shaw Communications)
- Seattle, Washington, USA (Shaw Communications and PCCW Global)
- Hong Kong (PCCW Global and Akamai)
- Tokyo, Japan (Akamai)
This route involves both North American and Asia-Pacific regions, indicating a significant geographical spread typically seen in global internet routing.
Summary
This makes traceroute way more understandable. ChatGPT knows enough about the domains to give you a good sense of the geographical path. I will definitely be using this from now on, maybe someone can make a tool to do this automatically and format it nicely.
Obviously don't do this if you actually care about the privacy of your network paths, but I personally could care less so I don't mind feeding the AI overlords in this case.
Until next time!