|  | 8.7 | TCP/IP Suite: Utilities
| 8.7.4 | How and when to use TRACERT to test, validate, and troubleshoot IP connectivity

TRACERT is a command-line utility used to trace the exact route the data packet used to reach its destination. Using the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), tracert sends out echo packets to the destination, which was the packet's original destination, to determine the exact route. Variations of the tracert command are shown in the table.
Command | Action
tracert <hostname> or tracert <ipaddress> | Displays the exact route taken by the packet to its destination.
tracert -d | To specify that an IP address should not be resolved to a hostname.
tracert -d -h <number of hops><host name> Example: tracert -d -h 15 www.cisco.com | To list the maximum number of hops in a search.
tracert -j <router name><local computer> | Specifies the loose source routing to make the outbound datagram pass through the router and back.
tracert -w <number> | Instructs the amount of time to wait in milliseconds before timing out.
An example of displaying hops from one location to another: tracert -d -h 15 www.asu.edu.