Ashkon Software

WinTraceRoute - Visual Traceroute for Windows

WinTraceRoute shows the route that network packets take from your PC to any host on the Internet or your local network. Enter a host name or an IPv4 / IPv6 address, click Trace, and every router along the path is listed with its minimum, average and maximum round-trip time, packet loss and a latency graph, together with its host name, network owner (ASN and AS name), announced BGP prefix and country.

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WinTraceRoute main window

Features

IPv4 and IPv6 tracing

  • Trace to a host name, an IPv4 address or an IPv6 address.
  • Trace picks the address family automatically; Trace IPv4 and Trace IPv6 force one family with a single click.
  • A running trace can be stopped at any time with Cancel.

Detailed statistics for every hop

  • Min RTT, Avg RTT and Max RTT in milliseconds for each router on the path.
  • Loss: the percentage of probes to the hop that got no reply.
  • Latency graph: a small bar chart of the individual probes, so slow or unstable hops stand out at a glance; hops that do not answer are marked with a red cross.

Who owns each hop

  • Remote Host: the reverse DNS name of the router.
  • ASN, AS Name, Network (announced BGP prefix), Country and Registry (RIR), looked up over DNS.
  • Address Type labels private (RFC 1918), CGNAT and other special ranges, so you can see where your local network ends and the Internet begins.

Familiar tracert options

  • Maximum number of hops (-h), probes per hop and reply timeout (-w).
  • Turn host name resolution off (-d) for a faster trace.
  • Force IPv4 (-4) or IPv6 (-6), loose source route along a list of hosts (-j, IPv4), source address (-S, IPv6) and round-trip path tracing (-R, IPv6).
  • Show or hide any of the 14 list columns.

Export

  • Export the trace results as comma-separated text, or print them, for reports and support tickets.

Use it to find where a connection slows down or breaks: in your home or office network, at your Internet provider, on a backbone network or at the hosting provider of the destination site. Address types such as private (RFC 1918) and CGNAT ranges are labeled automatically, and all of the familiar tracert options — hop limit, timeout, IPv4 / IPv6, loose source routing — are available in one Settings dialog. WinTraceRoute is Windows based, fully configurable and faster than the tracert tool that comes with Windows. For a full help guide please see the WinTraceRoute Help page.

How to run a traceroute on Windows

  1. Download and install the free 30-day trial of WinTraceRoute.
  2. Enter the destination: type a host name or an IPv4 / IPv6 address in the box at the top.
  3. Click Trace, or Trace IPv4 / Trace IPv6 to force one address family. The hops appear one by one; Cancel stops the trace.
  4. Read the route: Loss, Avg RTT and the Latency graph show where the delay starts; ASN, AS Name and Country show whose network each router belongs to. For the registration record of a hop, choose Action > Whois / IP Info.
  5. Save the result with File > Export to File, or print it with File > Print.

When you need a traceroute

  • A website is slow or does not load: see at which hop the delay starts or where the route stops.
  • Is it my network or my Internet provider? Private (RFC 1918) and CGNAT addresses are labeled, so you see where your network ends and the provider’s begins.
  • A support ticket for your ISP or hosting company: export the hops with their times and loss.
  • Which networks and countries your traffic passes through: the AS name and country of every router.
  • tracert is slow and hard to read: the same options in a window with sorting and per-hop graphs.

Intermittent problem? A single trace can miss it. PingTrace repeats the traceroute continuously (MTR) and pings the host at the same time, so short bursts of packet loss show up in the statistics.

Main window

Each row of the list is one hop on the route to the destination. The toolbar has the trace commands, and the status bar shows the result of the last trace. In the screenshot below a route to nomura.jp is traced; the Settings dialog is open on top of the results.

Frequently asked questions

How do I run a traceroute on Windows?

Windows has the tracert command. WinTraceRoute does the same in a window: type a host name or IP address and click Trace. Each router on the path is listed with its round-trip times, packet loss, host name and network owner.

What does a hop with no reply mean?

The router did not answer the probes within the timeout. Many routers are set up not to answer traceroute. If the hops after it answer, traffic is still getting through.

What does packet loss at one hop mean?

Loss that starts at one hop and continues on every hop after it points to a problem at that hop. Loss at a single router with no loss on the hops after it usually means that router gives low priority to traceroute replies.

Can I see who owns each router on the route?

Yes. The ASN, AS Name, Network, Country and Registry columns show the network that each address belongs to, and Action > Whois / IP Info shows its registration record with the owner and abuse contacts.

Can WinTraceRoute trace IPv6 addresses?

Yes. Trace picks the address family automatically, and Trace IPv4 and Trace IPv6 force one of them. IPv6 tracing needs an IPv6 connection.

What is the difference between WinTraceRoute and PingTrace?

WinTraceRoute runs a single visual traceroute. PingTrace runs ping and traceroute side by side, repeats the traceroute continuously in MTR mode and adds a TCP port check.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. The free 30-day trial runs on Windows 10 and 11. A license is $19.95.

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