What Windows command is the counterpart to traceroute for showing the path that packets take?

• A. ping
• B. traceroute
• C. tracert
• D. tracepath

Answer: (C)

Windows uses tracert to reveal the path packets take to a destination. It works like traceroute by sending probes with increasing TTL so that each router along the route replies when the packet’s time-to-live expires. Those responses let tracert map each hop and report the round-trip times to that hop, letting you see the route from your machine to the target host.

Ping, on the other hand, checks whether a host is reachable and measures latency to that single host but doesn’t show the network path. Tracepath is a similar tool available on some Linux systems, not Windows. Traceroute is the name used on many Unix-like systems, but Windows specifically uses tracert for this functionality.