CyberCertPrepNetwork FundamentalsSwitching & Routing BasicsEASYFree question
A technician runs 'tracert 8.8.8.8' from a Windows PC and sees the first hop is 192.168.1.1, the second is 10.0.0.1, and then several more hops before reaching 8.8.8.8. What does each hop represent?
- A.Each hop is a DNS lookup performed by the packet
- B.Each hop is a router (Layer 3 device) along the path; the hop count is the TTL decrement count. The first hop (192.168.1.1) is the local default gateway
- C.Each hop is a switch on the local network, since a switch consistently decrements the TTL in the same way a router does before it passes the frame along
- D.Each hop is a firewall rule applied to the packet; switches forward frames by looking up the destination IP address in the routing table on every interface
Why B is correct
Tracert (traceroute) reveals Layer 3 devices (routers) along the path by using incrementally increasing TTL. Each router that decrements TTL to 0 sends back ICMP TTL Exceeded. The first hop is always the local default gateway (192.168.1.1 in this case). Subsequent hops are ISP routers and internet infrastructure. Switches are transparent to tracert.
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