Network Assistant
Running the Diagnostic Tests
109
Ping
The Ping test is a general-purpose connectivity tool that
you can use to determine if a device on the network is
reachable.
Ping results are displayed on the EtherScope Console
screen. Results include the number of packets
transmitted and received and the response time (in ms).
Trace Route
The Trace Route test “traces the route” to a specific
device. This test can help you identify slow, congested
links since the results show the number of hops and the
travel time.
Trace Route can also detect split routes taken to the
destination device. Load balancing problems or
intermittent physical problems resulting from the cycling
up or down of a link (called “route flapping”) can cause
split routes.
Trace Switch Route
The Trace Switch Route test can help you solve
connectivity and configuration problems by tracing the
route of a packet between the instrument and a host or
device on the network. The test narrows the domain and
can help you identify the physical location of a problem
within the network.
If the Trace Switch Route test is available, you can run it
by tapping the hyperlink
Trace Switch Route
in the
preview pane of the Device Details screen (see Figure 13).
Figure 31 shows a trace from EtherScope Network
Assistant to a host computer. The trace identifies the In
and Out ports on the switches along with the names,
MAC address, and status of each device in the trace.
