The Internet Connection

By Michael Sauers

Traceroute Visually

Shortly after completing the "The Internet Connection" column (in the January issue of Action for Libraries) about the advantages of using Ping and Traceroute shareware as troubleshooting tools for your Internet connection, I found two wonderful programs, NeoTrace and GeoBoy. Both of these are Windows 95-based Traceroute programs that are very easy to use. Just enter the destination address and click.

NeoTrace, in a matter of seconds, will graphically display the route used to reach the remote computer and provide complete information about each hop in the route. I used NeoTrace from my computer to analyze the connection to www.ref.oclc.org and received this response:

Different colors designate good or bad speeds, and the icons designate the different types of computers involved. The pop-up window in the illustration shows the information retrieved about each hop.

GeoBoy takes this graphical representation one step further. It provides a map, either flat or as a globe, and actually traces each hop for you on the map. The trace to OCLC on GeoBoy located one hop in the ocean by Africa. It may have been a satellite link.

I highly recommend these programs. They are so simple to use, they should be in your arsenal of troubleshooting tools. NeoTrace is much faster (especially on older machines) due to the less complex graphic of the display. It also provides easier to read results. Had we not tried GeoBoy, however, we would not have found the satellite link, which could be the cause of Internet connection slowdowns. Both programs are shareware. NeoTrace can be found at www.neoworx.com for $15 (entitling you to the next upgrade for free), and GeoBoy can be found or $30 at www.ndg.com.au/products/gb/main.shtml.