Jack's Internet
Connection
~~Jack
Teems, Neat Net Tricks
SOMETIMES
YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE
When things slow down while you are surfing the
Net, you may be tempted to blame your dinosaur computer, your Internet
service provider, a full moon, or all of the above. Likely, none of the above is the correct answer.
Your connection on the Internet follows a number of points, or
hops, in going from your computer to the desired site. The distance usually involves several thousand miles and a dozen
or more systems, any one of which may malfunction.
Before you are quick to affix blame, use a handy
feature in your Windows operating system to find a problem. It's called "tracert” and you simply enter that word
followed by the Web site address (URL) either in the box created when
you click on Start and Run; or, go to Start, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt,
and enter this information immediately following the prompt that is
displayed. The second
technique is preferred so that the display window will remain on your
screen until you click it off.
If, for example, I am having difficulty in getting
to my Web site, I can enter "tracert neatnettricks.com” (without
the quotation marks) and some 13 or so hops will be displayed showing
the systems through which my transmission has gone to reach its
destination. If there's a
breakdown or a slowdown in this path, this will be shown.
This sounds a lot more complicated than it really
is and if you would like a nice graphical display instead, consider
downloading Neoworx
or
VisualRoute. These interfaces have much more going for them than the built-in tracert
utility. While they all allow you to test your Internet connection and
identify whose system may be the culprit, Neoworx and VisualRoute also
enable you to investigate domains and identify Internet service
providers. These are valuable tools in contacting the right people if
you wish to hunt down and complain about spammers.
Several Internet sites such as
The Internet Weather
Report sample conditions and present a geographic map showing “lag time.”
This is a term to denote how long it takes for a packet of data (in
other words, your transmission) to get to an Internet node and return to
your computer, much like shouting from a cliff and waiting to hear an
echo. If the lag is too
long and the echo never returns or is extremely slow in returning, you
can expect a problem in your communication.
Remember, since things are measured in nanoseconds on the
Internet, any delay seems like an eternity. When this happens, turn in
early and get a good night’s rest. Maybe it's the moon after all.
Jack Teems' Neat Net
Tricks is available in three flavors: You can subscribe to the
free twice-monthly ezine by sending
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(details are also at the NNT Web site.)
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