Tell me more ×
Server Fault is a question and answer site for professional system and network administrators. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote -3 down vote favorite

The way to accomplish this obviously depends on the operating system.

  • Windows 7
  • Mac OS X Mountain Lion
  • Ubuntu 12.4

Choose one of the above (preferably all 3), and explain how:

You would find out how your computer connects to www.google.at. Include and list every piece of hardware (router, proxy ...) your packets "touch".

share|improve this question
I ignore the computer and follow the wires. – Zoredache Oct 25 '12 at 8:22
It may be wireless though :( But still .... it works ;) – Nikolaidis Fotis Oct 25 '12 at 8:24
You might get more helpful homework answers if you wereat least honest that this is a homework question. – symcbean Oct 25 '12 at 8:30
This is not a homework question. I'm just interested but thanks for the hostility. – sytycs Oct 25 '12 at 8:31
@sytycs: Please read our FAQ. This is a site for pro sysadmins. – SvW Oct 25 '12 at 8:41
show 1 more comment

closed as not a real question by SvW, Zoredache, Tom O'Connor, Iain♦ Oct 25 '12 at 9:04

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

You destroy sequentially all the devices in the neighbourhood until you lose your connection. The last device you destroyed, is your gateway to the internet.

use traceroute, nmap, ping ... and other similar tools to accomplish that (They are common in every OS )
share|improve this answer
thanks, traceroute was actually what I was looking for. – sytycs Oct 29 '12 at 20:51
up vote 0 down vote

You can utilize another method which is not dependent on a specific operating system.

  1. Locate the network interface on your local machine and take a note on a piece of paper.
  2. From the network interface, follow the cable until you reach its destination. Take another note on your piece of paper.
  3. Locate the upstream interface on the device and follow the cable to its destination. Take note.
  4. Repeat steps 2 to 3 until you have arrived at the endpoint (e.g. www.google.at).

The result you end up with is a piece of paper with a systematic list of the route your packets "touch" from a local computer to its destination.

In step 3 you might need to locate a network administrator for a more detailed description on where any packet is routed.

share|improve this answer
You are very funny. – sytycs Oct 25 '12 at 8:35

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.