Improved traceroutes using ChatGPT

Here's a neat tip for figuring out exactly where your packet went during a traceroute. You can simply paste the output of traceroute into ChatGPT, asking where the packet actually went geographically.

The question

Here's the input I gave it:

can you get a sense of this route geographically ?

    monad> tracepath nghttp2.org
 1?: [LOCALHOST]                      pmtu 1500
 1:  _gateway                                              0.445ms 
 1:  _gateway                                              0.363ms 
 2:  24.86.64.1                                           11.495ms 
 3:  rc1st-be118-1.vc.shawcable.net                        8.924ms 
 4:  24.244.60.69                                         12.607ms asymm  3 
 5:  24.244.63.101                                         9.884ms asymm  3 
 6:  rc1st-be214.vc.shawcable.net                         11.561ms asymm  3 
 7:  rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net                        14.402ms asymm  3 
 8:  rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net                        14.334ms asymm  3 
 9:  ge3-0.cr02.sea01.pccwbtn.net                         13.858ms asymm  4 
10:  ge3-0.cr02.sea01.pccwbtn.net                         13.936ms asymm  4 
11:  63-216-84-226.static.pccwglobal.net                 191.730ms asymm  8 
12:  ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com                154.284ms asymm  9 
13:  ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com                160.912ms asymm  9 
14:  ae7.r01.tyo03.icn.netarch.akamai.com                156.906ms asymm  9 
15:  a23-56-142-37.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com  189.058ms asymm 10 
16:  a23-56-142-37.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com  189.577ms asymm 10 

Response

Tracing the geographical path from your local host to nghttp2.org involves a series of hops that typically represent different network routers or devices. Let's break down the route step-by-step:

1. Localhost to Gateway:

   • This is your local network's gateway, indicating the first point of contact outside your computer.

2. 24.86.64.1:

   • This IP is likely the first hop within your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) network. Given the IP range, this looks like a Canadian IP address, possibly Vancouver (Shaw Communications).

3. rc1st-be118-1.vc.shawcable.net:

   • This indicates a Shaw Communications router, likely in Vancouver, British Columbia.

4. 24.244.60.69 and 24.244.63.101:

   • These are further hops within Shaw Communications' network, still in Vancouver.

5. rc1st-be214.vc.shawcable.net:

   • Another router in Vancouver within Shaw's network.

6. rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net:

   • This hop seems to indicate a transition from Vancouver to Washington state in the USA.

7. rc2wt-be50-1.wa.shawcable.net:

   • This appears again, indicating it's a key router in Washington state, likely Seattle.

8. ge3-0.cr02.sea01.pccwbtn.net:

   • This shows the transition to PCCW Global's network, a major international telecommunications provider, in Seattle, Washington.

9. 63-216-84-226.static.pccwglobal.net:

   • Another hop within PCCW Global's network, possibly still in Seattle but preparing for a trans-Pacific jump.

10. ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com:

    • This hop indicates a significant jump to Hong Kong, to an Akamai router. This suggests the use of Akamai's CDN (Content Delivery Network).

11. ae1.r01.hkg03.icn.netarch.akamai.com:

    • Another Akamai router in Hong Kong.

12. ae7.r01.tyo03.icn.netarch.akamai.com:

    • Transition from Hong Kong to Tokyo, Japan, within Akamai's network.

13. a23-56-142-37.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com:

    • The final destination is likely a server hosted by Akamai in Japan, which is hosting nghttp2.org.

In summary, the geographical path likely follows this route:

1. Vancouver, Canada (Shaw Communications)
2. Seattle, Washington, USA (Shaw Communications and PCCW Global)
3. Hong Kong (PCCW Global and Akamai)
4. Tokyo, Japan (Akamai)

This route involves both North American and Asia-Pacific regions, indicating a significant geographical spread typically seen in global internet routing.

Summary

This makes traceroute way more understandable. ChatGPT knows enough about the domains to give you a good sense of the geographical path. I will definitely be using this from now on, maybe someone can make a tool to do this automatically and format it nicely.

Obviously don't do this if you actually care about the privacy of your network paths, but I personally could care less so I don't mind feeding the AI overlords in this case.

Until next time!