Show HN: How did your computer reach my server? (how-did-i-get-here.net)

Article summary

The article presents a website that uses a custom traceroute program to show the path of routers traversed between the user's device and the server. The program works by sending ICMP packets with increasing TTL fields and uses BGP to share routing tables with other autonomous systems. The article explains the history and politics of the Internet through the lens of protocols, including BGP and traceroute. The website's author, a 17-year-old, created the project to gain a deeper understanding of how computers work and to show it in new ways.

Main themes

• Internet protocols
• traceroute and BGP
• networking fundamentals
• layer 2 and layer 3 networking
• protocol reliability
• network device handling
• hybrid approaches to traceroute
• autonomous systems and peering arrangements

What commenters say

• ICMP is not a reliable protocol for traceroute due to its handling by network devices.
• Using TCP or UDP instead of ICMP can provide more accurate results for traceroute.
• The difference between layer 2 and layer 3 networking is becoming less distinct with modern enterprise hardware.
• Traceroute results can be affected by the device's management plane and data plane handling of packets.
• The choice of protocol for traceroute can affect the results due to differences in handling by network devices.
• The use of ICMP for traceroute is limited by its reliance on the management plane of network devices.
• Hybrid approaches using multiple protocols can provide more accurate traceroute results.
• The reliability of traceroute results can depend on the specific network devices and configurations involved.