Request always times out on 2nd hop

[coded]

When running the trace route command I noticed all my trace routes result in a timed out request on the 2nd hop. I don't know if this has something to do with initially lagging browsing speeds whenever I surf to a new site.

For example...

1 1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.168.1.1
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 9 ms 10 ms 18 ms gw10.wlfdle.rnc.net.cable.rogers.com [66.185.91.65]

Anyhow, is this a problem; is it normal; is there any way I can fix this?

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Linksys WRT54GL router w/Tomato v1.19 firmware

[David]

This article explains what, exactly, a traceroute is doing:

How does Traceroute work? - TCP/IP FAQ - Tek-Tips

That device (whatever route it is in the path), is not responding to your requests. I'm not sure how usual that is, but it won't harm anything, and it isn't slowing down your browsing.

The reason you have such a large initial delay is because the DNS record isn't in the local cache, and your computer has to request it from your ISP's DNS servers... which can take some time. You could try your luck with the OpenDNS project, it might be faster for you.

[coded]

I already am using OpenDNS =]

Thanks for the article I am going to read that now.

[clairx]

There are many factors that will cause a trace route to fail. Servers may be set to ignore incoming requests or they may not be set to respond to UDP. UDP packets are essentially one way and if they fail to reach their destination they just fail unlike TCP. If network congestion exists it is possible for all the packets to be lost and not reach their destination. At the end of the day neither ping or trace route have much to do with the speed of your connection.

Try the master DNS servers 4.2.2.1 and 4.2.2.2. I think you'll find them faster. These servers are well distributed and a server node is likley close to you making for low latency.

[David]

Originally Posted by clairx

Servers may be set to ignore incoming requests

Have to wonder what's being served then...