---
title: "Traceroute from a SIM to a host"
sidebarTitle: "Traceroute"
description: "Trace the route from the SIM to a host and time every hop. When a ping degrades, traceroute says where in the path the latency or loss appears."
lastUpdated: "2026-09-23"
---

> **For AI agents:** the complete documentation index is at [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Append `.md` to any page URL for its markdown version.

Trace the route from the SIM to a host and measure response times at every hop. When a ping degrades, traceroute tells you where in the path the latency or loss appears.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
| ----------- | ---------- | ------------- |
| Host | Yes | Destination to trace. |
| Protocol | No | `icmp` (default). |
| Max hops | No | Stop after this many hops. Default: 30. |
| Packets per hop | No | Packets sent at each hop. Default: 10. |
| Packet size | No | Packet size in bytes. Default: 64. |
| Show IP | No | Display hop IPs instead of hostnames. Default: off. |

Plus the shared [connection settings](/tests/actions/cellular/overview#connection-settings).

## Results and metrics

In the action report (`result`):

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `total_hops` | Number of hops to the destination. |
| `hops[]` | Per hop: `host`, `packet_loss_percent`, `avg_res_time_ms`, `min_res_time_ms`, `max_res_time_ms`, `standard_deviation_ms`. |
| `duration` | Total execution time in seconds. |

In Analytics, each run feeds the traceroute measurement: `total_hops` plus, per hop (tagged `hop_number`), the average, min, max, and standard deviation of response times and the hop's packet loss. Tags include source and destination host, protocol parameters, antenna, and access technology.

## What's next?

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Ping" icon="arrow-right-arrow-left" href="/tests/actions/cellular/ping">

    The end-to-end measurement that triggers a traceroute

</Card>
  <Card title="DNS Lookup" icon="globe" href="/tests/actions/cellular/dns-lookup">

    Rule out resolution before blaming the path

</Card>
</Columns>