Final answer:
The utility called Traceroute reports the path of packets over the Internet, which helps diagnose network problems by detailing the packet's journey and identifying delay or loss points.
Step-by-step explanation:
A utility called Traceroute reports the path of packets over the Internet. This utility is typically used to diagnose network problems by tracking the journey that a packet takes from the source computer to the destination computer. It can identify at which point the packets are getting delayed or lost.
Traceroute works by sending a sequence of Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo requests, each with a gradually increasing Time to Live (TTL) value. Each router that handles the packet decrements the TTL value by one, and when the value reaches zero, the router should send back an ICMP "time exceeded" message, reporting its IP address. This allows Traceroute to build a list of routers that the packets traverse, providing the user insight into the path through the Internet.