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How to install Visual traceroute - A Graphical tool

To install Graphical Traceroute tool in Ubuntu

Visual traceroute is a graphical, command line tool to traceroute. It traces the routing paths for the packets transmitting over an Internet Protocol (IP) Network. It supports almost all platform and represents the data in 3D format. Installation of Visual traceroute is explained in this article.

To check the dependencies

This tool is programmed in Java. Therefore requires Java preinstalled. Run the following command to check the version of Java.

root@linuxhelp:~# java -version 
java version " 1.8.0_101" 
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_101-b13)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.101-b13, mixed mode)


Run the following command to download the open Visual Traceroute.

root@linuxhelp:~# wget http://ncu.dl.sourceforge.net/project/openvisualtrace/1.6.3/ovtr_1.6.3-1_amd64.deb 
--2016-08-26 14:21:50--  http://ncu.dl.sourceforge.net/project/openvisualtrace/1.6.3/ovtr_1.6.3-1_amd64.deb
Resolving ncu.dl.sourceforge.net (ncu.dl.sourceforge.net)... 140.115.17.45
Connecting to ncu.dl.sourceforge.net (ncu.dl.sourceforge.net)|140.115.17.45|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 28329626 (27M) [application/octet-stream]
Saving to: ‘ ovtr_1.6.3-1_amd64.deb’ 

ovtr_1.6.3-1_amd64.deb                     100%[========================================================================================> ]  27.02M   140KB/s    in 2m 35s  

2016-08-26 14:24:26 (179 KB/s) - ‘ ovtr_1.6.3-1_amd64.deb’  saved [28329626/28329626]


Once the download is completed successfully, run the following command to install gdebi.

root@linuxhelp:~# apt-get install gdebi -y 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following additional packages will be installed:
  gdebi-core gksu gnome-icon-theme libcairo-perl libgksu2-0 libglib-perl libgtk2-perl libpango-perl
Suggested packages:
  libfont-freetype-perl libgtk2-perl-doc
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  gdebi gdebi-core gksu gnome-icon-theme libcairo-perl libgksu2-0 libglib-perl libgtk2-perl libpango-perl
0 upgraded, 9 newly installed, 0 to remove and 162 not upgraded.
Need to get 10.9 MB of archives.
After this operation, 21.8 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 gdebi-core all 0.9.5.7ubuntu1 [9,716 B]
Get:2 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/universe amd64 libgksu2-0 amd64 2.0.13~pre1-6ubuntu8 [71.8 kB]
.
.
.
Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils (0.22-1ubuntu5) ...
Processing triggers for mime-support (3.59ubuntu1) ...
Setting up gdebi-core (0.9.5.7ubuntu1) ...
Setting up libgksu2-0 (2.0.13~pre1-6ubuntu8) ...
update-alternatives: using /usr/share/libgksu/debian/gconf-defaults.libgksu-sudo to provide /usr/share/gconf/defaults/10_libgksu (libgksu-gconf-defaults) in auto mode
Setting up gnome-icon-theme (3.12.0-1ubuntu3) ...
Setting up libcairo-perl (1.106-1build1) ...
Setting up libglib-perl (3:1.320-2) ...
Setting up libpango-perl (1.227-1) ...
Setting up libgtk2-perl (2:1.2498-1) ...
Processing triggers for gconf2 (3.2.6-3ubuntu6) ...
Setting up gksu (2.0.2-9ubuntu1) ...
Setting up gdebi (0.9.5.7ubuntu1) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.23-0ubuntu3) ...


And finally run the below command to install Visual Traceroute.

root@linuxhelp:~# gdebi ovtr_1.6.3-1_amd64.deb  
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree        
Reading state information... Done
Reading state information... Done
Requires the installation of the following packages: traceroute whois 

OpenVisualTraceroute
 OpenVisualTraceroute
Do you want to install the software package? [y/N]:y
Get:1 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/universe amd64 traceroute amd64 1:2.0.21-1 [45.5 kB]                                                                      
Get:2 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 whois amd64 5.2.11 [34.0 kB]                                                                                   
Fetched 79.5 kB in 0s (0 B/s)                                                                                                                                              
Selecting previously unselected package traceroute.
.
.
.
Selecting previously unselected package ovtr.
(Reading database ... 213104 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack ovtr_1.6.3-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking ovtr (1.6.3-1) ...
Setting up ovtr (1.6.3-1) ...
Processing triggers for bamfdaemon (0.5.3~bzr0+16.04.20160523-0ubuntu1) ...
Rebuilding /usr/share/applications/bamf-2.index...
Processing triggers for gnome-menus (3.13.3-6ubuntu3.1) ...
Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils (0.22-1ubuntu5) ...
Processing triggers for mime-support (3.59ubuntu1) ...


Open the application from your Unity Dash as shown in below snap.


Here we need to type the IP address or hostname for the network you want to scan for the routing paths.


To see the Details of the IP address.


To switch to 2D/3D mode.

To take screenshot.

To change the settings.

Tag : Visual traceroute
FAQ
Q
Why do some times reported by VisualRoute differ depending on where they are in the trace route?
A
Depending on the accuracy of the system clock, 'ms' numbers can be correct to 5ms - that applies to all programs. But there is a big difference between pinging an address, and having that address appear in the middle of a trace route. The difference is: a router which is being pinged has to directly respond to an ICMP packet (ICMP Echo Reply). A router which appears in the middle of a trace route is simply sending an error packet back, telling the sender the packet didn't get through (ICMP TTL Expired in Transit). The latter is considered low priority and so the router put it to the bottom of its 'to-do' list, ensuring that higher-priority tasks are completed first. That is the cause of the extra delay.
Q
Why do I get a "java.net.BindException: Address in Use" error when trying to install VisualRoute as a service?
A
This means that another server is awaiting incoming connections on the port that has been selected (default 80). This maybe be caused by another copy of VisualRoute being run, possibly as a service.
Q
Why does tracing using just TCP not function correctly?
A
Since Windows XP Service pack to the ability to perfrom a TCP trace route in Windows has been disabled by Microsoft. Due to that it is no longer possible to perform a TCP trace route.
Q
Will VisualRoute work through my company firewall / NAT server?
A
This depends upon how your firewall / NAT server is configured. Please ask your network administrator if your firewall (or NAT server) is configured to allow PING and TRACERT to work (which use ICMP ECHO, ECHO REPLY, and TTL EXPIRED packets). You can test this yourself by running these programs on your computer (For example, try "tracert www.visualware.com"). If these programs work, VisualRoute should work just fine on your computer. otherwise, your firewall (or NAT server) will have to be reconfigured by your network administrator to allow PING and TRACERT to work before you can use VisualRoute.

Once you can successfully run a traceroute, if you are not seeing the Whois contact information when clicking on an entry in the 'Node Name' or 'Network' column of the VisualRoute report table, your firewall administrator may also need to open port 43 to enable access to WHOIS information. Additionally, VisualRoute Server may be installed outside a firewall, enabling users inside firewall access to traceroute and ping information via a web browser.
Q
Why am I not seeing node names in the table or lines on the map?
A
Most likely because you are running a personal firewall product, such as ZoneAlarm, McAfee Firewall, or Norton Internet Security (NIS FAQ), which is preventing VisualRoute from accessing the Internet. Please make sure that your security software is configured to allow VisualRoute access to the Internet. The VisualRoute components that need Internet access are:

java.exe (for SUN Java), or wjview.exe - Microsoft Java VM Command Line Interpreter
vrdns2.exe

Alternatively, changing the network properties to point to an outside DNS server will resolve the problem in some instances.

If you are using a company firewall please refer to the firewall FAQ