The diagnostics feature executes a series of test of your system software and hardware connections. Use this feature when working with your ISP to troubleshoot problems.
Running the Diagnostics Program
Follow these instructions to begin the diagnostics program:
1. Log into Configuration Manager, click the Admin tab, and then click Diagnostics in the task bar.
The Diagnostics page displays.
Diagnostics Page
2. From the WAN Interface drop-down list, select the name of the WAN interface you want to test.
3. Click .
For example, you can test whether the path to the ISP is working if you know the IP address of their access server.
The Diagnostics page provides a utility for executing ping. Follow these steps:
1. Display the WAN tab, click Diagnostics in the task bar, and click at the bottom of the Diagnostics page.
The Diagnostics - Ping page displays:
Diagnostics – Ping Page
2. In the Dest IP Address text boxes, type the IP address of the computer you want to ping.
Or, in the Dest Hostname text box, type the domain name of the target site (such as yahoo.com or mydomain.net).
3. Click .
In a few seconds, the lower table will display values indicating the results after 4 ping packets have been transmitted. If a connection is detected, the Packets Received value will also equal 4. If no connection can be detected after 4 attempts, then the Packets Received value will be 0 and the Percent Packet Loss will be 100%.
Using the Traceroute Utility
You can use the traceroute utility to view the IP addresses of all the hops that an IP packet makes from the SOHOSpeed on its way to an Internet destination. You can use the results of a traceroute to determine where a delay or transmission error is occurring.
The traceroute utility sends a specified number of ping or UDP packets (3, by default) to the first router in the path toward the specified destination computer. These packets carry a time-to-live (TTL) value of 1. The TTL value is a counter which is reduced by 1 by each router that receives the packet. The first receiving router reduces the TTL from 1 to 0 and responds with an ICMP message indicating that the packet has been discarded. The receipt of this message enables the SOHOSpeed to determine:
that the ping/UDP packets reached the initial router, and the packet’s approximate time in transit.
The traceroute utility then sends out packets with a TTL of 2. The First router that receives the packet reduces the TTL to 1 and routes the packet to the next hop. The second router that receives the packet reduces the TTL to 0 and responds with an ICMP timeout reply. The next set of traceroute packets has a TTL of 3, and so on, until the traceroute packets reach the destination computer. The destination computer replies with an error message that signals the completion of the traceroute.
To perform a traceroute, you must know the destination IP address or host name. Follow these steps to perform a traceroute:
1. From the Diagnostics page, click .
The Diagnostic – Traceroute page displays:
Diagnostics Page - Traceroute
2. Click either the Destination IP Address or Dest Hostname radio button, and then type the appropriate data in the corresponding text box.
The destination host name must be in the form of a fully qualified domain name, such as yahoo.com.
3. In the Config Data section, change any of the following parameters, as needed:
Field Description
Probe Message Type
The traceroute can use ping/UDP messages to conduct the traceroute. Some routers in the path may not support one or the other method. Try one, and if not working, try the other.
No. of Probes per TTL
The number of redundant packets that will be sent in each transmission (to account for packets dropped due to connection or server problems).
Maximum hops
The maximum number of hops that can be discovered in a traceroute before it terminates.
Traceroute Timeout (secs)
The number of seconds after sending ping/UDP packets that the traceroute will timeout if no reply is received.
Destination UDP port
When the Probe Message Type is specified as UDP, the traceroute commands includes an invalid destination UDP port address in the UDP packets. When a packet reaches the destination, it is dropped and the computer replies with an error message. This error message is used to identify the completion of the traceroute.
This field specifies the invalid UDP port number to use. This field is not used if the Probe Message Type is ping.
4. Click to begin the trace.
The results display in the window at the bottom of the page and include the IP address of each router or computer reached, from the first to last hop, and the access time for each packet sent.
18
Upgrading the Software and Storing and
Restoring the Configuration Data
All system software is contained in a single file, called an image. The image is stored in system flash memory and contains the operating system, device drivers, application code, and configuration data. The configuration data includes all the customizable settings described in this User’s Manual.
You can upgrade the image by installing a new one provided by your ISP. You can also save the current configuration data to a file, which you can later restore to system flash.