What network troubleshooting tool can be used to trace the route data takes to reach a destination?

The correct answer is Traceroute (Tracert) because it is specifically designed to determine the path that data packets take from one network host to another. When a user issues a Traceroute command, the tool works by sending out a series of packets with incrementally increasing Time to Live (TTL) values. Each router that handles the packet decreases the TTL value by one; when the TTL reaches zero, the router sends back an ICMP Time Exceeded message. Through this process, Traceroute records the IP addresses of each intermediate router along the data's journey to the destination, allowing users to see the entire route and measure the time taken at each hop.

This tool is particularly valuable for diagnosing network issues, as it provides insight into where delays or failures might be occurring along the path to a specific destination.

On the other hand, Ping is used to test the reachability of a host on a network, measuring round-trip time but does not provide route detail. Netstat displays active connections, routing tables, and network interface statistics, but it does not trace routes. Ipconfig is used for displaying and managing IP address configurations for network interfaces on a machine, also not serving to trace routes.