TraceRoute Class

Properties   Methods   Events   Config Settings   Errors  

The TraceRoute class allows you to trace the path that the IP packets take on the Internet.

Class Name

IPWorks_TraceRoute

Procedural Interface

 ipworks_traceroute_open();
 ipworks_traceroute_close($res);
 ipworks_traceroute_register_callback($res, $id, $function);
 ipworks_traceroute_get_last_error($res);
 ipworks_traceroute_get_last_error_code($res);
 ipworks_traceroute_set($res, $id, $index, $value);
 ipworks_traceroute_get($res, $id, $index);
 ipworks_traceroute_do_config($res, $configurationstring);
 ipworks_traceroute_do_doevents($res);
 ipworks_traceroute_do_interrupt($res);
 ipworks_traceroute_do_reset($res);
 ipworks_traceroute_do_resolveremotehost($res);
 ipworks_traceroute_do_traceto($res, $host);

Remarks

The component implements a standard IP TraceRoute as defined in RFC 1393.

To use the class, simply call the TraceTo method and set the Host parameter to the domain name or IP address of the host you want to trace the path to. This is identical to setting the RemoteHost property to the domain name or IP address. The class will start sending probe packets toward the host, and as it receives replies, it will fire Hop events giving information about the route. The same information is also provided in the Hops properties.

The ResolveNames property enables or disables DNS resolution of IP addresses received during the trace. If set to False, only IP addresses are provided. If set to True, the class will attempt to resolve the names of the hosts in the route. This may considerably increase the time it takes to complete the trace.

The HopTimeout property determines the maximum waiting time for a response in each hop of the trace, while the Timeout property defines the maximum waiting time for the whole trace. The HopLimit property specifies the maximum number of hops allowed for a trace.

Property List

---

The following is the full list of the properties of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

---

The following is the full list of the methods of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

---

The following is the full list of the events fired by the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

---

The following is a list of config settings for the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

HopLimit Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This property includes the maximum number of hops to allow for a trace.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getHopLimit();
public function setHopLimit($value);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 1 );
ipworks_traceroute_set($res, 1, $value );

Default Value

64

Remarks

This property is used to limit lengthy traces. A value of 0 indicates an unbounded trace.

Note: If the value of Timeout is 0, an unbounded trace may cause a call to TraceTo to block indefinitely. To cancel such a route trace, call Interrupt.

Data Type

Integer

HopCount Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

The number of records in the Hop arrays.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getHopCount();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 2 );

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property controls the size of the following arrays:

• HopErrorCode
• HopErrorDescription
• HopHostAddress
• HopHostName
• HopTime

The array indices start at 0 and end at HopCount - 1.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

HopErrorCode Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This property contains the error code for a particular hop in the trace.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getHopErrorCode($hopindex);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 3 , $hopindex);

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property contains the error code for a particular hop in the trace.

For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Messages section.

The $hopindex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the HopCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

HopErrorDescription Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This property contains the error description for a particular hop in the trace.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getHopErrorDescription($hopindex);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 4 , $hopindex);

Default Value

''

Remarks

This property contains the error description for a particular hop in the trace.

For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Messages section.

The $hopindex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the HopCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

HopHostAddress Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This property contains the IP address of the host for a particular hop in the trace.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getHopHostAddress($hopindex);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 5 , $hopindex);

Default Value

''

Remarks

This property contains the IP address of the host for a particular hop in the trace.

The $hopindex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the HopCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

HopHostName Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This property contains the name of the host for a particular hop in the trace.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getHopHostName($hopindex);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 6 , $hopindex);

Default Value

''

Remarks

This property contains the name of the host for a particular hop in the trace.

If ResolveNames is False, this property contains the IP address of the host instead.

The $hopindex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the HopCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

HopTime Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This property contains the amount of time taken by a particular hop in the trace.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getHopTime($hopindex);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 7 , $hopindex);

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property contains the amount of time taken by a particular hop in the trace.

If a given hop times out, this value will be set to -1.

The $hopindex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the HopCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

HopTimeout Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This property includes the maximum amount of time to wait for an individual hop to complete.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getHopTimeout();
public function setHopTimeout($value);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 8 );
ipworks_traceroute_set($res, 8, $value );

Default Value

10

Remarks

The time value is in seconds. If 0, HopTimeout will be ignored, and only the Timeout for the whole trace will be taken into account.

Data Type

Integer

Idle Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

The current status of the class.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getIdle();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 9 );

Default Value

true

Remarks

This property will be False if the component is currently busy (communicating or waiting for an answer), and True at all other times.

This property is read-only.

Data Type

Boolean

LocalHost Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

The name of the local host or user-assigned IP interface through which connections are initiated or accepted.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getLocalHost();
public function setLocalHost($value);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 10 );
ipworks_traceroute_set($res, 10, $value );

Default Value

''

Remarks

This property contains the name of the local host as obtained by the gethostname() system call, or if the user has assigned an IP address, the value of that address.

In multihomed hosts (machines with more than one IP interface) setting LocalHost to the IP address of an interface will make the class initiate connections (or accept in the case of server classs) only through that interface. It is recommended to provide an IP address rather than a hostname when setting this property to ensure the desired interface is used.

If the class is connected, the LocalHost property shows the IP address of the interface through which the connection is made in internet dotted format (aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd). In most cases, this is the address of the local host, except for multihomed hosts (machines with more than one IP interface).

Note: LocalHost is not persistent. You must always set it in code, and never in the property window.

Data Type

String

RemoteHost Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This property includes the address of a host to trace to.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getRemoteHost();
public function setRemoteHost($value);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 11 );
ipworks_traceroute_set($res, 11, $value );

Default Value

''

Remarks

Traces are initiated by setting RemoteHost to the name or address of the host to trace to.

This property must contain a valid Internet domain name or address or an error will be returned.

To interrupt a trace in progress, set RemoteHost to empty string.

Example. Perform a TraceRoute:

TraceRouteControl.TraceTo("myHost") is equivalent to TraceRouteControl.RemoteHost = "myHost"

Data Type

String

ResolveNames Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This property determines whether the class resolves the host name for each host during the trace.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getResolveNames();
public function setResolveNames($value);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 12 );
ipworks_traceroute_set($res, 12, $value );

Default Value

false

Remarks

This property determines whether the class resolves the name of host at each "hop" during the trace. The default value is False.

Note: If this property is set to True, the trace takes longer because of name resolution.

Data Type

Boolean

Timeout Property (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

The timeout for the class.

Object Oriented Interface

public function getTimeout();
public function setTimeout($value);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_get($res, 13 );
ipworks_traceroute_set($res, 13, $value );

Default Value

60

Remarks

If the Timeout property is set to 0, all operations will run uninterrupted until successful completion or an error condition is encountered.

If Timeout is set to a positive value, the class will wait for the operation to complete before returning control.

The class will use DoEvents to enter an efficient wait loop during any potential waiting period, making sure that all system events are processed immediately as they arrive. This ensures that the host application does not freeze and remains responsive.

If Timeout expires, and the operation is not yet complete, the class fails with an error.

Note: By default, all timeouts are inactivity timeouts, that is, the timeout period is extended by Timeout seconds when any amount of data is successfully sent or received.

The default value for the Timeout property is 60 seconds.

Data Type

Integer

Config Method (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doConfig($configurationstring);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_do_config($res, $configurationstring);

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every class. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the class.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

DoEvents Method (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This method processes events from the internal message queue.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doEvents();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_do_doevents($res);

Remarks

When DoEvents is called, the class processes any available events. If no events are available, it waits for a preset period of time, and then returns.

Interrupt Method (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This method interrupts the current method.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doInterrupt();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_do_interrupt($res);

Remarks

If there is no method in progress, Interrupt simply returns, doing nothing.

Reset Method (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This method will reset the class.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doReset();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_do_reset($res);

Remarks

This method will reset the class's properties to their default values.

ResolveRemoteHost Method (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This method resolves the hostname in RemoteHost to an IP address.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doResolveRemoteHost();

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_do_resolveremotehost($res);

Remarks

This method resolves the hostname specified by RemoteHost to an IP address. The resolved value is available in the RemoteHost property after this method returns.

In most cases, calling this method is not necessary; the class will resolve the hostname automatically when needed. If DelayHostResolution is true, this method may be called to manually resolve RemoteHost, if desired.

TraceTo Method (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This method traces the route to a host.

Object Oriented Interface

public function doTraceTo($host);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_do_traceto($res, $host);

Remarks

Traces are initiated by calling TraceTo, with the Host argument set to the name or address of the destination host to trace to. Host must contain a valid Internet domain name or address, or the class fails with an error. To interrupt a trace in progress, set RemoteHost to empty string. Calling this method is equivalent to setting the RemoteHost property to Host.

Example. Perform a TraceRoute:

TraceRouteControl.TraceTo("myHost") is equivalent to TraceRouteControl.RemoteHost = "myHost"

Error Event (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

Fired when information is available about errors during data delivery.

Object Oriented Interface

public function fireError($param);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_register_callback($res, 1, array($this, 'fireError'));

Parameter List

 'errorcode'
 'description'

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing. Normally the class fails with an error.

The ErrorCode parameter contains an error code, and the Description parameter contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Codes section.

Hop Event (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This event is fired for each hop in the trace to the RemoteHost .

Object Oriented Interface

public function fireHop($param);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_register_callback($res, 2, array($this, 'fireHop'));

Parameter List

 'hopnumber'
 'hostaddress'
 'duration'

Remarks

This event provides access to the information for each hop in the trace. The HopNumber parameter denotes which hop the trace is at. The HostAddress parameter is the IP address of the host for the hop identified by HopNumber. The Duration parameter shows the amount of time taken by the hop.

HopResolved Event (IPWorks_TraceRoute Class)

This event is fired when the name of a hop address is found.

Object Oriented Interface

public function fireHopResolved($param);

Procedural Interface

ipworks_traceroute_register_callback($res, 3, array($this, 'fireHopResolved'));

Parameter List

 'hopnumber'
 'statuscode'
 'hophostname'

Remarks

The StatusCode contains 0 if the address is resolved successfully, or an error code, in which case, HopHostName contains a textual description of the error.

Host name resolution is disabled by default. Set ResolveNames to True to enable it.

Config Settings (TraceRoute Class)

The class accepts one or more of the following configuration settings. Configuration settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the class, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

TraceRoute Config Settings

ICMP Config Settings

Socket Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (TraceRoute Class)

TraceRoute Errors

The class may also return one of the following error codes, which are inherited from other classes.

ICMP Errors

SSL Errors

TCP/IP Errors