The missing hops

What this networking troubleshooting question tests

This is an easy networking diagnostic question that probes your understanding of how traceroute works and when its output diverges from the actual packet path. It's the kind of question used to separate candidates who can read tool output from those who understand the mechanisms underneath.

The question asks you to reconcile a mismatch: traceroute shows a direct two-hop path, but packet captures reveal a longer route through intermediate devices. Solving it requires knowledge of how traceroute uses TTL (time-to-live) fields to discover hops, which routers respond to ICMP diagnostics, and how network topology or routing policies can cause devices to be invisible to standard tools.

• TTL-based hop discovery and ICMP Time Exceeded messages
• Router configuration and ICMP rate limiting
• IP address allocation schemes and RFC 1918 vs. carrier-grade NAT ranges
• Transparent proxies and path obfuscation