RE: ICMP and Traceroute

[davidg () genmagic com (David Gillett)]

On 18 May 99, at 8:51, Frank W. Keeney wrote:

> My view of the Internet is the content and services that it provides.
> ICMP and traceroute are only tools to verify network connectivity. Day
> to day testing of connectivity to the Internet should be done with the
> applications.

  I take exactly the opposite view.  When our network operators need to 
confirm a server's connectivity, I'd prefer that they use connectivity tools 
(ping, nslookup, tracert) than that they expose the server -- and, by 
extension, the internal network -- by way of a browser that is probably way 
behind on security patches, to the vagaries of some random third-party web 
site.  HTTP opens a much bigger hole than the task of checking connectivity 
warrants.


David G