Appendices

A. Unix Notes
B. Protocols
C. Troubleshooting Guide
D. How 'Scan Network' works
E. US State Codes
F. Country Codes
G. Release History

Appendix A: Unix Notes

Running as a user: Before VisualRoute can be run as a user (non-root), you need to grant the VisualRoute ping engine the privileges it needs in order to run. The following commands should be submitted:

cd vr10/exe
su
Password: (enter password)
chown root:bin vrping1.*
chmod 4755 vrping1.*
exit
 

Running as a daemon service: For VisualRoute to be set up on Unix as a service/daemon, you will need to install the X virtual frame buffer software. This provides a virtual terminal without the need for a hardware console nor, even if the console is present, a sign on as this maybe construed a security issue. There is a VisualRoute shell script, VisualRoute.sh, provided for the placing in /etc/rc2.d. Basically the script has three environment variables at the beginning that the should be reviewed. They are:

• DISPLAY, this is required by the X software and VisualRoute.
• PATH, this needs three things to be present in its many directories. (1) the directory for the Java Runtime Environment executable. (2) the location of the directory for the X executables (3) the current directory for VisualRoute
• VRHOME, the installed directory of VisualRoute.

Once these have been changed the script can be saved, named as S95VisualRoute and copied over to the boot directory. Please ensure that this will start after the X font server software at boot (the process is xfs) , as some X fonts are required for the Xvfb to function

Other Applications Support: VisualRoute will still work without the following applications; you will just not get the functionality provided for the menu items referenced in each section.
 

• Web Browser: The VisualRoute 'Help' menu item invokes a browser to access web pages. Netscape Communicator is the default. If you want another browser started, set the environment variable VR_BROWSER to specify the browser to start. You must either specify the absolute path, or the browser must be on the path.
   
• Text Editor: The VisualRoute 'Edit | Snap table as text...' menu item uses a text editor to capture the generated report. By default GNU Emacs is used. If you want to start another editor, set the environment variable VR_EDITOR or VR_EDITOR_EQ (see below) to specify the editor to start. The editor must be started in a new window. When the environment variable is set, the default editor is overridden, and the specified editor is started with name of the file to edit, supplied by VisualRoute, appended to the end of the string provided by the environment variable. If both VR_EDITOR and VR_EDITOR_EQ are set, VR_EDITOR_EQ is used.
  
  Visit http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html for more information on GNU Emacs. To obtain GNU Emacs (make sure to check on your Unix distribution first) visit http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html (scroll down quite a ways to the heading "How to FTP GNU Emacs)."
  
  The environment variable VR_EDITOR_EQ (EQ for "end quote") appends a double quote after the file name supplied by VisualRoute. This is used, for example, when using the "gnome-terminal" command to start a new window and using the -e option to specify a program to start. The double quotes are needed to pass both the program and a parameter to the program (the file name). For example, to start vi as the editor using a gnome-terminal the following is the desired resultant command to edit a file named 'dog':

  gnome-terminal -e "vi dog"

  (This assumes the gnome-terminal and the vi binary files are on the path.)
  
  In this case, in order to get the ending double quote, set the environment variable VR_EDITOR_EQ. For example to create the string above, if VisualRoute used the file name 'dog', set the VR_EDITOR_EQ environment variable as:

  VR_EDITOR_EQ="gnome-terminal -e \"vi ";export VR_EDITOR

  (This assumes the gnome-terminal and the vi binary files are on the path.)
  
  This (bash shell) example uses a Gnome terminal to present the vi editor session in a new window. The backslash character, '\', is used to escape the double quote character, '"', following it so that the shell does not interpret it as the ending '"' character.
  
  If you do not have GNU Emacs installed and you do not specify an other editor to use, then nothing will start for this menu item selection. By default, the emacs binary is assumed to be on the path.
   

• Mail Program: Right mouse clicks (use Meta-click on Mac; Meta is Apple key) in the VisualRoute report 'Node Name' column access the WHOIS server information (RFC954). Informational items presented include an e-mail address. If the e-mail address is clicked, VisualRoute starts an e-mail application. By default this is Pine(r); a 'P'rogram for 'I'nternet 'N'ews and 'E'mail. If you do not have Pine the binary is available via anonymous ftp (make sure to check your Unix distribution first) from:

  ftp.cac.washington.edu

  in the directories /pine/unix-bin or /pine/unix-bin-compressed. (Make sure to get the Unix binary.) For more information reference:

  http://www.washington.edu/pine

  If you want to start another e-mail interface, set the environment variable VR_EMAIL or VR_EMAIL_EQ (EQ for "end quote") to specify the application to start. (See #2 above for a discussion of ..._EQ environment variables.) The specified e-mail application must be started in a new window. Note that the recipient's name is appended to the string provided by the VR_EMAIL or VR_EMAIL_EQ environment variable.
  
  For example, if Pine were not the default selection, to set Pine to be the e-mail application started use VR_EDITOR_EQ as follows:

  VR_EDITOR_EQ="gnome-terminal -e \"pine"; export VR_EDITOR_EQ

  (This assumes that both the gnome-terminal and the pine binary files are on the path.)
  
  This bash shell example uses gnome_terminal to start Pine in a new window to send e-mail to the recipient name provided by VisualRoute. This will cause the final string, which is executed via a system() call, to be:

  gnome-terminal -e "pine "

  If you do not have Pine installed and you do not specify another e-mail to use, then nothing will start for this menu item selection. This gnome-terminal launch method is the default method used for the e-mail application launch.
   

NOTE: If your are not running DNS you must enter the dotted decimal notation of the end-point computer in the Host/URL'. Without DNS, the local computer will not be able to resolve the IP address of the computer name you want to trace to.

How does the UNIX version differ from the Windows version? The UNIX version uses a different "ping" engine to elicit network responses. It also brings up different applications for the 'Edit | Snap table as text...', the 'Help' menu items, and e-mail. If web access (which can take several seconds to appear), the Edit menu item operations, or e-mail accesses fail, it may be because the path to the appropriate application is not in the PATH environment variable. Specifically, the path to 'hotjava' for browser access, the path to 'dtpad' for the editor, and the path to 'dtmail' for email for the defaults. Or, the path to the application specified by VR_BROWSER, VR_EDITOR or VR_EMAIL.

If you have used VisualRoute previously, the functionality should be the same.

Appendix B: Protocols

Port	Name	Description
7	ECHO	Echo
13	DAYTIME	Daytime
17	QOTD	Quote of the Day
20	FTP-DATA	File Transfer [Default Data]
21	FTP	File Transfer [Control]
23	TELNET	Telnet
25	SMTP	Simple Mail Transfer
37	TIME	Time
43	WHOIS	Who Is
53	DOMAIN	Domain Name Server
66	SQL*NET	Oracle SQL*NET
69	TFTP	Trivial File Transfer
70	GOPHER	Gopher
79	FINGER	Finger
80	HTTP	World Wide Web
88	KERBEROS	Kerberos
92	NPP	Network Printing Protocol
107	RTELNET	Remote Telnet Service
109	POP2	Post Office Protocol - Version 2
110	POP3	Post Office Protocol - Version 3
111	SUNRPC	SUN Remote Procedure Call
119	NNTP	Network News Transfer Protocol
123	NTP	Network Time Protocol
137	NETBIOS-NS	NETBIOS Name Service
138	NETBIOS-DGM	NETBIOS Datagram Service
139	NETBIOS-SSN	NETBIOS Session Service
161	SNMP	SNMP
162	SNMPTRAP	SNMPTRAP
179	BGP	Border Gateway Protocol
215	SOFTPC	Insignia Solutions
217	DBASE	dBASE Unix
396	NETWARE-IP	Novell Netware over IP
512	EXEC	remote process execution
513	LOGIN	remote login a la telnet
514	SHELL	cmd
666	DOOM	doom Id Software

Appendix C: Troubleshooting Guide

DNS lookups in VisualRoute fail for all host names. If you are running Zone Alarm, make sure that MS Java, vrdns2.exe, and vrping1.exe are all allowed access to the Internet.

Problems with eSafe and other anti-virus software. Several users have reported that running eSafe disables VisualRoute. This is because a 'feature' of eSafe prevents a Java application from running normally unless there is a "protection set" defined for it. Please refer to your eSafe manual for details on how to define this "protection set".

Problems with NetZIP. The NetZIP Folders feature interferes with how Java accesses class files in a ZIP file. When you attempt to run VisualRoute, you will get an "Unable to locate system class java\lang\Object" error message. The solution is to disable NetZIP while you run VisualRoute. You can temporarily disable NetZIP by right clicking on the NetZIP icon in the system tray and selecting 'Disable' from the menu.

Do you have the proper Java support installed? Most problems are caused by not having the proper version of Java installed. See the product Support page for more details.

Try reinstalling your Java VM. We have found that a lot of support issues are cleared up by reinstalling the Java VM. The problem is file versioning conflicts, which a reinstall clears up.

Test your internet connection. Do the system commands ping and tracert work? From a DOS window, try 'ping www.visualroute.com' or 'tracert www.visualroute.com'. If these commands do not work, please ask your network administrator if your TCP/IP stack is properly configured.

Are you running Microsoft's TCP/IP stack? VisualRoute works best with Microsoft's TCP/IP stack. The Microsoft TCP/IP stack comes with Windows.

Is your display set to 800x600, 256 colors, or better? This is a minimum requirement for VisualRoute.

Appendix D: How 'Scan Network' Works

WARNING: 'Scan Network' is an option that should be used with great care. While it can improve the VisualRoute analysis, high security sites may think that you are attacking their network.

If the host you are monitoring does not respond, is the network to that host down, or is the host itself down? With 'Scan Network' checked, VisualRoute can answer this question.

Scan network first determines which class C network the host in question resides in. It then sends ping packets to all possible IP addresses for the network, looking for any host that is up and running.

For example, let's say you are trying to monitor www.yahoo.com and it is not responding. With 'Scan Network' checked, VisualRoute determines that the network for www.yahoo.com is 204.71.200.x.

It then sends ping packets to hosts .x+1, .x-1, .x+2, .x-2, and so on for all hosts on network 204.71.200.x. The scan stops the moment there is any response, which indicates that the network to www.yahoo.com is up.

Appendix E: US State Codes

Code State al Alabama ak Alaska az Arizona ar Arkansas ca California co Colorado ct Connecticut de Delaware dc Dist.Columbia fl Florida ga Georgia gu Guam hi Hawaii id Idaho il Illinois in Indiana ia Iowa ks Kansas

Code State ky Kentucky la Louisiana me Maine md Maryland ma Massachusetts mi Michigan mn Minnesota ms Mississippi mo Missouri mt Montana ne Nebraska nv Nevada nh New Hampshire nj New Jersey nm New Mexico ny New York nc North Carolina nd North Dakota

Code State oh Ohio ok Oklahoma or Oregon pa Pennsylvania pr Puerto Rico ri Rhode Island sc South Carolina sd South Dakota tn Tennessee tx Texas ut Utah vt Vermont vi Virgin Islands va Virginia wa Washington wv West Virginia wi Wisconsin wy Wyoming

Appendix G: Country Codes

Code Country af Afghanistan al Albania dz Algeria as American Samoa ad Andorra ao Angola ai Anguilla aq Antarctica ag Antigua and Barbuda ar Argentina am Armenia aw Aruba au Australia at Austria az Azerbaijan bs Bahamas bh Bahrain bd Bangladesh bb Barbados by Belarus be Belgium bz Belize bj Benin bm Bermuda bt Bhutan bo Bolivia ba Bosnia and Herzegowina bw Botswana bv Bouvet Island br Brazil io British Indian Ocean Territory bn Brunei Darussalam bg Bulgaria bf Burkina Faso bi Burundi kh Cambodia cm Cameroon ca Canada cv Cape Verde ky Cayman Islands cf Central African Republic td Chad cl Chile cn China cx Christmas Island cc Cocos (Keeling) Islands co Colombia km Comoros cd Congo cg Congo ck Cook islands cr Costa Rica ci Cote D'Ivoire hr Croatia (Hrvatska) cu Cuba cy Cyprus cz Czech Republic dk Denmark dj Djibouti dm Dominica do Dominican Republic tp East Timor ec Ecuador eg Egypt sv El Salvador gq Equatorial Guinea er Eritrea ee Estonia et Ethiopia fk Falkland Islands (Malvinas) fo Faroe Islands fj Fiji fi Finland fr France fx France, Metropolitan gf French Guiana pf French Polynesia tf French Southern Territories

Code Country ga Gabon gm Gambia ge Georgia de Germany gh Ghana gi Gibraltar gr Greece gl Greenland gd Grenada gp Guadeloupe gu Guam gt Guatemala gn Guinea gw Guinea-Bissau gy Guyana ht Haiti hm Heard and Mc Donald Islands hn Honduras hk Hong Kong hu Hungary is Iceland in India id Indonesia ir Iran iq Iraq ie Ireland il Israel it Italy jm Jamaica jp Japan jo Jordan kz Kazakhstan ke Kenya ki Kiribati kr Korea kp Korea (North) kw Kuwait kg Kyrgyzstan la Laos lv Latvia lb Lebanon ls Lesotho lr Liberia ly Libya li Liechtenstein lt Lithuania lu Luxembourg mo Macau mk Macedonia mg Madagascar mw Malawi my Malaysia mv Maldives ml Mali mt Malta mh Marshall Islands mq Martinique mr Mauritania mu Mauritius yt Mayotte mx Mexico fm Micronesia md Moldova mc Monaco mn Mongolia ms Montserrat ma Morocco mz Mozambique mm Myanmar na Namibia nr Nauru np Nepal nl Netherlands an Netherlands Antilles nc New Caledonia nz New Zealand ni Nicaragua ne Niger ng Nigeria nu Niue nf Norfolk Island mp Northern Mariana Islands no Norway om Oman pk Pakistan pw Palau pa Panama pg Papua New Guinea py Paraguay

Code Country pe Peru ph Philippines pn Pitcairn pl Poland pt Portugal pr Puerto Rico qa Qatar re Reunion ro Romania ru Russian Federation rw Rwanda kn Saint Kitts and Nevis lc Saint Lucia vc Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ws Samoa sm San Marino st Sao Tome and Principe sa Saudi Arabia sn Senegal sc Seychelles sl Sierra Leone sg Singapore sk Slovak Republic si Slovenia sb Solomon Islands so Somalia za South Africa gs South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands es Spain lk Sri Lanka sh St. Helena pm St. Pierre and Miquelon sd Sudan sr Suriname sj Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands sz Swaziland se Sweden ch Switzerland sy Syria tw Taiwan tj Tajikistan tz Tanzania th Thailand tg Togo tk Tokelau to Tonga tt Trinidad and Tobago tn Tunisia tr Turkey tm Turkmenistan tc Turks and Caicos Islands tv Tuvalu ug Uganda ua Ukraine ae United Arab Emirates uk United Kingdom us United States um United States Minor Outlying Islands uy Uruguay us USA uz Uzbekistan vu Vanuatu va Vatican City State ve Venezuela vn Viet Nam vg Virgin Islands (British) vi Virgin Islands (United States) wf Wallis and Futuna Islands eh Western Sahara ye Yemen yu Yugoslavia zr Zaire zm Zambia zw Zimbabwe

Appendix F: Release History

10.0j - May 18th, 2006

• IP location database update

10.0i - March 10th, 2006

• Mac OS X Universal Binary support

10.0h - January 31st, 2006

• IP location database update

10.0e - December 20th, 2005

• Optional reporting of full Whois lookup record

10.0c - November 8th, 2005

• Maintenance release

10.0b - October 24th, 2005

• All Editions: Tabbed reports, redesigned interface, integrated help and tutorials, multiple maps, Firefox integration
• Advanced Edition: Continuous trace and ping tests, performance database with historical reports, DNS performance testing
• Business, Support, Professional Support and Server Editions: Trace comparison and analysis, custom maps, continuous trace and ping tests, performance database with historical reports, DNS performance testing
• Business and Server Editions: Ping Plotter browser

9.3f - July 24th, 2005

• Maintenance release, IP geographical database update

9.3e - July 7th, 2005

• Maintenance release, IP geographical database update

9.3d - June 15th, 2005

• Performance improvements, optimizations for the IP location database for faster traces
• Mac 10.4 Tiger support

9.3c - May 12th, 2005

• Maintenance Release

9.3b - April 25th, 2005

• Maintenance Release
• Improved Whois reporting for domains Whois reporting has been updated to comply with recent changes in the Whois registries, and now reports contact information for most domains, including company name, address, administrative contact, and the complete domain record.
• Improved performance IP location lookups have been streamlined for faster reporting and greater efficiency.

9.2a - February 20th, 2005 (build 2652)

• New Professional Support Edition which includes a Mutli-Use Reverse Trace Server which allows you to:
• Easily troubleshoot remote customer connectivity problems and
• Get instant on-demand connectivity analysis from remote data centers
• Includes ability to add city locations for IP addresses, so you can add your own locations for more complete location reporting

9.0d - January 4th, 2005 (build 2600)

• Norwegian Language added
• Various Bug Fixes
• Allows you to specify the address of the VRDB server

9.0c - December 17th, 2004 (build 2584)

• Maintenance Release

9.0a - November 18th, 2004 (build 2555)

• Significant improvements to the IP location database update process
• you will automatically receive periodic location updates
• Improved user interface provides greater ease of use, more flexibility for display options

8.0f - May 31st, 2004 (build 2384)

• Fix for NT service uninstall problem
• German whois lookups use the correct server
• New database

8.0e - April 27th, 2004 (build 2352)

• Maintenance Release

8.0d - March 23rd, 2004 (build 2318)

• Maintenance Release

8.0a - November 12th, 2003 (build 2180)

• Textured physical map option
• Improved tracing capabilities
• New port testing capability
• New 'help' items and updated analysis messages
• New report display options
• Updated geo-IP database
• VisualRoute Server Edition option to prevent traces to private addresses

7.3b - October 3rd, 2003 (build 2174)

• Comprehensive IP database update

7.2a - June 20th, 2003 (build 2031)

• Comprehensive IP database update

7.1c - February 12, 2003 (build 1913)

• fixed uninstall problem

7.1b - February 11, 2003 (build 1893)

• supports UDP style pings

7.0g - December 19, 2002 (build 1858)

• misc bug fixes

7.0b - October 8, 2002 (build 1786)

• misc bug fixes

7.0a - September 24, 2002 (build 1772)

• Ping Grapher - continuously monitors latency of a host in real-time and displays the results on a graph
• Advanced / simple mode GUIs. Configure VisualRoute to show information in brief or in detail
• Improved geographical database
• Help popup support - to explain problems in traces and other error messages
• Changed mechanism for adding nodes to the geographical database
• Dutch language support
• Reset map option
• Tooltips

6.1e - September 5, 2002 (build 1752)

• Updated Whois and Network name information for ARIN

6.1a - July 5, 2002 (build 1688)

• Improved geographical database
• New analysis box with hyperlinks
• Bug fix for Whois lookups on .com.au and .ac.uk domains

6.0b - October 9, 2001 (build 1421)

• DNS Servers are now found in a OS language independent manner

6.0a - September 21, 2001 (build 1403)

• eMailTracker allows you to track email address to servers
• Internet Explorer toolbar integration
• New improved GUI
• Improved geographical database
• Better protocol detection and 'port probing'
• Improved installer

5.4a - July 26, 2001 (build 1347)

• Portuguese language support
• New VisualRoute Server security features
• Mac version is now a single click launch
• Workaround for a Windows 2000 SP2 WinSock bug

5.3a - June 26, 2001 (build 1317)

• Italian and Swedish language support
• Whois server updates
• Improved virus detection for install package
• Miscellaneous bug fixes

5.2c - April 24, 2001 (build 1254)

• Server: can now bind to one address on a multihomed server
• A problem adding places to the geographical database was fixed
• Miscellaneous bug fixes

5.2b - April 10, 2001 (build 1240)

• Map has a new look and feel
• Much smaller download size
• Updated geographical database
• Miscellaneous bug fixes
• New NT Service mechanism

5.2a - April 4, 2001 (build 1234)

• (beta test release)

5.1c - February 26, 2001 (build 1196)

• Server: Fixed server deadlock problem in the ping engine

5.1b - February 20, 2001 (build 1191)

• Server: Fixed DNS hang problem when lots of traces take place at once

5.1a - February 14, 2001 (build 1185)

• Language Support: French, Spanish, German
• Added HTML support when saving map/table
• Better quick help in dialogs
• Server: Applets support older versions of Netscape
• Whois fix for CA TLD
• Whois fix for RIPE

5.0b - June 7, 2000 (build 943)

• Map colors can be changed (better for lower resolution monitors)
• Percentage loss column show real time loss
• InetAddress memory leak has been addressed
• Most Recent Used list is now a floating dialog
• Reduced screen flicker when scrolling the main window

5.0a - May 1, 2000 (build 896)

• New colored zoomable map
• Autozoom map option
• Changed GUI Design
• Customizable ping packet size, number of pings, and timeouts
• Timezone information
• Easy addition of new hosts to database
• Support for hex encoded IP addresses
• Improved cache management
• Server: Updated zoomable maps
• Server: Domain and Network Whois information
• Server: Restrict referring web servers

4.2a - January 9, 2000 (build 783)

• Updated geographical database
• Updated handling of whois databases
• Corrected a bug causing the partially grayed-out host text box in the VisualRoute applet (client).

5.1c - December 19, 1999 (build 762)

• Solaris / Linux versions

5.1b - November 11, 1999 (build 724)

• Updated geographical database
• Added options to the Column Preferences dialog
• Added capability to allow copy/paste of information from the Hop Panel node list into the Host / URL text box.
• More consistent labeling of the "Snap" button.
• More conventional button placement on Whois popup dialog
• Consistent labeling on Web client page.
• More consistent Copy/Cut/Paste/Delete option enabling / disabling.
• More consistent item selection highlighting.

5.1a - October 19, 1999 (build 701)

• Updated geographical database
• Right mouse button context menus added to Enter Host text box, URL List, Map, and Table
• Save as JPEG option in Edit menu
• Multiple URLs can be selected in the URL list
• Mouse-selectable Table data
• Select columns to display dialog
• Vertical window resizing
• VisualRoute Server: Supports a default 'index.html' in the 'www' directory
• VisualRoute Server: Automatic starting of a trace by adding '?go=www.host.com' onto the URL in your browser.
• Changed 'England' to 'England/Scotland/N.Ireland'
• Support for the 'BR' domain
• Properly hide iconized windows under NT
• New Server Options: 1) Save map position on exit 2) Show map 3) "Fast zoom" option

4.0c - February 16, 1999 (build 456)

• Improved geographical database
• VisualRoute Server improvements: Fixed a memory leak, runs as a NT service, Server applet can be embedded within your own web page
• Added map/database for Italy
• Web Links ability for integrating VisualRoute into existing diagnostic web pages.
• 'Packing List' file integrity check the first time VisualRoute is run, which verifies the install and checks for viruses.

4.0a - November 30, 1998 (build 378)

• VisualRoute Server (details)
• Map Labels
• Added detailed maps for more of the world
• Better WHOIS caching
• New License technique
• Go/Stop button
• Added 'hop 0' as the local machine

3.3a - August 28, 1998

• Popup network and domain WHOIS support
• Loose Source Route (LSRR) support
• Vertical scroll bar
• More maps
• Removed ASN support

3.2c - July 1, 1998

• RFC 1876 (DNS LOC) support
• Changed how whois.ra.net was accessed

3.2b - June 24, 1998

• Trial works beyond trial period with limited functionality
• Added ASN support
• More maps

3.2a - April 20, 1998

• Support for non-Microsoft Java VM's
• Java 1.1 strongly recommended
• RFC 1918 (private use addresses) support
• Menu support
• URL host syntax to support other protocols/port

3.1b - April 3, 1998

• Greatly improved World support
• User-defined map data and locations

3.1a - March 19, 1998

• World map support
• Printing support (Java 1.1 required)
• Vertical scroll bar
• Clipboard support

2.1a - February 17, 1998

• Enhanced U.S. geographical database
• Full-featured trial period

2.0a - January 26, 1998

• Added a map of the United States
• Trial mode allows trace route to a limited set of sites

1.0a - November 17, 1997

• Ultra-fast multi-threaded trace route
• Results displayed in a Graphical User Interface
• Written in Java 1.0.