What Is A Hop?

Date First Published: 28th March 2022

Topic: Computer Networking

Subtopic: Data Transmission Technologies

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 8/10

Learn more about what a hop is in this article.

In computing, a hop is known as a router or a gateway that is an intermediary device between two different remote hosts, nodes, or networks. In a similar way to how a hop in the everyday world means to jump, a hop occurs in computing when a data packet 'jumps' from one router to another.

The more hops, the longer it takes for data to travel from source to its final destination as this means that more data packets are required for the data to get from its source to destination. The ‘tracert’ command along with the domain name or IP address allows users to see the number of hops that it takes to reach the final destination. In this context, it is recommended to refer to it as the hop count as an actual hop occurs when a packet jumps from one router to another. The hop count is helpful for measuring the approximate distance between two given hosts.

The hop count matters as a higher hop count will lead to more latency. Every time data is transferred from one device to another, it is broken down into data packets and intermediate devices, such as routers, are involved, which process the data. More than one router is involved in multi-hop situations.

Note:

Lower hop counts do not mean that the speed of the connection is faster as a higher hop count that is processed through one path might perform better than a lower hop count that is processed through a different path.

How To Find The Number Of Hops For A Domain Name Or IP Address?

The number of hops for a domain name or IP address can be worked out in Windows using Command Prompt. By typing ‘tracert’ along with the domain or IP address, the hops will be shown as they occur and the last hop number is the hop count.

1. Open the Start Menu. It is the Windows button in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The start menu can additionally be displayed by a simple keyboard shortcut. The keyboard shortcut is the button on the keyboard that has the Windows logo on it.
2. Find and open the folder 'Windows System' and right-click on 'Command Prompt' and select 'Run as administrator'.
3. In Command Prompt, copy and paste this command: 'tracert (domain name or ip address)'. Obviously, do not copy and paste this command with the quotes (').
4. 

   Tap 'Enter' and then the hops should gradually be shown.

5.