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Troubleshooting Network Issues

Written by Jarad on September 16, 2024

At FastBound, we strive to provide the best possible experience when using our firearms compliance SaaS platform. However, like any internet-based service, there are times when you might encounter slowness or even loss of connectivity. These issues are often outside our direct control, and it’s essential to understand how internet traffic works to get a clearer picture of what’s happening.

The Route Between Your Device and FastBound

When you access the FastBound web application (hosted on Microsoft Azure in Iowa), your data travels through several network “hops.” These include:

  • Your Internet Service Provider (ISP): The connection starts with your local ISP, which routes your traffic to the next stop.

  • Upstream Providers: After leaving your ISP’s network, your data flows through other regional networks or backbone carriers.

  • Carrier Networks: Large telecommunications companies handle traffic between regions, routing data across vast distances.

  • Microsoft Azure Network: Finally, the data enters Microsoft’s network, where the FastBound application is hosted.

Each step along this route can introduce latency (slowness) or, in rare cases, packet loss (loss of data), causing connectivity issues. While most of the time, this process is fast and seamless, occasional slowness can happen anywhere along this path. Fortunately, the internet’s infrastructure is designed to adapt: networks will automatically find alternate routes, and prolonged network issues are both rare and short-lived.

How to Run a Traceroute

When troubleshooting connectivity issues, traceroute is a tool that helps identify where along the route problems may be occurring. It traces the path your data takes and measures the time it takes to reach each hop. By sending us a traceroute report, we can identify if there is an issue along your particular route to Microsoft’s network, data centers, or our servers.

Below, we’ll walk you through how to run a Traceroute.

Windows

  1. Press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.

  2. Type cmd and press Enter to open the Command Prompt.

  3. In the Command Prompt, type tracert cloud.fastbound.com and press Enter.

  4. Wait for the traceroute to complete. It may take a minute or two.

  5. Right-click anywhere in the Command Prompt window and select Mark.

  6. Highlight the entire traceroute output, and press Enter to copy it.

  7. Paste the copied output into an email or chat to send it to our support team.

macOS

  1. Open the Finder, go to Applications, and then open Utilities.

  2. In Utilities, double-click Terminal to open it.

  3. In the Terminal, type traceroute cloud.fastbound.com and press Enter.

  4. Wait for the traceroute to complete.

  5. Click and drag to highlight the entire traceroute output.

  6. Press ⌘ + C to copy the output.

  7. Paste the copied output into an email or chat to send it to our support team.

Linux

  1. Open your terminal (you can find it in the system menu or by using a keyboard shortcut, often Ctrl + Alt + T).

  2. Type traceroute cloud.fastbound.com and press Enter.

    1. If you see a “command not found” error, install the traceroute package by running sudo apt-get install traceroute and running the traceroute command again after installation.

  3. Wait for the traceroute to complete.

  4. Click and drag to highlight the entire traceroute output.

  5. Press Ctrl + Shift + C to copy the output.

  6. Paste the copied output into an email or chat to send it to our support team.

Sending the Traceroute to FastBound Support

Once you’ve copied the traceroute output:

  • If you’re chatting with our support team, paste the output directly into the chat window.

  • If you prefer to send the traceroute via email, paste the output into an email and send it to support@fastbound.com.

Our team will review the traceroute and help determine if there’s an issue along the network path to our servers. This information is invaluable in diagnosing problems and resolving any connectivity issues you may be experiencing.

While network issues can be frustrating, they are usually temporary, and they rarely require any action from you. However, running a traceroute can help us quickly identify where the problem lies and work toward a resolution. If you’re experiencing slowness or connection issues with FastBound, please follow the steps above to run a traceroute and send us the results. We’re here to help!

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