networkhop

A network hop refers to the passage of a data packet from one network device to another as it travels across a network to its destination. Each device a packet encounters, such as a router or a switch, represents a single hop. The total number of hops required to reach a destination is a measure of the path length. Devices like routers are responsible for examining the destination IP address of a packet and forwarding it along the most efficient path. Understanding network hops is fundamental to network troubleshooting and performance analysis. Tools like the `traceroute` command (or `tracert` on Windows) are used to identify the sequence of hops a packet takes, listing the IP addresses and sometimes hostnames of the intermediate devices. This information can help pinpoint where network congestion or connectivity issues might be occurring. Minimizing the number of hops is often a goal in network design to reduce latency and improve packet delivery speed. In some contexts, a "hop" can also refer to a wireless access point in a mesh network, where devices connect to the nearest access point and then relay data to subsequent access points until it reaches the destination or a wired connection.