Internet Control Message

Protocol

ICMP
 ICMP

• ICMP has two major purposes:

– To report erroneous conditions
– To diagnose network problems
 ICMP Message Format
1 byte Type Which type of message?

1 byte Code Which sub-type of message?

2 bytes Checksum Checksum of entire ICMP message

? Data Extra data (specific to the type of message)

Important ICMP Messages

• Echo Request/Reply
• Destination Unreachable
• Redirect
• Time Exceeded
• Parameter Problem
• Router Advertisement/Discovery
 Echo Request/Reply

• Echo Request (Type: 8, Code: 0):

– Requests that the receiving host send a copy
(echo) of the request back to the sender
• Echo Response (Type: 0, Code: 0):
– The response from the receiving host
• Using these 2 commands is one way that
the ping command can perform its function
Destination Unreachable
• Network Unreachable (Type: 3, Code: 0):
– The network of the packet’s destination address field could not be reached
• Network Unknown (Type: 3, Code: 6):
– The network of the packet’s destination address field could not be located
• Host Unreachable (Type: 3, Code: 1):
– The host specified by the destination address could not be reached
• Host Unknown (Type: 3, Code: 7):
– The host specified by the destination address could not be located
• Protocol Unreachable (Type: 3, Code: 2):
– The specified protocol (e.g. TCP or UDP) could not be established with the
specified host
• Port Unreachable (Type: 3, Code: 3):
– The specified port number could not be reached
 Redirect

• Redirect (Type: 5, Code: 0):

– This router knows of a better path to the
specified destination
– The next router in the new path is provided
 Time Exceeded

• Time Exceeded (Type: 11, Code: 0):

– The router has decremented the hop limit of a
packet to zero and dropped the packet
 Parameter Problem

• Parameter Problem (Type: 12, Code: 0):

– Part of all of the packet’s IP header was invalid
Router Advertisement/Discovery

• Router Advertisement (Type: 9, Code: 0):

– A router announces its existence using this type
of message
• Router Discovery (Type: 10, Code: 0):
– A host explicitly searches for a router
 Ping

ICMP Echo Request (Type: 8, Code: 0)

Destination
Source

ICMP Echo Response (Type: 0, Code: 0)

 Traceroute
Packet w/ Hop Limit = 1

ICMP Time Limit Exceeded

Packet w/ Hop Limit = 2

ICMP Time Limit Exceeded

Destination
Router 1

Router 2

Router 3
Source

Packet w/ Hop Limit = 3

ICMP Time Limit Exceeded

Packet w/ Hop Limit = 4

Response to Packet