Enable full traceroute visibility across IBM Cloud Direct Link and Transit Gateway

Currently, IBM Cloud does not provide full traceroute hop visibility when traffic traverses hybrid network paths involving Direct Link, Transit Gateway and VPC routing components.

When executing traceroute from an on-premises environment or from IBM Cloud Virtual Server Instances (VSIs), only the first visible hop is displayed. Intermediate IBM Cloud network hops are hidden, making it impossible to identify the complete network path.

This limitation makes troubleshooting hybrid connectivity more complex, especially in enterprise environments where Direct Link is used as the primary connectivity mechanism and VPN is configured as a backup.

We request IBM to provide an option to enable traceroute visibility across the IBM Cloud network or alternatively provide an equivalent network path visualization capability.

This enhancement would allow customers to:

• Validate routing paths through Direct Link and Transit Gateway.
• Troubleshoot latency and routing issues more efficiently.
• Verify Direct Link and VPN failover behaviour.
• Reduce troubleshooting time and operational effort.
• Improve network observability in hybrid cloud environments.

Other major cloud providers offer similar network path visibility or diagnostic capabilities, allowing customers to identify intermediate hops or visualize packet paths through their cloud infrastructure. Providing equivalent functionality in IBM Cloud would improve observability and align IBM Cloud networking capabilities with current enterprise hybrid cloud operational requirements.

This enhancement would improve IBM Cloud competitiveness for enterprise hybrid networking by providing a level of network observability that is commonly expected and available in other leading cloud providers.