Hi Jimmy,
IP packets using the Record Route option contain extra fields in their IP headers to store the individual traversed IP addresses into (at most 9). RFC 791 is specific about this:
The originating host must compose this option with a large
enough route data area to hold all the address expected. The
size of the option does not change due to adding addresses. The
intitial contents of the route data area must be zero.
In other words, sender of this IP packet extends its IP header with a sufficient number of bytes to hold the necessary count of traversed IP addresses, and they should be filled with zeros. This is why you see the first ping request being sent with all zeros.
The question is actually, why does the extended ping send subsequent ping requests with this area being non-zero and instead containing the list of IP addresses from the last reply (at least it says it is doing so), thereby conflicting the RFC 791. Nevertheless, the initial value of this field is actually uninteresting, as this field is simply overwritten each time the packet traverses a network, so I would personally find this a nuisance, not a real problem.
Best regards,
Peter
