MTR

What is MTR?

MTR (My Traceroute) combines ping and traceroute to monitor network performance and detect issues like latency or packet loss.

Installation

1. Linux: sudo apt install mtr (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo yum install mtr (CentOS).

2. Windows: Use WinMTR.

Basic Usage

mtr <destination_ip>

Options:

• -r -c <n>: Generate a report after n tests (e.g., mtr -r -c 10 example.com).

• -n: Skip DNS resolution, show IPs only.

• --tcp or -u: Use TCP/UDP instead of ICMP.

• --max-ttl <n>: Limit hops to n.

How to interpret the results

1. Host: The intermediate devices (hops).

2. Loss%: Packet loss percentage. High loss indicates issues.

3. Last/Avg/Worst: Latency stats (in ms). High values = potential congestion.

Key Points:

1. Consistent high loss: Likely a network issue, contact us.

2. High latency only at the destination: Check the server, not the network.

3. High loss on one hop: Often router configuration, not a real problem.

Example Commands

Test with 10 pings

mtr -r -c 10 deluxhost.net > output.txt

Testing an ip-address

mtr 192.168.1.1

Specific port test

mtr --tcp --port 80 deluxhost.net

Continuous monitoring

mtr google.com