MTR: Advanced Network Diagnostics

Use MTR to diagnose network problems like packet loss, high latency and anomalous routing. Complete guide with result interpretation.

MTR (My Traceroute) combines ping and traceroute in a single interactive tool. It's the standard for diagnosing network problems between two hosts: packet loss, high latency, asymmetric routing.

Installation

# Debian / Ubuntu
apt install mtr -y

# CentOS / AlmaLinux / Rocky
yum install mtr -y
# or
dnf install mtr -y

# Windows
# Download WinMTR from: https://sourceforge.net/projects/winmtr/

Basic Usage

# Interactive MTR to a host
mtr google.com

# MTR to an IP
mtr 8.8.8.8

# Non-interactive report (useful for pasting in tickets)
mtr --report google.com
mtr -r google.com

# Report with 100 packets (more accurate)
mtr --report --report-cycles 100 google.com

# Show IP only (without DNS reverse lookup: faster)
mtr --report --no-dns google.com

# Force IPv4 or IPv6
mtr -4 google.com
mtr -6 google.com

Interpreting the Output

                             My traceroute  [v0.95]
Host                        Loss%   Snt   Last   Avg  Best  Wrst StDev
1. router.deluxhost.net      0.0%   100    0.3   0.3   0.2   0.5   0.1
2. 10.10.1.1                 0.0%   100    1.2   1.1   0.9   2.1   0.2
3. 185.1.2.3                 0.0%   100    3.4   3.5   3.1   4.2   0.2
4. ae1.cr1.fra1.example.net  0.0%   100   12.1  12.3  11.9  13.1   0.3
5. ???                       100%   100    0.0   0.0   0.0   0.0   0.0
6. 142.250.x.x               0.0%   100   22.4  22.6  22.1  24.0   0.4
7. google.com                0.0%   100   23.1  23.2  22.8  24.5   0.4

Column	Meaning
Loss%	Percentage of packets lost on that node
Snt	Packets sent
Last	Latency of the last packet (ms)
Avg	Average latency (ms): the most important
Best	Minimum latency recorded
Wrst	Maximum latency recorded
StDev	Standard deviation: indicates instability

How to Read the Results

Normal Packet Loss (Ignore It)

5. ???    100%   100    0.0   0.0   0.0   0.0   0.0

Many transit routers block ICMP (the protocol used by MTR) for security policy. If the next node shows 0% loss, there's no problem: the router simply doesn't respond to pings.

Next Node Rule

Always look at the node after the one with loss. If the next one is 0%, the loss on the previous node is artificial (ICMP rate limiting). If loss propagates to the destination, the problem is real.

Real Packet Loss

4. ae1.cr1.fra1.example.net  15.0%   100   45.2  44.8  12.1  90.1  18.3
5. 142.250.x.x               15.0%   100   46.1  45.0  12.3  91.0  18.1
6. google.com                15.0%   100   46.5  45.2  12.5  92.0  18.4

Loss starts at node 4 and propagates: the problem is on the link between node 3 and node 4. Report to your provider.

High Latency on a Single Node

4. ae1.example.net    0.0%   100   450.2  448.1  440.0  460.0   4.2
5. 142.250.x.x        0.0%   100    22.4   22.6   22.1   24.0   0.4

Node 4 responds with 450ms but node 5 is back to 22ms: node 4 has only ICMP rate limiting, there's no real problem. The effective latency is that of the destination.

Real High Latency Problem

4. ae1.example.net    0.0%   100   450.2  448.1  440.0  460.0   4.2
5. 142.250.x.x        0.0%   100   460.1  459.3  449.0  470.0   4.1
6. google.com         0.0%   100   461.5  460.2  450.0  471.0   4.3

High latency propagates to the destination: real problem starting at node 4.

Bidirectional MTR (For Support Tickets)

Network problems are often asymmetric: outbound works but inbound doesn't (or vice versa). For complete diagnosis, you need two MTR runs: one from your PC to the server, and one from the server to your IP.

# From the server to your IP (example)
mtr --report --report-cycles 100 --no-dns YOUR_PUBLIC_IP

To find your public IP:

curl ifconfig.me

# Save the report to a file
mtr --report --report-cycles 100 --no-dns google.com > /tmp/mtr-report.txt

# With timestamp
mtr --report --report-cycles 100 google.com | tee /tmp/mtr-$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M).txt

# JSON output (for automated tools)
mtr --report --json google.com

Common Usage Examples

Diagnose to DeluxHost Gateway

# Replace with your VPS IP
mtr --report --report-cycles 50 --no-dns YOUR_VPS_IP

Verify Routing to a Specific Datacenter

# Check the path to an IP in a specific DC
mtr --report --tcp --port 80 --no-dns DESTINATION_IP

MTR with TCP Instead of ICMP

Useful if ICMP is blocked (e.g., to a web server):

mtr --tcp --port 443 google.com
mtr --tcp --port 80 tuodominio.com

When to Attach MTR to a Support Ticket

Always attach MTR output when reporting:

High lag/latency on the server
Packet loss during connections
Intermittent disconnections
Anomalous routing to certain regions

Always provide both directions (from your PC to server AND from server to your PC) to allow complete diagnosis.

MTR: Advanced Network Diagnostics

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