The purpose of this guide is to demonstrate how you can run an MTR (MyTraceRoute) to collect information about a network error or disruption, which can be reported to our Support team. If possible, provide an MTR when submitting a Support Case, otherwise your request may be delayed.
It provides additional information about the network paths (often called hops) taken during communication as compared to basic diagnostic tools such as “ping” and “traceroute/tracert.” As the report is processed, an MTR will also continuously provide information on how connected each hop is and how responsive it is.
Installing and Running an MTR
We will cover Linux, Windows, and Unix (MacOS) platforms that support MTR.
Linux
The MTR package should be installed using your package manager. For example:
Debian/Ubuntu
apt update
apt install mtrRHEL (Red Hat)/CentOS/Fedora
yum update
yum install mtrWindows
WinMTR is the Windows version of MTR.
Unix (MacOS)
On a Mac, you can install MTR using homebrew:
brew install mtrGenerating the MTR Report
Having installed MTR, you can now generate an MTR report for the team. We’ve provided recommended commands to run below on a Unix/Linux environment:
mtr -rwc 50 <destination IP>Included in this command are:
- “mtr” the command to run
- To pass flags through to the command, use “-“
- Using “r” to create a report from the MTR
- Where possible, “w” displays the full hostname of each ‘hop’
- “c X” indicates that X packets should be sent. The MTR report sends only 10 by default. Our recommendation is 50, which will take about a minute.
An example command, along with its output, is shown below. This MTR has a Google DNS IP address as its destination. You will have to replace it with the host you are investigating.
mtr -rwc 50 8.8.8.8Start: Fri Jun 19 02:09:49 2020
HOST: sau-12345-cs.servercontrol.com.au Loss% Snt Last Avg Best Wrst StDev
1.|-- vl3005.sw-6-19.as45671.net.au 0.0% 50 0.8 6.8 0.8 224.4 31.5
2.|-- vl3000.sw-6-5.as45671.net.au 0.0% 50 1.5 5.4 1.1 166.3 23.4
3.|-- rtif-203.26.198.100-31.es-6-1.as45671.net.au 0.0% 50 0.4 0.8 0.4 2.2 0.3
4.|-- 203.26.198.42 0.0% 50 0.6 1.0 0.4 13.7 2.0
5.|-- 100.64.105.5 0.0% 50 0.6 1.0 0.4 6.9 1.2
6.|-- as15169.nsw.ix.asn.au 0.0% 50 14.8 3.0 0.8 22.9 4.1
7.|-- 108.170.247.49 0.0% 50 2.2 2.5 2.0 5.5 0.6
8.|-- 142.250.224.189 0.0% 50 1.9 2.4 1.8 8.5 1.0
9.|-- dns.google 0.0% 50 0.7 1.0 0.7 4.3 0.5The MTR traversed several hops, saw no packet loss, and arrived at the destination 100% of the time.
Additionally, it is strongly recommended that you create an MTR from the destination host, which shows the “return path”. Set your original source address as the destination address from this host. An Office or Home Static IP address (also known as a WAN or Public IP address) could be used here.
Windows WinMTR generates a similar report, but it lacks some features.
Interpreting the Report
The data in the report can now be reviewed since you have two reports (from your host to the destination host AND the destination host to your host).
Several “hops,” which represent Internet devices, were encountered in the example provided above. An IP address is assigned to any device that routes traffic, such as a router or Layer 3 switch.
Investigating Packet Loss
In the event of packet loss or a persistent network disruption, the MTR report may report lost packets.
Some networking devices rate limit or deprioritize ICMP (ping) traffic, which affects the MTR result. Rate-limited ICMP is indicated by a single “hop” reporting 100.0 in the Loss% column but not elsewhere in the report.
Here is a modified example to the one provided earlier:
Start: Fri Jun 19 02:09:49 2020
HOST: sau-12345-cs.servercontrol.com.au Loss% Snt Last Avg Best Wrst StDev
1.|-- vl3005.sw-6-19.as45671.net.au 0.0% 50 0.8 6.8 0.8 224.4 31.5
2.|-- vl3000.sw-6-5.as45671.net.au 0.0% 50 1.5 5.4 1.1 166.3 23.4
3.|-- rtif-203.26.198.100-31.es-6-1.as45671.net.au 0.0% 50 0.4 0.8 0.4 2.2 0.3
4.|-- 203.26.198.42 0.0% 50 0.6 1.0 0.4 13.7 2.0
5.|-- 100.64.105.5 0.0% 50 0.6 1.0 0.4 6.9 1.2
6.|-- as15169.nsw.ix.asn.au 0.0% 50 14.8 3.0 0.8 22.9 4.1
7.|-- 108.170.247.49 60.0% 50 2.2 2.5 2.0 5.5 0.6
8.|-- 142.250.224.189 60.0% 50 1.9 2.4 1.8 8.5 1.0
9.|-- dns.google 40.0% 50 0.7 1.0 0.7 4.3 0.5
