MTR is a network diagnostic tool that combines the functionality of ping and traceroute. It shows the route between your computer and a server and helps identify latency, packet loss, and connectivity issues along the route.

MTR can be useful when troubleshooting slow connections, unstable network performance, packet loss, or intermittent connectivity to your server.

How to Run MTR on Windows

On Windows, you can use WinMTR:

1. Download and open WinMTR.
2. Enter your server IP address or hostname in the Host field.
3. Click Start.
4. Let the test run for at least 100 packets to collect enough data for analysis.
5. Click Stop when the test is complete.

You can then copy or export the results if you need to provide them to HostZealot Support.

How to Run MTR on Linux

On Debian and Ubuntu, install MTR using:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mtr-tiny

On distributions using DNF, install it with:

sudo dnf install mtr

To run a report with 100 packets, use:

mtr -rw -c 100 server_ip

Replace server_ip with the IP address or hostname you want to test.

How to Run MTR on macOS

If you use Homebrew, you can install MTR with:

brew install mtr

After installation, run:

sudo mtr -rw -c 100 server_ip

Replace server_ip with the IP address or hostname you want to test.

How to Read MTR Results

An MTR report shows each network hop between the source and destination. The most useful values when troubleshooting a connection are:

• Loss% — the percentage of packets that did not receive a response.
• Avg — the average response time for the hop.
• Best — the lowest recorded response time.
• Wrst — the highest recorded response time.

Note:
Packet loss at an intermediate hop does not necessarily indicate a network problem. Some routers limit or deprioritize responses to diagnostic traffic. If packet loss appears at one hop but does not continue to subsequent hops and the destination, it usually does not represent actual packet loss affecting your connection.

When investigating a connection problem, pay particular attention to latency or packet loss that begins at a specific hop and continues through subsequent hops to the destination.

Testing a Connection to Your Server

For a more complete network diagnosis, it can be useful to test the connection in both directions: from your local computer to the server and from the server to your local IP address. Network routes can differ depending on the direction of traffic.

If you contact HostZealot Support about a network issue, include the MTR results together with the source and destination IP addresses and a description of the problem.