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How to Perform MTR

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MTR is an application that combines traceroute and ping. With MTR, you can send packets from your local machine to a remote server and observe both routing and network performance between machines. MTR is an invaluable network diagnostic tool, especially when trying to isolate the source of problems such as latency or connectivity issues. Sometimes speed and connectivity issues can be related to latency or a "bad hop" in the path of the server you're connecting to or the site you're trying to visit. There are several ways to determine the cause, but a good starting point is an MTR test.

An MTR test is a broad-spectrum diagnostic tool that can help identify where connections are failing. It can also help identify the cause of the connection loss. Note that MTR tests can only be run on Windows, MacOS, or Linux. However, the test is to assess your network, not the device itself. Also, be sure to test using the specific ISP network you're having trouble with at the time.

Perform an MTR on Linux

All you have to do is use the terminal to download the package from its repository and install it.

If you’re running anRHEL-based distrol, such as CentOS, Fedora, or RHEL, open your terminal and enter

yum install mtr
  • Once installed, enter this command to run the test
mtr testing.com -c 1000 -r
  • Press return.

Note that if your user on the Linux system does not have sufficient permissions, you can use the command below. However, to run it, you will need to enter your root or admin user password

sudo yum install mtr

If you’re running a Debian-based distro, like Ubuntu, use the following instructions
Open your terminal and enter

apt-get install mtr

Note, if your user on the Linux system does not have sufficient permissions, you can use the command below. However, to run it, you will need to enter your root or admin user password

sudo apt-get install mtr

Once installed, enter this command to run the test.

mtr testing.com -c -1000 -r

Copy and paste the output and send it to Support for further troubleshooting in case you are asked to run an MTR test.

Perform an MTR on Windows

For Windows Operating Systems, you can use WinMTR which is a port of MTR.

  • Install MTR on Windows
  • Download WinMTR
  • Go to the folder where it was saved and unzip the file
  • Click “Extract” to extract the files into the same folder where the WinMTR ZIP was saved.
  • Double-click WinMTR64.exe to open the application.
  • Run the MTR Test.
  • To do this, enter a domain name or IP address in the host box, and press Start.MTR.png
  • Allow the MTR test run for 15 minutes and then click Stop.
  • You can now view MTR Test results.
  • Copy and paste the output and send it to Support for further troubleshooting.

Perform an MTR On MacOS

The MTR tool does not come pre-installed on Mac OS X devices and is not available in the Apple store. To install MTR, you will need to have the Homebrew package management system installed on your computer. Homebrew makes libraries and utilities available on your Mac that are not included by default with the Mac OS X installation.

To install Homebrew, open a Terminal Window and run the command

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

To install MTR, run the command

brew install mtr

Once MTR is installed, run the command

cd /usr/local/Cellar/mtr/0.94/sbin

Make the MTR command available on your system by running

cp mtr /usr/local/bin/

If you get a permission error, run

sudo cp mtr /usr/local/bin/

Running MTR

cp mtr /usr/local/bin/

If you get a permission error, run

sudo cp mtr /usr/local/bin/

Running MTR
Once MTR is installed, open Terminal and run this command

sudo mtr google.com -r

Run the MTR trace for 10-15 minutes.
Copy and paste the output and send it to Support for further troubleshooting.

Or you can use MacPorts

For MacPorts use the syntax below: 

port install mtr

Running an MTR:
You can use the native GUI that is available and start an MTR through there for Windows based MTR's using WinMTR,

  • You can use the syntax for Unix based systems, 
mtr -rw [destination_host]
  • Once MTR is installed, open the Terminal application and run this command: 
sudo mtr google.com -r
  • Let the MTR trace run for 10-15 minutes.
  • Copy and paste the output and send it to Support for further troubleshooting.

Updated almost 2 years ago