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Use traceroute (or Windows tracert) for a one-time map of the route to a destination. Use MTR when you need repeated measurements that reveal whether packet loss or latency persists during an intermittent problem. An asterisk at one hop is not automatically an outage: judge the final destination and whether the same impairment continues on later hops.
What traceroute and MTR actually tell you
Both utilities test the path from one source network to one destination at a particular time. They do not rate the destination globally, and they cannot prove that every application uses exactly the same path. A useful diagnosis therefore tests the exact hostname or IP address affected, from the network where the symptom occurs, while the problem is happening.
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Traceroute is a path snapshot
Traceroute sends probes with progressively larger time-to-live (TTL) values. A packet whose TTL reaches zero at an intermediate router causes that router to return an ICMP Time Exceeded message. Traceroute records the responding router and the probe’s round-trip time (RTT), increases the TTL, and sends the next set of probes. The process continues until the destination responds or the trace ends.
Each output row is a hop. The displayed address or hostname identifies the device that answered, and the millisecond values are RTTs for individual probes. The result is a concise view of the route and the delay to each responding hop, not a continuous health measurement.
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MTR is repeated measurement
MTR combines the route discovery of traceroute with the repeated probing behavior of ping. It keeps sampling every hop and reports statistics such as probes sent, loss percentage, last response, average RTT, best and worst RTT, and standard deviation. That time dimension makes MTR more useful for intermittent congestion, loss, or latency than a single traceroute.
An MTR report still describes only the tested source, destination, protocol and collection period. A clean report from one office does not rule out a fault affecting a different access provider, site, address family or time of day.
Commands for each platform and test type
| Goal | Command | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| IPv4 traceroute on Linux | traceroute example.com |
One route snapshot with hop RTTs. |
| IPv6 traceroute on Linux | traceroute -6 example.com |
One snapshot over IPv6. |
| IPv4 traceroute on Windows | tracert example.com |
Windows route snapshot and probe RTTs. |
| IPv6 traceroute on Windows | tracert -6 example.com |
One snapshot over IPv6. |
| Shareable MTR report for a hostname | mtr -rw example.com |
Report-mode per-hop loss and latency statistics. |
| Shareable MTR report for an IP address | mtr -rw 1.1.1.1 |
Report-mode measurements without hostname resolution ambiguity. |
| TCP-port MTR | mtr -P 443 -T destination-ip |
TCP probes to port 443 when ICMP or UDP behavior may differ from application traffic. |
Run the command from the affected machine or access network whenever possible. If a hostname can resolve to different addresses, repeat the test and record the destination IP shown for each run.
How to read a traceroute result
Read rows in order
The first row is normally the local gateway or first provider router, followed by transit networks and, eventually, the destination. Names may be absent, generic, or reverse-DNS labels; an unnamed hop is not proof of an unknown owner or wrongdoing. Focus on the sequence, RTT changes and whether the destination answers.
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Compare multiple probes in the same row instead of treating the slowest value as the normal delay. A single high value can be scheduling noise. A large increase that begins at one point and remains high through subsequent hops is more significant than a spike that appears on only one row.
What * * * means
Three asterisks mean that traceroute did not display a response for those probes. Routers can filter diagnostic packets, rate-limit replies, disable ICMP error messages, or simply decline to answer while still forwarding transit traffic. The asterisks therefore show missing diagnostic replies, not confirmed packet loss on the path.
Check the next responding hops and the final destination. If later rows and the destination have normal results, the silent router is usually deprioritizing or filtering traceroute responses. If the trace stops at the same point and the destination is unreachable, investigate further with a protocol-appropriate test rather than assigning blame from the last visible hop.
RTT increases that matter
A sustained step in average RTT after a geographic or provider transition can represent real distance or congestion. A value that is high at one hop but returns to normal at the next is commonly a control-plane response-prioritization artifact: the router answered slowly but forwarded traffic normally. Look for a change that starts at one hop and continues through every later hop, including the destination.
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What MTR columns mean
In report mode, MTR’s columns describe the samples collected for each hop. The exact display can vary by version, but the concepts are consistent:
- Loss%: the proportion of probes for which that hop did not return a displayed response.
- Snt: the number of probes sent.
- Last: the most recent responding RTT.
- Avg: the average RTT across responses.
- Best and Wrst: the lowest and highest observed RTTs.
- StDev: variation around the average; a large value indicates jitter in the observed replies.
Loss% is meaningful only in context. A router may lose or suppress its own diagnostic replies while forwarding every packet. The key question is whether a loss or latency change begins at a hop and remains visible at all later hops and at the destination.
A practical workflow for diagnosing a fault
- Define the symptom and endpoint. Write down what is failing, whether it is constant or intermittent, and the exact hostname, URL’s host, or IP address involved. Record whether the affected application uses IPv4 or IPv6 and, when known, its transport protocol and port.
- Capture a baseline traceroute. Run the platform-appropriate command and save the complete output. Note the local time and the destination address. If DNS may return different addresses, run the trace more than once and retain each result.
- Run MTR while the symptom is present. Use
mtr -rw destinationfor a stable report. Allow enough cycles to cover the intermittent event; a report taken during a completely healthy interval cannot demonstrate a fault that occurs later. - Match the probe to the application. If ICMP or UDP replies appear filtered, collect a TCP-mode report such as
mtr -P 443 -T destination-ipwhen the application uses HTTPS on port 443. The TCP result is still a diagnostic sample, not a guarantee that every flow follows identical behavior. - Mark the first apparent change. In the report, identify the first hop where loss rises or average RTT steps upward. Then inspect every subsequent row, especially the destination.
- Decide whether the change persists. Loss or delay isolated to one intermediate row is weak evidence of a forwarding problem. Similar loss or elevated latency from that row through the destination is stronger evidence that the affected segment or link begins there.
- Repeat from another vantage point when possible. A second network, server or opposite endpoint helps distinguish an access-link issue from a shared transit or destination-side issue. Keep each source and timestamp separate rather than combining statistics.
- Escalate with reproducible evidence. Send the complete traceroute or MTR output, source location and network, destination, UTC timestamp, command and options, protocol and port, and the number of MTR cycles. State whether the test was taken during the failure and whether the problem was constant or intermittent.
Common result patterns and the correct conclusion
| Observed pattern | Likely interpretation | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| All hops and the destination show 0% loss with stable averages. | The tested path looks healthy during the sample. Small differences in worst or standard-deviation values are normal. | Test again during the symptom, verify the exact endpoint and check application or host behavior. |
| One middle hop reports loss, but later hops and the destination do not. | Usually a rate limit or filter on diagnostic replies from that router, not transit loss. | Do not escalate that hop alone. Confirm with a longer MTR and a destination-focused test. |
| Loss begins at one hop and remains at similar levels through every later hop and the destination. | Evidence of a problem on the link or segment beginning near that hop, subject to protocol and sample limitations. | Repeat during the fault, compare with another source, and provide the persistent pattern to the responsible network. |
| RTT jumps at one hop, then returns to earlier values. | The router likely delayed its own diagnostic response while forwarding normally. | Ignore the isolated spike unless the destination also degrades. |
| RTT rises at a hop and stays higher through the destination. | Possible additional path distance or sustained congestion after that point. | Compare averages over repeated samples and note any provider or geographic transition. |
The trace shows repeated * * * or ends before the destination. |
Filtering, disabled ICMP errors, rate limiting or a protocol mismatch may be hiding replies. | Try the IPv4/IPv6 variant, test the destination directly, and use TCP-mode MTR when it matches the affected service. |
Why isolated MTR loss is often misleading
MTR asks each router to generate diagnostic responses. Routers prioritize forwarding customer traffic over answering those control-plane probes, and many deliberately limit or filter responses. Consequently, a hop can report 20% or 50% loss while the next hop and the destination report 0%. That pattern means only that the intermediate router did not answer every probe; it does not show that the same percentage of user packets disappeared.
Forwarding loss is more credible when the increase starts at a hop and appears at comparable levels on all subsequent hops, ending at the destination. Even then, validate with enough samples and a protocol that resembles the affected traffic. A low probe count can make percentages unstable, particularly when only a few packets were sent.
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Traceroute versus MTR: which should you use?
| Decision factor | Traceroute | MTR |
|---|---|---|
| Time scale | One path snapshot. | Repeated samples over a chosen collection period. |
| Primary output | Hop sequence and individual probe RTTs. | Per-hop loss and latency statistics, including averages and variation. |
| Best first use | Quickly locating where a route changes or where a trace stops. | Investigating intermittent loss, jitter or latency and creating evidence for escalation. |
| Filtering sensitivity | Can be affected by ICMP or UDP filtering and rate limiting. | Has the same limitations; TCP mode can better match an application using a TCP port. |
| Escalation artifact | Short and easy to compare between endpoints. | More detailed, especially when collected during the incident with a sufficient cycle count. |
A sensible sequence is traceroute first for orientation, then MTR during the event for persistence. Running only MTR when the issue is intermittent can work, but a baseline route makes later changes easier to identify.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Handling DNS, IPv4, IPv6 and protocol differences
Hostname versus IP address
A hostname may resolve to different addresses because of DNS load balancing, geography or address-family preference. A route to one resolved address does not prove that every connection to the hostname uses that route. Record the resolved destination and, when results differ, analyze each address separately.
IPv4 versus IPv6
IPv4 and IPv6 can use different gateways, providers and peering paths. If users report an address-family-specific problem, run the explicit IPv4 and IPv6 forms and compare them independently. Do not combine hops from the two traces into one path.
ICMP, UDP and TCP behavior
Many traceroute implementations rely on probe types that networks treat differently from application traffic. A clean ICMP-style result cannot guarantee that TCP is healthy, and missing ICMP responses do not prove that TCP is failing. When the affected service uses TCP and filtering is suspected, use the documented TCP MTR form with the service’s port, such as mtr -P 443 -T destination-ip for HTTPS. Interpret that output as evidence about that test flow from that source at that time.
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When a trace does not identify the owner of a problem
Reverse-DNS names can be absent or misleading, and a router that answers a probe is not necessarily the device that owns the underlying physical link. Do not infer responsibility from an unnamed hop, a hostname label or the first row containing an asterisk. The strongest escalation statement is behavioral: for example, “loss begins after hop 5 and continues at approximately the same level through the destination during the 14:05–14:15 UTC test.” The network operator can map that behavior to its internal links.
Building a report that an administrator can act on
- Source: city or site, access provider or network identifier, and whether the test ran on wired, wireless, VPN or cloud connectivity.
- Destination: exact hostname, resolved IP address, and service port when relevant.
- Time: start and end in UTC, including the application’s failure window.
- Commands: the complete command line, address-family option, TCP or UDP choice and any report-mode options.
- Sample size: MTR cycle count or collection duration.
- Evidence: unedited traceroute and MTR output, plus a concise description of which rows change and whether the destination is affected.
- Comparison: a healthy-period run or a second source, if available.
Preserve the raw output. Screenshots can omit columns, wrap addresses or hide timestamps, making independent verification harder.
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- Do not treat every high millisecond value as user-visible delay. Compare averages and persistence; one router may answer diagnostics slowly while forwarding promptly.
- Do not call an intermediate loss percentage an outage by itself. Later hops and the destination determine whether the impairment is carried forward.
- Do not test only after recovery. Intermittent faults require samples during the symptom and enough cycles to capture it.
- Do not assume one destination represents an entire service. Different addresses can take different paths.
- Do not mix protocol conclusions. ICMP, UDP and TCP probes can be filtered differently.
- Do not overstate a demonstration output. An example trace showing seven clean hops or 0.0% loss illustrates the format; it is not a network-wide performance benchmark.
A compact decision guide
- If you need to see the route once, run traceroute or
tracert. - If the problem appears and disappears, run report-mode MTR while it is occurring.
- If one hop alone shows loss or delay, check later hops and the destination before concluding there is a fault.
- If the change starts at one hop and persists to the destination, repeat the test and escalate that persistent boundary.
- If replies are missing, test the destination directly, try the correct IPv4 or IPv6 form, and use TCP-mode MTR when it matches the service.
- Include source, destination, UTC time, command, protocol, port, cycle count and complete output in every escalation.
Bottom line
Traceroute answers “which routers respond, and what RTT did each probe observe?” MTR answers the same question repeatedly, adding the loss and latency statistics needed to see an intermittent pattern. The diagnostic rule that prevents most false alarms is simple: an anomaly matters when it begins at a point in the path and continues through the later hops and the final destination. An isolated asterisk, loss percentage or latency spike at an intermediate router is usually a property of that router’s diagnostic replies, not proof that customer traffic is being dropped.
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