What is MTR?
MTR is a network diagnostic tool which combines the results of both the ping and traceroute tools. When a computer connects to another computer over the internet, the network traffic is sent through a series of routers, or “hops”, in between the source and destination to efficiently deliver content. MTR looks at each of these hops and measures the latency and packet loss against each one, including the destination. This information allows us to figure out where a network problem lies.
WinMTR is a network diagnostic tool that's open code and very easy to use. You just have to run the software, enter the name of the host or the destination IP address, and the program will analyze.
For ExaVault, an MTR trace lets us see the network traffic between your system and the server hosting your files. This can help us pinpoint spots in the route where traffic is slowing down or getting lost.
Installing 'WinMTR' on Microsoft Windows
Unfortunately, the MTR tool does not come pre-installed on Windows so you will need to install it yourself.
- Download and install 'WinMTR-v100-static.zip' from the WinMTR github repo. You will get a .zip archive containing two binaries; WinMTR.exe and WinMTR64.exe.
- Click the correct one for your platform; either 32-bit or 64-bit. If you don't know whether you have a 32-bit or 64-bit platform, try them both and see which one works.
- WINMTR by ECM is an easy-to-use network diagnostics tool that allows you to ping and traceroute web addresses. Since WINMTR for Mac is not available, you can feel free to try any of the similar applications that you can download for your Mac.
- WINMTR by ECM is an easy-to-use network diagnostics tool that allows you to ping and traceroute. Advanced IP Scanner for Mac. Advanced IP Scanner by Famatech is a free application that will help you scan your network.
Using 'WinMTR' on Microsoft Windows
To use 'WinMTR' on Microsoft Windows, double-click on the WinMTR version for your computer:
- Click Start
- Click Stop
- Paste the results in an email to support.
Installing 'MTR' in Mac OS X
The MTR tool does not come pre-installed on Mac OS X computers, and is not available in the Apple store.
You will need to have the Homebrew package management system installed on your computer before you can install MTR. This package management system makes libraries and utilities available for your Mac that are not included in the Mac OS X installation by default.
Note: if you have the MacPorts package management system installed, you will need to use that to install the mtr utility as it is not compatible with the Homebrew package management system.
Installing and Using 'MTR' from Homebrew
- To install Homebrew, open a Terminal Window and run the command
- Once mtr is installed, run the command:
- Make the mtr command available to your system by running:. If you get a permission error, run:
- To run an mtr trace, run the command:Note that myaccount.exavault.com should be the address for your account (such as test.exavault.com).
- Use your mouse to highlight the traces results.
- Email support and Press Command-V to paste the results in to the email.
Understanding MTR Results
If you see 0% packet loss throughout all the hops of the MTR trace, this indicates that there likely is not a networking issue between your computer and the ExaVault server.
If you see packet loss that does not get recovered in later hops, the suggests a potential problem in the route your system is taking to reach ExaVault. Be sure to send the results over for further review.
Did you find an issue with this article? Let us know!
Developer(s) | BitWizard |
---|---|
Initial release | 1997; 23 years ago |
Stable release | |
Repository | |
Written in | C |
Operating system | Unix-like |
Type | Network |
License | GNU General Public License Version 2 |
Website | www.bitwizard.nl/mtr |
Original author(s) | Appnor MSP S.R.L. |
---|---|
Developer(s) | White-Tiger |
Stable release | |
Repository | github.com/White-Tiger/WinMTR |
Written in | C++ |
Operating system | Windows |
Type | Network |
License | GNU General Public License Version 2 |
Website | github.com/White-Tiger/WinMTR |
My traceroute, originally named Matt's traceroute (MTR), is a computer program which combines the functions of the traceroute and ping programs in one network diagnostic tool.[2]
MTR probes routers on the route path by limiting the number of hops individual packets may traverse, and listening to responses of their expiry. It will regularly repeat this process, usually once per second, and keep track of the response times of the hops along the path.
History[edit]
The original Matt's traceroute program was written by Matt Kimball in 1997. Roger Wolff took over maintaining MTR (renamed My traceroute) in October 1998.[3]
Fundamentals[edit]
MTR is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) and works under modern Unix-like operating systems. It normally works under the text console, but it also has an optional GTK+-based graphical user interface (GUI).
MTR relies on Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Time Exceeded (type 11, code 0) packets coming back from routers, or ICMP Echo Reply packets when the packets have hit their destination host. MTR also has a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) mode (invoked with '-u' on the command line or pressing the 'u' key in the curses interface) that sends UDP packets, with the time to live (TTL) field in the IP header increasing by one for each probe sent, toward the destination host. When the UDP mode is used, MTR relies on ICMP port unreachable packets (type 3, code 3) when the destination is reached.
MTR also supports IPv6 and works in a similar manner but instead relies on ICMPv6 messages.
The tool is often used for network troubleshooting. By showing a list of routers traversed, and the average round-trip time as well as packet loss to each router, it allows users to identify links between two given routers responsible for certain fractions of the overall latency or packet loss through the network.[4] This can help identify network overuse problems.[5]
Winmtr For Macbook
Examples[edit]
This example shows MTR running on Linux tracing a route from the host machine (example.lan) to a web server at Yahoo! (p25.www.re2.yahoo.com) across the Level 3 Communications network.
An additional example below shows a recent version of MTR running on FreeBSD. MPLS labels are displayed by default when the '-e' switch is used on the command line (or the 'e' key is pressed in the curses interface):
Windows versions[edit]
WinMTR is a Windows GUI application functionally equivalent to MTR. It was originally developed by Appnor MSP S.R.L.; it is now maintained by White-Tiger. Although it is very similar, WinMTR shares no common code with MTR.
A console version of MTR does exist for Windows, but it has fewer features than MTR on other platforms.[6]
See also[edit]
- PathPing - a network utility supplied in Windows NT and beyond that combines the functions of ping with those of traceroute, or tracert
References[edit]
- ^'Releases - traviscross/mtr'. Retrieved 6 Aug 2019 – via GitHub.
- ^Upstream Provider Woes? Point the Ping of Blame. (linuxplanet.com)
- ^Cisco router configuration and troubleshooting By Mark Tripod (Google Books)
- ^Nore, Haakon Løchen (2014). 'Understanding network performance bottlenecks'. Institutt for telematikk.
- ^Linode: Diagnosing Network Issues with MTR
- ^Based on: https://github.com/traviscross/mtr/issues/55#issuecomment-264057403
External links[edit]
Winmtr For Mac Os X
- MTR, BitWizard's MTR page with Unix downloads
- WinMTR, the equivalent of MTR for Windows platforms
- WinMTR (Redux), fork of WinMTR, maintained by René Schümann aka White-Tiger
Winmtr For Mac Catalina
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MTR_(software)&oldid=965868408'