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How to Create a Network Trace with MTR ​

MTR is a network diagnostic tool that combines the functions of traceroute and ping. It shows you the entire route of your data packets to the target server and measures packet loss and latency at each individual hop (intermediate station).

Our support team needs this data to specifically analyze and locate network problems.

Tip

Before creating a trace, check our status page first to see if there is a known issue.

Prerequisites ​

  • Server IP address – you can find this in your dashboard under server management
  • MTR installed – WinMTR for Windows, mtr for Linux/macOS

Windows – WinMTR ​

  1. Download WinMTR and start the program.

  2. Enter your server IP address in the Host field.

  3. Click Start and wait until at least 200 packets have been sent.

    • You can see the number of sent packets in the Sent column.

  4. Click Stop and then Export TEXT to save the result.

Note

The following output is just an example – your result will look different depending on your location and provider.

Example output (WinMTR):

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                            WinMTR statistics                              |
| Host                       - %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |
|---------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|
| 192.168.178.1              - 0  |  200 |  200 |    1 |    2 |   15 |    1 |
| 172.17.225.84              - 0  |  200 |  200 |    8 |   10 |   28 |    9 |
| r3-ber1-de.as5405.net      - 0  |  200 |  200 |   10 |   13 |   35 |   12 |
| r3-fra3-de.as5405.net      - 0  |  200 |  200 |   12 |   15 |   38 |   14 |
| core01.fra02.ntg-it.net    - 0  |  200 |  200 |   16 |   20 |   42 |   18 |
| 92.249.48.42               - 0  |  200 |  200 |   18 |   22 |   45 |   20 |
| emeraldhost.de             - 0  |  200 |  200 |   19 |   23 |   48 |   21 |
|_________________________________|______|______|______|______|______|______|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                            WinMTR statistics                              |
| Host                       - %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |
|---------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|
| 192.168.178.1              - 0  |  200 |  200 |    1 |    2 |   15 |    1 |
| 172.17.225.84              - 0  |  200 |  200 |    8 |   10 |   28 |    9 |
| r3-ber1-de.as5405.net      - 0  |  200 |  200 |   10 |   13 |   35 |   12 |
| r3-fra3-de.as5405.net      - 0  |  200 |  200 |   12 |   15 |   38 |   14 |
| core01.fra02.ntg-it.net    - 0  |  200 |  200 |   16 |   20 |   42 |   18 |
| 92.249.48.42               - 0  |  200 |  200 |   18 |   22 |   45 |   20 |
| emeraldhost.de             - 0  |  200 |  200 |   19 |   23 |   48 |   21 |
|_________________________________|______|______|______|______|______|______|

Linux ​

  1. Install MTR via your distribution's package manager:

    sudo apt install mtr        # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo yum install mtr        # CentOS/RHEL
sudo pacman -S mtr          # Arch Linux
    sudo apt install mtr        # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo yum install mtr        # CentOS/RHEL
sudo pacman -S mtr          # Arch Linux

  2. Run the following command:

    mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-SERVER-IP
    mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-SERVER-IP

  3. The result is displayed directly in the terminal. Copy it or redirect it to a file:

    mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-SERVER-IP > mtr-result.txt
    mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-SERVER-IP > mtr-result.txt

Note

The following output is just an example – your result will look different depending on your location and provider.

Example output (Linux):

Start: 2026-02-19T14:30:00+0100
HOST:                          Loss%   Snt   Last   Avg  Best  Wrst StDev
  1.|-- 192.168.178.1           0.0%   200    0.8   1.5   0.5  14.2   1.3
  2.|-- 172.17.225.84           0.0%   200    8.1  10.2   7.0  28.4   2.8
  3.|-- r3-ber1-de.as5405.net   0.0%   200   10.3  13.1   9.5  35.7   3.4
  4.|-- r3-fra3-de.as5405.net   0.0%   200   12.5  15.3  11.2  38.1   3.6
  5.|-- core01.fra02.ntg-it.net 0.0%   200   16.2  20.1  14.8  42.5   4.1
  6.|-- 92.249.48.42            0.0%   200   18.4  22.0  16.5  45.3   3.8
  7.|-- emeraldhost.de          0.0%   200   19.1  23.2  17.0  48.6   4.0
Start: 2026-02-19T14:30:00+0100
HOST:                          Loss%   Snt   Last   Avg  Best  Wrst StDev
  1.|-- 192.168.178.1           0.0%   200    0.8   1.5   0.5  14.2   1.3
  2.|-- 172.17.225.84           0.0%   200    8.1  10.2   7.0  28.4   2.8
  3.|-- r3-ber1-de.as5405.net   0.0%   200   10.3  13.1   9.5  35.7   3.4
  4.|-- r3-fra3-de.as5405.net   0.0%   200   12.5  15.3  11.2  38.1   3.6
  5.|-- core01.fra02.ntg-it.net 0.0%   200   16.2  20.1  14.8  42.5   4.1
  6.|-- 92.249.48.42            0.0%   200   18.4  22.0  16.5  45.3   3.8
  7.|-- emeraldhost.de          0.0%   200   19.1  23.2  17.0  48.6   4.0

macOS ​

  1. Install MTR via Homebrew:

    brew install mtr
    brew install mtr

  2. Run the following command:

    sudo mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-SERVER-IP
    sudo mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-SERVER-IP

  3. Copy the result or redirect it to a file:

    sudo mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-SERVER-IP > mtr-result.txt
    sudo mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-SERVER-IP > mtr-result.txt

Trace in Both Directions (VPS Only) ​

Info

For game servers and TeamSpeak servers, only a trace in the direction client → server is possible, as there is no shell access. In this case, just send us the one trace.

For a VPS, our support team needs traces in both directions for a complete analysis:

  • Client → Server: Run the trace from your PC (as described above).

  • Server → Client: Connect to your VPS (via SSH or Remote Desktop) and run an MTR trace with your own IP address as the target:

    mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-OWN-IP
    mtr -s 1000 -r -c 200 YOUR-OWN-IP

Tip

You can find your own public IP address at ifconfig.me.

Columns Explained ​

ColumnMeaning
HOSTRouter or server on the route (hostname or IP address)
Loss%Packet loss in percent – the most important value for analysis
SntNumber of packets sent (should be 200)
LastLatency of the last received packet in milliseconds
AvgAverage latency in milliseconds
BestLowest measured latency
WrstHighest measured latency
StDevStandard deviation – high values indicate an unstable connection

Interpreting Results ​

ObservationMeaning
High Loss% at the last hopProblem at the target server or on the last mile
Loss% consistently high from a specific hop onwardsProblem at that hop or the responsible transit provider
Loss% only at a middle hop, then 0% againUsually harmless – many routers rate-limit ICMP responses and drop ping packets, but forward other traffic normally
Avg increases sharply from a specific hopPossible bottleneck at that provider
High Loss% from the very first hopProblem with your own ISP or local network

Common Mistakes to Avoid ​

Important

  • Disable VPN or proxy first – otherwise the VPN route is tested, not your actual connection.
  • Run the trace while the problem is occurring – a trace hours after the problem provides no useful data.
  • Send at least 200 packets – fewer packets are not meaningful enough for analysis.
  • Check your firewall – some local firewalls block ICMP packets, which can cause false 100% loss. Temporarily disable your firewall or allow ICMP.
  • For VPSs: don't forget both directions – only with traces in both directions is a complete analysis possible.

Sending Results to Support ​

Send us the following information in your support ticket:

  1. The MTR trace as text or file (for VPSs, both directions)
  2. Date and time when the problem occurred
  3. Brief problem description – e.g. high ping, connection drops, timeouts, lag spikes

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