MTR on Linux

MTR is a helpful tool for diagnosing network issues. It works similarly to traceroute but provides additional details.

First, ensure that MTR is installed.

On CentOS / RedHat based Distros

sudo yum install mtr -y

On Debian / Ubuntu based distros

sudo apt update && sudo apt install mtr -y

Running MTR

You can simply run the mtr command with the IP address or hostname of the target straight afterwards, like the below example:

$ mtr 8.8.8.8

Output:

                                                                     My traceroute  [v0.95]
MyComputer (172.231.121.122) -> 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8)                                                                                  2023-05-17T12:42:03+1000 
Keys:  Help   Display mode   Restart statistics   Order of fields   quit
                                                                                                                       Packets               Pings
 Host                                                                                                                Loss%   Snt   Last   Avg  Best  Wrst StDev 
 1. 172.23.160.1                                                                                                      0.0%    12    0.2   0.2   0.2   0.2   0.0
 2. 192.168.1.1                                                                                                       0.0%    12    0.5   0.6   0.4   1.4   0.3
 3. 100.98.0.1                                                                                                        0.0%    12   11.0   5.4   3.3  11.0   2.7
 4. 180.150.0.235                                                                                                     0.0%    12    3.0   3.3   3.0   3.8   0.3
 5. be50-3999.cfl3.nextdc-s2.syd.aussiebb.net                                                                         0.0%    12    3.3   3.8   3.3   5.5   0.6
 6. 10.241.12.121                                                                                                     0.0%    12    6.1   4.3   3.7   6.1   0.7
 7. google.equinix-sy3.syd.aussiebb.net                                                                               0.0%    12    4.3   5.8   3.6  15.4   3.8
 8. 72.14.236.69                                                                                                      0.0%    11   15.0   4.7   3.4  15.0   3.4
 9. 142.250.224.191                                                                                                   0.0%    11    4.5   4.9   4.2   7.7   1.0
10. dns.google                                                                                                        0.0%    11    3.2   3.9   3.2   5.8   0.7

If you don't want it to resolve the hostnames of each hop (this can speed up the MTR. If your DNS is not working, you will want to add this flag, otherwise it may timeout) then simply add the -n (no dns) flag. You can also add the -t flag ( or --curses ) to ensure it runs in terminal mode and doesn't try to launch a graphical user interface. This is just a personal preference and not required however.

$ mtr -n -t 8.8.8.8

                                                                     My traceroute  [v0.95]
MyComputer (172.231.162.112) -> 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8)                                                                                  2023-05-17T12:44:30+1000 
Keys:  Help   Display mode   Restart statistics   Order of fields   quit
                                                                                                                       Packets               Pings
 Host                                                                                                                Loss%   Snt   Last   Avg  Best  Wrst StDev 
 1. 172.23.160.1                                                                                                      0.0%    20    0.2   0.2   0.2   0.3   0.0
 2. 192.168.1.1                                                                                                       0.0%    20    0.5   0.5   0.5   0.6   0.0
 3. 100.98.0.1                                                                                                        0.0%    20   15.0   7.7   3.2  18.2   4.4
 4. 180.150.0.235                                                                                                     0.0%    20    3.6   3.2   2.8   3.7   0.3
 5. 180.150.2.96                                                                                                      0.0%    19    4.3   8.5   3.1  94.1  20.7
 6. 10.241.12.121                                                                                                     0.0%    19    4.2   9.4   3.7 106.1  23.4
 7. 119.18.32.91                                                                                                      0.0%    19    4.0   8.3   3.5  85.6  18.7
 8. 72.14.236.69                                                                                                      0.0%    19    3.3   4.9   3.3  24.1   4.7
 9. 142.250.224.191                                                                                                   0.0%    19    5.1   4.6   4.0   6.8   0.6
10. 8.8.8.8                                                                                                           0.0%    19    3.8   3.6   3.2   4.1   0.3