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Mastering Network Diagnostics

In a networked environment, your connection quality depends on dozens of intermediate “hops” between your local router and our data center nodes. If you are experiencing high ping, disconnected sessions, or jitter, it is essential to determine whether the issue resides within your local network, your ISP’s backbone, or our infrastructure. Tools like MTR and Traceroute provide technical visibility into this path, allowing you to identify the exact point where latency or packet loss occurs.

Difficulty

Intermediate

Time

8 Minutes

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using MTR for Deep Analysis

MTR (My Traceroute) is the industry-standard tool for diagnostic reporting because it combines the functionality of Traceroute and Ping into a single, continuous test.
  1. Install: Download WinMTR from the official repository.
  2. Configure: Enter your server’s numerical IP address into the Host field.
  3. Execute: Click Start. Let the test run for at least 100 packets (approximately 2 minutes) to ensure a statistically significant sample.
  4. Export: Click Copy Text to clipboard to provide the data to our support team.

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Interpreting Your Results

When reviewing an MTR report, focus on these critical metrics to identify the source of your connection issues.
MetricTechnical MeaningWhat Indicates an Issue?
Loss %The percentage of packets that failed to return.Consistent loss that starts at a specific hop and persists through all subsequent hops.
Last / AvgThe most recent and average round-trip time (latency).A sudden, massive jump in latency between two specific hops indicates a congested link.
WorstThe highest latency recorded during the test window.Frequent spikes in the “Worst” column indicate intermittent network instability (jitter).

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Standard Traceroute (tracert)

If you cannot install MTR, every operating system includes a basic Traceroute utility. While less complete, it provides a quick snapshot of your network path.
1

Open Command Interface

Open Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS/Linux).
2

Execute the Command

Type the following and press Enter:
tracert <YOUR_SERVER_IP>
(Note: Use traceroute on Linux/macOS).
3

Monitor the Hops

Wait for the trace to reach 30 hops or conclude. Each line represents an intermediate router.

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Identifying False Positives

It is common to see Request timed out or 100% Loss on specific intermediate hops. This frequently indicates that the router is configured to ignore ICMP diagnostic packets for security reasons and does not necessarily mean the network is failing, provided subsequent hops respond normally.

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Need Extra Help?

If you encounter any issues, our support team is ready to assist:

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Last Updated: January 2026 | Expert Tip: Always run diagnostics during the peak time of your lag.