How to Diagnose Network & Latency Issues

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

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.

Windows (WinMTR)
Linux (Terminal)

Install: Download WinMTR from the official repository.
Configure: Enter your server’s numerical IP address into the Host field.
Execute: Click Start. Let the test run for at least 100 packets (approximately 2 minutes) to ensure a statistically significant sample.
Export: Click Copy Text to clipboard to provide the data to our support team.

Install: sudo apt install mtr (Ubuntu/Debian) or sudo yum install mtr (CentOS/AlmaLinux).
Execute: Run a report towards your server:
mtr -rw -c 100 <SERVER_IP>
Analysis: The -rw flag ensures a wide format with full hostnames, and -c 100 sends exactly 100 pings before finishing.

Interpreting Your Results

When reviewing an MTR report, focus on these critical metrics to identify the source of your connection issues.

Metric	Technical Meaning	What 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 / Avg	The most recent and average round-trip time (latency).	A sudden, massive jump in latency between two specific hops indicates a congested link.
Worst	The highest latency recorded during the test window.	Frequent spikes in the “Worst” column indicate intermittent network instability (jitter).

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.

Open Command Interface

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

Execute the Command

Type the following and press Enter:

tracert <YOUR_SERVER_IP>

(Note: Use traceroute on Linux/macOS).

Monitor the Hops

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

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.

Need Extra Help?

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

Live Chat: Quick assistance via our website.
Support Ticket: Open a Ticket
Discord: Join our Community
Email: support@freakhosting.com

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

​Mastering Network Diagnostics

Difficulty

Time

​Using MTR for Deep Analysis

​Interpreting Your Results

​Standard Traceroute (tracert)

​Identifying False Positives

​Need Extra Help?

​Save on Your Hosting