Traceroutemtr

Traceroutemtr is a hybrid network diagnostic concept that combines the path discovery capabilities of traceroute with the continuous path performance monitoring provided by MTR (My Traceroute). It is not a single standardized tool but a workflow or wrapper used by network operators to obtain both route topology and performance metrics within a unified approach.

How it works: traceroute probes identify the sequence of routers toward a destination by incrementing the time-to-live (TTL) value, while MTR runs in parallel to collect per-hop statistics such as latency, packet loss, and jitter. The data are synchronized after collection to map each hop’s live performance to its position in the route, enabling the detection of transient issues and routing changes. Operators may run periodic traceroutemtr checks to observe route stability over time.

Implementation: Typically implemented as a shell script or small program on Linux or Unix-like systems, invoking traceroute and mtr, parsing their outputs, and producing a unified report. A common workflow starts with traceroute to reveal the path, then runs mtr -w or mtr -w -c N to observe ongoing metrics, and finally combines the results. Windows users can use pathping as a partial substitute.

Applications and limitations: Useful for troubleshooting intermittent outages, peering problems, or mid-path congestion; beneficial in data centers and ISPs. Limitations include increased network load, variability in hop reporting between tools, firewall filtering, and a lack of a single standardized output format. The approach depends on tool availability and the underlying network’s handling of diagnostic probes.

See also: traceroute, mtr, pathping, paris traceroute, network diagnostic tools.