Network Troubleshooting with MTR

MTR (My Traceroute) combines traceroute and ping into a single tool. It shows every hop between your computer and your Pulsed Media seedbox, along with packet loss and latency at each point. When your connection is slow or dropping, MTR tells you where the problem is.

Network routes change constantly. A path that works fine at noon can develop packet loss at midnight because a transit provider gets congested. Running MTR from both directions (home to server and server to home) catches problems that only show up on one side.

Running MTR

Always let MTR send at least 1000 packets before reading results. Short tests miss intermittent issues. You may need to run the test several times at different times of day.

From your seedbox to home

If you have SSH access to your seedbox:

mtr your.home.ip.address

Replace your.home.ip.address with your actual IP (find it at whatismyipaddress.com).

From home to your seedbox

Windows

Download WinMTR. Run it and enter your seedbox hostname (e.g. lt0-0-000example.pulsedmedia.com). Click Start.

Linux

Install MTR:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install mtr

# Red Hat/Fedora
sudo yum install mtr

Run it:

mtr servername.pulsedmedia.com

macOS

Install via Homebrew:

brew install mtr

Run it:

sudo mtr servername.pulsedmedia.com

Reading MTR output

MTR shows one line per network hop. The columns that matter:

Loss% — Packet loss at this hop. Loss at the final hop means a real problem. Loss at intermediate hops that does not carry through to later hops is usually ICMP rate-limiting (not a problem).
Avg — Average latency in milliseconds. Look for sudden jumps between hops.
StDev — Standard deviation. High values mean the latency at that hop is unstable.

A healthy connection shows 0% loss at every hop and latency that increases gradually from hop to hop.

Common problems

High latency at a specific hop that carries to all later hops — congestion or routing issue at that hop. Usually a transit provider, not something you or PM can fix directly. Contact your ISP with the MTR output.

Packet loss at the final hop only — the server or its local network is overloaded. Contact Pulsed Media support.

Packet loss at intermediate hops but 0% at the final hop — ICMP rate limiting. Not a real problem. The packets are getting through fine; the intermediate routers just deprioritize ICMP responses.

Local factors that affect your connection

Before blaming the network path, check:

Wi-Fi — Distance from router, walls, interference from other devices. Try a wired connection.
ISP issues — Run MTR to a known-good server (like 8.8.8.8) to see if the problem is your ISP or the specific route to PM.
VPN — VPNs add latency and can introduce packet loss. Try without VPN.
Router — Reboot your home router if multiple devices have issues.
Antivirus/firewall — Some software inspects network traffic and adds latency.