Documentation

MTR Checks

About MTR Checks

MTR is a great command line utility for finding routing issues and packet loss to and from a host.

NodePing's MTR check can be tuned for unreliable connections. Set the packet loss percentage threshold to your desired limit and we'll alert you if the packet loss is higher than that. The check will run an MTR with a 10 packet count. Enabled 'Automated Diagnostics' so you can see the full MTR output in your status report when a failure happens.

When to use MTR Checks

You should use MTR checks when you want to be alerted on routing or packet loss to a host.

Using MTR Checks

To set up a MTR check,

Select MTR from the Check type drop down.
Give it a friendly label to identify this check in lists and notifications.
Enable Automated Diagnostics if you'd like the full MTR output when a failure happens. It may help you troubleshoot where the packet loss starts - on the server itself or on the network upstream.
Set how often you want the check to run on the Check Frequency field.
Enter the host name or IP you want to check. Do not include the http:// or https:// like you would on an HTTP check.
If you're using a hostname, choose from the dropdown which DNS resolution you want to use, IPv4 or IPv6.
Set your packet loss threshold as a whole number. '0' is a good default. '20' will set it to 20% - meaning the check will fail if the packet loss is greater than 20%.
Set the Sensitivity. High is usually appropriate.
Set the notifications for this check. More information about notifications.

Other considerations

If you set up a new MTR check and it fails with 100% packet loss right away, please contact your system administrator or hosting provider and ensure ICMP traffic is allowed to your host

If your host has both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, you'll need two separate PING checks - one for each.