Traceroute is a popular network troubleshooting tool that will trace the route of a package as it moves from one computer to another.
This is a useful tool that not only tests connectivity, but also the path through which data packets travel, and through it, the possible issues that could affect this path such as delays and losses.
This is an old tool that was released way back in 1987.
It was first introduced in Unix systems and has since then been adapted to work well on other operating systems too such as Linux, OS X and Windows.
Though traceroute is a widely used tool, it is also highly limited in what it can do from a troubleshooting perspective.
For example, this tool will show the path from source to destination, and not the path back.
This obviously doesn’t give a complete picture, especially when there are problems in the return path.
Also, the results tend to be inaccurate when destinations are load-balanced on many servers.
To overcome these limitations, many developers have come up with alternative for traceroute, so administrators like you can get more out of it.
Here’s the Top Traceroute Alternatives of 2019:
Below is a list of some of the Best Traceroute alternatives available today online – including both free & paid download
- Traceroute NG
- Open Visual Traceroute
- MTR (My Traceroute)
- Monitis Online Visual Traceroute Tool
- G Suite. Tools
Let’s now take a detailed look into each of these alternatives to Traceroute.
1. Traceroute NG
Traceroute NG comes from SolarWinds and it helps to perform an accurate analysis of the network path.
Features
The key features of Traceroute NG are:
- Identifies IP addresses and host names
- Gives detailed information about packet loss
- Detects changes in path and sends notifications
- Allows continuous probing
- Offers TCP and ICMP network path analysis
- Creates a log file in text format for reference
- Supports IPv4 and IPv6.
- Identifies latency issues during packet transmission
Pricing
100% Free
Download
You can download it from:
https://www.solarwinds.com/free-tools/traceroute-ng/registration
2. Open Visual Traceroute
Open Visual Traceroute is a cross-platform tool that also acts as a packet sniffer and Whois tool.
Features
The salient features of Open Visual Traceroute are:
- Displays data in a 3D or 2D map format.
- Shows the path that a packet takes to reach from source to destination.
- Analyzes packets to understand the contents that are sent from one computer to another. This feature is particularly useful for identifying security loopholes.
- Comes with a “whois” feature using which you get public information about a domain.
- Data can be exported to an image or text.
- Also, provides Gantt view
Pricing
Open source and free to use.
Download
You can download Open Visual Traceroute from https://sourceforge.net/projects/openvisualtrace/files/latest/download
3. MTR (My Traceroute)
MTR (My Traceroute) was originally developed by Matt Kimball in 1997 and this is why it was initially called Matt’s Traceroute. This tool was taken over byRoger Wolffe in 1998 and he changed the name to My Traceroute.
Features
The features of MTR are:
- Works well in UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems.
- Probes routers on the route path by limiting the number of hops a packet can make as it goes from source to destination. Keeps track of the response time of hops to identify problems.
- Probes continuously, about once every second.
- Works well in a text console and a GTK+ based graphical user interface.
- Relies primarily on ICMP, but also has a UDP mode.
- Provides information such as list of routers traversed by a packet, average round-trip time and packet loss.
- Helps to identify network overuse problems.
- Licensed under GPL
Pricing
100% free
Download
You can download MTR from https://github.com/traviscross/mtr
There is a slight variation to this tool called WinMTR. This tool is designed for Windows and follows the same working mechanism of MTR.
4. Monitis Online Visual Traceroute tool
Online Visual traceroute tool from Monitis is a simple online tool that allows you to trace the route of your packets and in the process, helps to identify network issues.
Features
The features of Monitis Online Visual Traceroute tool are:
- Simple and easy-to-use interface.
- Available online, so there is no download or installation. You can get the information you want within minutes.
- You can perform a traceroute test from around the world right from your browser.
- Diagnoses network connectivity problems.
- Identifies routers that experience high latency.
- Available on all devices, including mobile ones.
- Monitors users, websites, applications and more.
- Comes with API
- Supports standard web protocols
- Gives detailed reports based on preset and custom data ranges.
Pricing
Free to use.
Download
No download. Visit https://www.monitis.com/traceroute/ to monitor.
5. Gsuite Tools Traceroute
Gsuite.Tools traceroute is an online tool that measures the time taken for a packet to do a return trip from host to destination.
Features
You have the following features in Gusite.Tools.
- Sends 1 to 30 packets to the target, incrementing the time-to-live (TTL) for each ping.
- Measures the response time of each node within the path of an IP packet.
- Available online, so no need for downloads
- Gives the hostname associated with each hop, whenever possible.
- Has a color-coded schema to help you better understand the path
- Relies heavily on ICMP protocol
Pricing
Free to use
Download
No download. Access this tool at https://gsuite.tools/traceroute
Conclusion
In short, traceroute is one of the oldest and most widely used tools for monitoring network and for identifying problems in packet transmission. The original traceroute is more than 30 years old and is highly limited in the information it can provide.
This is why many developers and companies have come up with their own traceroute alternatives, so you can get more information from the traceroute utility.
The above discussed options are free. Some of it require a download while others can be accessed online. We hope you find it useful!
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