Ashkon Software

PingTrace - Continuous Ping and Traceroute (MTR) for Windows

PingTrace shows ping and traceroute side by side in one window. Enter a host name, a URL or an IPv4 / IPv6 address and click Start: the left list pings the host and shows each reply with its time, TTL and a latency bar, while the right list traces the route and shows each router on the path with its packet loss, last, minimum, average and maximum round-trip time, jitter (standard deviation) and a latency graph, plus its host name, network owner (ASN and AS name), announced BGP prefix and country.

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PingTrace main window

Features

Ping and traceroute at the same time

  • Start pings the host and traces the route to it in parallel; Ping and Trace run only one of them.
  • IPv4 and IPv6 force one address family with a single click; otherwise it is chosen automatically from the addresses of the host.
  • Paste a full URL such as https://www.example.com/page — PingTrace takes the host name out of it.
  • Enter starts, Esc stops everything. Ping and traceroute can also be stopped separately.

Continuous traceroute (MTR)

  • Trace the route repeatedly, for a set number of cycles or until stopped, with a configurable interval between cycles.
  • Running per-hop statistics: Sent, Loss, Last, Min, Avg, Max and StDev (jitter).
  • A latency sparkline of the most recent probes for every hop shows spikes and drops at a glance.

Who owns each hop

  • Remote Host: the reverse DNS name of the router.
  • ASN, AS Name, Network (announced BGP prefix), Country and Registry (RIR), looked up over DNS.
  • Address Type labels private (RFC 1918), CGNAT, ULA and other special ranges, so you can see where your local network ends and the Internet begins.
  • Whois / IP Info: right-click a hop or a ping reply to see the registration data (RDAP) of the address — owner, network range, abuse contacts and dates.

TCP Port Check

  • Find out whether a host that does not answer ping is really down: PingTrace opens a TCP connection to the ports you list (for example 80, 443, 3389 or a range like 8000-8010, up to 1024 ports) and shows Open, Closed or no answer for each.
  • Connect time, minimum / maximum and the IANA service name and description of every port.

All ping.exe and tracert.exe options

  • Ping: number of echo requests (-n) or ping until stopped (-t), buffer size (-l), timeout (-w), interval, TTL (-i), TOS (-v), Don't Fragment (-f), resolve names (-a), IPv4 / IPv6 (-4 / -6), record route (-r), timestamps (-s), loose and strict source routing (-j / -k), source address (-S), routing compartment (-c) and reverse route test (-R).
  • Traceroute: maximum hops (-h), probes per hop, timeout (-w), no name resolution (-d), IPv4 / IPv6 (-4 / -6), loose source route (-j), source address (-S) and round-trip path (-R).

Colors, columns, export and print

  • Latency and packet loss colored green, yellow, orange and red by thresholds you set.
  • Show or hide any of the 9 ping and 17 traceroute columns; click a column header to sort.
  • Export the ping list, the traceroute list or both to a CSV or tab-separated text file, or print them.
  • Minimize to the notification area (system tray) and start a ping or trace from the tray menu. Flush the Windows DNS cache or open the host in your web browser from the Action menu.

Switch on Continuous Traceroute (MTR) to trace the route again and again and keep running statistics for every hop, the way the popular mtr tool does — the best way to catch intermittent packet loss and latency spikes. Right-click any address to see its Whois / RDAP registration data or to run a TCP Port Check against it. All options of the Windows ping and tracert commands are available in one Settings dialog, latency and loss are colored by thresholds you choose, and results can be exported to CSV or printed. For a full guide please see the PingTrace Help page.

How to find packet loss with continuous ping and traceroute

  1. Download and install the free 30-day trial of PingTrace.
  2. Enter the host: type a host name, a URL or an IPv4 / IPv6 address in the box at the top.
  3. Turn on MTR mode: choose Action > Continuous Traceroute (MTR). In Settings > Traceroute set the number of cycles (0 = until stopped); in Settings > Ping check Ping the host until stopped (-t).
  4. Click Start (or press Enter). Ping runs on the left and the traceroute on the right; press Esc to stop.
  5. Read the results: watch the Loss, Avg and StDev columns of every hop, then export both lists to CSV with File > Export Both Lists.

When you need continuous ping and traceroute

  • Lag and drops in games, video calls or Remote Desktop that come and go: let MTR run for a few minutes to catch them.
  • Is it my network or my Internet provider? The Address Type column shows where your private network ends, and the ASN and AS Name columns show whose network each hop belongs to.
  • A support ticket for your ISP or host: export the ping and traceroute lists with loss and latency per hop.
  • A server does not answer ping: run a TCP Port Check to see whether its web, mail or Remote Desktop port still answers.
  • A replacement for ping -t and tracert: all ping.exe and tracert.exe options in one Settings dialog.

Need a simpler tool or alerts? WinTraceRoute runs a single visual traceroute, and IP Monitoring Tool checks your servers on a schedule and alerts you when one goes down.

Main window

The ping list is on the left and the traceroute list is on the right; drag the bar between them to change their widths. The status bar shows the result of the last ping and of the last trace. In the screenshot below yahoo.co.jp is pinged and traced; the Settings dialog is open on top of the results.

Frequently asked questions

How do I run a continuous ping on Windows?

At the Windows command prompt it is ping -t. In PingTrace, check Ping the host until stopped (-t) in Settings > Ping and click Start. Every reply is listed with its time, TTL and a latency bar until you press Esc.

Is there an MTR for Windows?

Yes. PingTrace has a continuous traceroute (MTR) mode. It traces the route again and again and keeps running Sent, Loss, Last, Min, Avg, Max and StDev values for every hop, the way the mtr tool does.

How do I find where packet loss happens?

Run the continuous traceroute for a few minutes and look at the Loss column. Loss that starts at one hop and continues on every hop after it points to that hop. Loss at a single router with no loss on the hops after it usually means that router gives low priority to traceroute replies, not that traffic is lost.

How can I check if a port is open on a remote server?

Choose Action > TCP Port Check and enter the ports, for example 443, 3389 or a range like 8000-8010, up to 1024 ports. PingTrace shows Open, Closed or no answer for each port, with the connect time and the service name.

What is the difference between PingTrace and WinTraceRoute?

WinTraceRoute runs a single traceroute and shows statistics for every hop. PingTrace runs ping and traceroute side by side and adds the continuous MTR mode, the TCP Port Check and all ping.exe options.

Does PingTrace support IPv6?

Yes. Click IPv4 or IPv6 to force one address family, or let PingTrace choose it from the addresses of the host.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. The free 30-day trial runs on Windows 10 and 11 and on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. A license is $19.95.

Ordering

After a completed secure online order, an unlocking key file is emailed to you within two business days. Questions about ordering or registration: order@ashkon.com. Prices for all products are on the Order page.