Network path tracing and monitoring — traceroute with MPLS/ECMP/NAT detection, continuous MTR monitoring, and distributed GlobalPing probes from 500+ worldwide locations. Use when tracing the path to a destination, diagnosing slow network routes, detecting MPLS or ECMP load balancing, running MTR for intermittent packet loss, or testing reachability from global vantage points.
python3 $MCP_CALL "gtrace mcp" TOOL_NAME '{"param":"value"}'
| Tool | Purpose | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
traceroute | Advanced traceroute with MPLS, ECMP, and NAT detection | cap_net_raw |
mtr | Continuous MTR monitoring with packet loss and jitter stats | cap_net_raw |
globalping | Distributed traceroute/ping from 500+ worldwide probe locations | Internet access (optional GLOBALPING_API_KEY) |
When asked "why is traffic slow to X?" or "trace the path to X":
Run an advanced traceroute to see every hop, latency, and any MPLS/ECMP/NAT indicators.
python3 $MCP_CALL "gtrace mcp" traceroute '{"target":"8.8.8.8"}'
For IPv6:
python3 $MCP_CALL "gtrace mcp" traceroute '{"target":"2001:4860:4860::8888"}'
If the traceroute shows packet loss or high latency at a specific hop, run MTR to monitor continuously and confirm the problem is persistent.
python3 $MCP_CALL "gtrace mcp" mtr '{"target":"8.8.8.8","count":100}'
Compare paths from multiple worldwide locations to determine if the issue is local or global.
python3 $MCP_CALL "gtrace mcp" globalping '{"target":"8.8.8.8","from":"US,EU,Asia"}'
Verify MPLS label-switched paths and label stacks along the path:
python3 $MCP_CALL "gtrace mcp" traceroute '{"target":"10.0.0.1"}'
Look for MPLS label information in the hop details. Useful for verifying traffic engineering and MPLS VPN paths.
Detect if traffic is being load-balanced across multiple equal-cost paths:
python3 $MCP_CALL "gtrace mcp" traceroute '{"target":"192.168.1.1"}'
ECMP detection reveals when multiple next-hops exist at a given TTL, indicating load balancing.
target (required): IP address or hostname to tracetarget (required): IP address or hostname to monitorcount (optional): Number of probe rounds to sendtarget (required): IP address or hostname to probefrom (optional): Comma-separated list of probe locations (countries, cities, regions, ASNs)All tools return structured results including:
cap_net_raw capability on the gtrace binary (set during install)GLOBALPING_API_KEY for higher rate limitsasn_lookup and geo_lookup from gtrace-ip-enrichment skill for full context