Frequently Asked Questions

trcr is a network testing and monitoring daemon that continuously probes your infrastructure — servers, services, DNS, and network paths — and ships the results to your preferred data backend. It replaces ad-hoc scripts and fragmented tools (ping, traceroute, curl, throughput testers) with a single, configurable system that runs 24/7.

trcr supports 14 probe types: ICMP ping and batch ping for latency, jitter, and packet loss; traceroute with automatic path and AS-path change detection; HTTP/HTTPS with full request phase breakdown (DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, transfer); DNS and multi-resolver DNS propagation; SSL expiry and chain inspection; TCP connect checks; native throughput testing; BGP session and prefix monitoring; SNMP device, interface, and sensor polling; NTP clock drift; path-MTU discovery; and fleet liveness sweeps.

trcr supports four backend types that can be used simultaneously: Stdout/File for local debugging and log aggregation; Elasticsearch for full-text search, Kibana dashboards, and alerting; InfluxDB (v1, v2, and v3) for time-series storage and Grafana dashboards; and PostgreSQL for SQL queries, custom reporting, and long-term archival. PostgreSQL uses JSONB columns so new probe types never require schema migrations.

Everything is defined in a single YAML configuration file. This includes all targets, agents, probe types, output backends, and monitoring intervals. There's no database setup, no UI configuration step — just edit the YAML file and start the daemon. trcr supports both daemon mode (continuous monitoring) and one-shot mode for integration with cron or CI/CD pipelines.

No. trcr uses capability-based privilege escalation, meaning it only needs the specific kernel capabilities required for raw sockets (used by ICMP ping and traceroute). It ships with hardened systemd service units and does not require running as root.

When monitoring hundreds or thousands of targets, trcr automatically switches to a high-performance batch mode that uses a single raw socket to complete a full sweep in seconds rather than minutes. For each target, it measures round-trip time (min, average, max, standard deviation), jitter (variation between consecutive responses, critical for VoIP and video), and packet loss percentage.

trcr runs traceroutes continuously and automatically detects when the network path changes compared to the previous cycle. When traffic is rerouted (due to ISP failovers, BGP shifts, or misconfigurations), trcr flags the change and preserves the old path for comparison. This means you see routing changes as they happen, without needing to manually run traceroutes after the fact.

Every HTTP/HTTPS probe records the full request lifecycle: DNS resolution time (how long name lookup takes), TCP connect time (network-level connection), TLS handshake time (encryption overhead), Time to first byte (TTFB) (end-to-end server responsiveness), Transfer time (response body download), and the status code and protocol version. This breakdown isolates whether an issue is at the DNS, network, TLS, or application layer.

Yes. trcr ships a native TCP throughput probe — no external tools required. It measures bandwidth between nodes with connect time, bytes transferred, and TCP retransmit counts (which indicate congestion, Linux). This is particularly useful for capacity planning and verifying link performance after infrastructure changes.

The Master is the central scheduler: it runs its own probes, pushes configuration to agents, and collects all results into the output backends. Agents are lightweight daemons deployed on remote sites. When the master starts, it pushes the config to all agents, which begin probing immediately. Agent results flow back to the master and into the same dashboards and databases, tagged with the source host for filtering.

Each agent automatically probes every other agent, creating a full mesh measurement grid. A 10-agent deployment automatically produces 90 (10 × 9) measurement paths covering latency, loss, traceroute, HTTP, DNS, and bandwidth between every pair of sites — with zero per-agent configuration. Asymmetric issues (good in one direction, bad in the other) are immediately visible.

No. A single YAML config on the master defines the entire monitoring topology. When the master starts, it pushes the configuration to all agents automatically. You only maintain one config file regardless of how many agents you deploy. This makes scaling from 2 sites to 200 sites straightforward.

Absolutely. trcr works perfectly as a standalone monitoring daemon on a single host. You can monitor any number of external targets (up to your license limit) without deploying any agents. The agent architecture is optional — use it when you need monitoring from multiple vantage points.

Yes. trcr's free tier is free forever: up to 5 agents and 5 monitors per probe type, with all four bundles (Web, Reachability, Performance, Routing) enabled and all data backends (PostgreSQL, InfluxDB, Elasticsearch, Prometheus) plus alerting included. The free license auto-renews annually at no cost.

Paid licenses are tied to a machine serial number. This means the license is associated with the specific server running the trcr master. Licenses are sold as bundles (Web, Reachability, Performance, Routing), each with a monitor cap per tier (Starter, Growth, Pro). Contact our sales team to discuss the right bundles and tiers for your deployment.

A monitor is any unique target that trcr probes with a given probe type. This includes IP addresses, hostnames, and URLs defined in your configuration. Agents themselves do not count against your monitor caps — they are deployment points, not monitoring targets (unless you also probe them as targets).

Yes. Adding a license key to your configuration is a simple config change. You can upgrade at any time without stopping the daemon or losing any historical data. Your existing configuration, dashboards, and data all remain intact.

After creating an account, you can manage your licenses through the trcr self-service portal. The portal allows you to view your active licenses, track deployments, and access support — all in one place.