What is High Packet Loss & How to Fix It

Believe it or not, seamless and efficient data transmission is super important for both businesses and individual users and impacts a variety of different applications and services. However, one of the common issues that can disrupt this flow is packet loss, which can lead to a variety of network performance problems.

High packet loss is particularly concerning since it can severely impact the quality of VoIP calls, video conferencing, online gaming, and even basic web browsing. Understanding what high packet loss is, its causes, and most importantly, how to fix it, is essential for anyone managing or relying on a network.

In this article, we will delve into the concept of high packet loss, explore its implications for different applications, and provide practical solutions to mitigate its effects. Whether you’re a business managing a complex network or a personal user frustrated by lag during your online gaming sessions, this guide will help you navigate the challenges of high packet loss and ensure your network operates smoothly.

Packet loss is a network problem where data packets fail to arrive at their destination while being transmitted over a network, between devices, or across the Internet. This loss or drop of packets during transit can lead to incomplete or delayed data delivery, which can negatively affect network performance, application functionality, and overall user experience.

Packet loss is quantified as the percentage of packets that are lost out of the total sent. One common method for measuring packet loss is using ICMP pings, where multiple pings are sent to a device, and the percentage of lost packets is calculated based on the number of responses received. For instance, if you ping a device 50 times and receive only 49 responses, the packet loss would be approximately 2%.

1. Measure Packet Loss with Ping

A widely used technique for measuring packet loss involves sending a series of packets from one device to another and checking for any losses. This is done using a tool that sends small data packets to a remote device and waits for a response. If the device does not respond or the response is delayed, the packet is considered lost. By analyzing multiple pings, the tool can calculate the packet loss rate.

2. Measure Packet Loss with Network Monitoring Tools

Specialized network and packet loss monitoring tools provide another method for measuring packet loss. These tools capture and analyze network traffic in real-time, offering detailed insights into packet loss, latency, and other performance metrics. They help network administrators detect and resolve issues proactively before they affect users.

Here’s a detailed guide on how to Measure Packet Loss with A Dedicated Packet Loss Monitoring & Network Performance Monitoring Tool.

While some level of packet loss is inevitable in any network, particularly over the Internet, the threshold for what is considered "high" packet loss depends on the context and the specific application in use.

In most networks, a rate of less than 1% is generally considered acceptable packet loss and is unlikely to noticeably impact performance. For many applications, such as simple web browsing or email, this level of packet loss might go unnoticed by the user.

High packet loss is typically defined as any packet loss rate above 5%. At this level, users will likely experience noticeable issues, such as delays, lag, or disruptions in service. For more sensitive applications like VoIP, video conferencing, or online gaming, even a 1-2% loss can lead to significant performance problems, including choppy audio, frozen video, or lagging gameplay.

• Acceptable Packet Loss (Less than 1% or 0.1%): Generally, a packet loss rate in this range is considered acceptable for most applications. It might cause occasional hiccups, but it's unlikely to significantly disrupt the overall user experience.
• Moderate Packet Loss (2-5%): As packet loss increases into this range, the impact becomes more noticeable, particularly for real-time applications like VoIP, video conferencing, and online gaming. Users may experience delays, reduced quality, or interruptions.
• High Packet Loss (Above 5%): When packet loss exceeds 5%, it is considered high and can lead to serious performance issues. This level of packet loss can cause slow or unresponsive network connections, dropped calls, data corruption, and overall poor user experience.

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High packet loss can have a profound effect on data transmission across a network, leading to a cascade of issues that degrade overall network performance and reliability.

Here's how high packet loss impacts data transmission:

1. Delays in Data Delivery

• Slower Transmission: When packets are lost, the data must be retransmitted, causing delays. This retransmission process increases the time it takes for data to reach its destination, leading to sluggish performance, especially in real-time applications like video conferencing or online gaming.
• Increased Latency: High packet loss can significantly elevate latency, the time it takes for data to travel from the source to the destination. Elevated latency can disrupt the flow of data, causing delays in communication and interactions.

2. Errors in Data

• Corrupted Data: Packet loss can lead to data corruption, where the information that arrives is incomplete or incorrect. This corruption can make files unusable or cause errors in applications relying on precise data, such as financial transactions or medical records.
• Incomplete Data Transfer: High packet loss may result in incomplete data transfers, where critical parts of the information fail to arrive. This can lead to situations where files, messages, or streams are partially missing, causing significant disruptions in service.

Screenshot from Obkio's Network Performance Monitoring Tool showing a packet loss increase

3. Reduced Quality of Service (QoS)

• Deteriorated Media Quality: For services like VoIP, video streaming, or online gaming, high packet loss manifests as poor quality. In VoIP, this might mean choppy or distorted audio, while in video streaming, it could result in buffering, pixelation, or frozen frames.
• Unreliable Connections: High packet loss contributes to an overall reduction in Quality of Service (QoS). Users may experience frequent disconnections, dropped calls, or timeouts, making the network unreliable for critical tasks.

4. Increased Bandwidth Usage

• Redundant Data Transmission: To counteract packet loss, networks often retransmit lost data, which consumes additional bandwidth. This redundant transmission increases network congestion, further exacerbating packet loss and creating a feedback loop of deteriorating performance.

5. Impact on User Experience

• Frustration and Downtime: The cumulative effect of delays, errors, and poor quality can lead to a frustrating user experience. For businesses, this translates into lost productivity, customer dissatisfaction, and potentially, financial losses.
• Critical Application Failures: In environments where real-time data transmission is crucial, such as in healthcare, finance, or emergency services, high packet loss can lead to critical application failures, putting both operations and safety at risk.

Understanding the implications of high packet loss on data transmission is essential for maintaining a reliable and efficient network. Addressing the root causes of packet loss can help mitigate these issues, ensuring that data flows smoothly and users experience minimal disruption.

The first step in effectively addressing packet loss is identifying it. Packet loss can occur at various points in a network where data is transmitted or received. It can impact your local network, a Wide Area Network (WAN), your Internet Service Provider (ISP), or the destination network.

Wondering how to identify where packet loss is occurring in your network? Let's dive into the best tool for the job!

Obkio's Network monitoring and packet loss monitoring tool continuously monitors network performance using continuous synthetic traffic from Network Monitoring Agents deployed in key network locations like offices, data centers and clouds. The Agents exchange synthetic traffic to measure network metrics, like packet loss, between each other.

Obkio measures packet loss by sending packets every 500ms, ensuring that even the earliest signs of packet drops are detected. This allows you to proactively identify high packet issues as soon as they appear in your network and affect your users and applications.

Start identifying packet loss now with Obkio's free trial!

• 14-day free trial of all premium features
• Deploy in just 10 minutes
• Monitor performance in all key network locations
• Measure real-time network metrics
• Identify and troubleshoot live network problems

To effectively identify and address packet loss issues, it's crucial to deploy Network Monitoring Agents that continuously measure network performance across key locations, such as offices, data centers, and cloud environments. These Agents exchange synthetic traffic to evaluate network metrics, including packet loss, between each other.

This allows you to determine whether packet loss is indeed causing the problem and pinpoint where in your network the packet loss is happening.

Once you begin your trial, Obkio's Onboarding Wizard will help you deploy the following Agents to get started:

• Local Agents: Install these in the specific office location where you're experiencing connectivity issues. Obkio offers several types of Agents, all with the same capabilities, that can be installed on various operating systems like macOS, Windows, and Linux.
• Public Monitoring Agents: These are deployed across the Internet and managed by Obkio. They compare performance up to the Internet, helping you quickly determine whether the issue is widespread or isolated to a specific destination. For example, you can use an AWS Agent to monitor applications like Zoom or a Google Cloud Agent to monitor connectivity between your office and Google Cloud, or between Google Cloud and your data center.

Once these Monitoring Agents are deployed, they continuously exchange synthetic UDP traffic to monitor network performance – this process is known as a Network Monitoring Session.

To accurately identify packet loss issues, allow the Agents to run and gather data over time. In some cases, performance issues may become apparent within just a few minutes, but for a thorough analysis, it's recommended to let the Agents collect data for at least three hours.

Once you’ve set up your Monitoring Agents and they’ve started collecting data, you can easily check if any packet loss is happening in your network on Obkio’s Network Response Time Graph.

If you are experiencing any packet loss in your network, you'll be able to see it on Obkio's graphs, and you can also set up alerts based on thresholds to be automatically notified about your packet loss issue.

When the packet loss is over the configured thresholds. The severity level is either Warning or Error depending on the threshold.

• High Sensitivity Threshold: Packet Loss 1% / 3%
• Medium Sensitivity Threshold: Packet Loss 2% / 5%
• Low Sensitivity Threshold: Packet Loss 1% / 10%

Obkio's can also help you identify where the packet loss is happening, such as:

• Local Network: Packet loss within your local network happens when data is exchanged between devices like computers, routers, or switches. Common causes include network congestion, outdated or faulty equipment, incorrect configurations, or interference from other devices.
• Wide Area Network (WAN): When data travels across a WAN, which connects multiple local networks over large geographic areas, packet loss can occur. Factors such as network congestion, limited bandwidth, high latency, or damaged cables can contribute to WAN packet loss.
• Internet Service Provider (ISP): Issues with your ISP can also lead to packet loss. This might be due to congested routers, faulty hardware, or routing problems within their network. Peak usage times can exacerbate congestion and result in packet loss.
• Destination Network: Packet loss can occur at the destination network, whether you're sending data to a remote server or communicating with another network. Causes might include congestion, inadequate network capacity, hardware or software issues on the server, or limitations in the destination network's infrastructure.

Identifying where packet loss is happening is crucial for effective troubleshooting. By pinpointing the exact location, you can target the specific network segment or provider responsible, helping you implement the right solutions to resolve the issue.

Packet loss can arise from various factors, each impacting network performance differently. Identifying the causes of packet loss will help you to address this issue effectively.

1. Network Congestion Causing High Packet Loss

Network congestion occurs when excessive traffic overwhelms the network’s bandwidth, causing delays or drops in data packets. High traffic volume can lead to reduced bandwidth, causing routers and switches to drop packets to manage congestion. This issue can also be exacerbated by long distances between network points.

2. Faulty Network Hardware or Devices Causing High Packet Loss

Damaged or outdated hardware, such as cables, routers, or switches, can result in packet loss. Issues like electromagnetic interference with Ethernet cables or damage to fibre optic cables can degrade signal quality. Insufficient processing power in network devices can also lead to packet loss, particularly if devices struggle with high traffic volumes.

3. Software Bugs Causing High Packet Loss

Bugs or glitches in network software, firmware, or operating systems can cause packets to be dropped or delayed. Regular updates and careful management of network software can help prevent or address these issues.

4. Latency Issues Causing High Packet Loss

High latency, caused by long distances between network devices or multiple network hops, can increase packet loss. The greater the distance or the more hops data must make, the higher the likelihood of delays and packet loss.

5. Quality of Service (QoS) Settings Causing High Packet Loss

QoS settings prioritize certain network traffic, which can result in packet loss for less critical traffic if not properly managed. Misconfigurations or inadequate rate limits can cause packets to be dropped, impacting network performance.

6. Routing Issues Causing High Packet Loss

Problems with routing tables or intermediate devices can cause packet loss. If a packet cannot be properly routed to its destination, it may be dropped along the way.

7. Environmental Issues Causing High Packet Loss

Environmental factors, such as electromagnetic interference (EMI), can disrupt network signals and lead to packet loss. This non-technical interference can affect network performance and signal integrity.

8. Security Measures Causing High Packet Loss

Overly strict or misconfigured security measures, such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems, can inadvertently block or filter out legitimate packets, leading to packet loss. Proper configuration and monitoring are essential to avoid these issues.

Here’s a deep-dive article into What Causes Packet Loss and Reasons Why Your Data is Going MIA.

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High packet loss affects various applications differently, leading to performance issues that can significantly degrade the user experience. Here’s how different levels of packet loss impact specific applications:

• Acceptable Packet Loss: Less than 1%
• High Packet Loss: Greater than 2%

High packet loss can cause poor call quality, including choppy audio, frequent call drops, and frozen video streams. Even minor packet loss can disrupt real-time communication, making conversations difficult to follow or understand.

• Acceptable Packet Loss: Less than 1%
• High Packet Loss: Greater than 2%

High packet loss can lead to buffering issues, where the stream pauses frequently to load data. Additionally, streaming services may reduce video or audio quality to compensate, leading to a suboptimal viewing or listening experience.

• Acceptable Packet Loss: Up to 5%
• High Packet Loss: Greater than 5%

Packet loss can cause slow loading times for web pages or, in severe cases, cause pages to fail to load entirely. For file downloads, high packet loss can lead to incomplete or corrupted files, forcing users to restart the download process.

Alerts from Obkio's Packet Loss Monitoring Tool

• Acceptable Packet Loss: Less than 1%
• High Packet Loss: Greater than 2%

High packet loss can make cloud-based applications and remote work tools sluggish and unreliable. This can reduce productivity and cause delays in critical business processes, frustrating employees and potentially impacting business outcomes.

• Acceptable Packet Loss: Less than 1%
• High Packet Loss: Greater than 2%

IoT devices often rely on minimal data transmission, making them particularly vulnerable to packet loss. High packet loss can cause these devices to malfunction, leading to inconsistent performance or complete failure, which could be critical in environments like smart homes or industrial automation.

• Acceptable Packet Loss: Less than 0.5%
• High Packet Loss: Greater than 1%

In online gaming, high packet loss can result in significant lag, delayed actions, and disconnections. This can be particularly frustrating in competitive gaming, where real-time responses are crucial for success.

Understanding the acceptable and high packet loss percentages for each application type is crucial for maintaining network performance and ensuring a smooth user experience across various platforms.

If you've already gathered data pinpointing the causes of packet loss in your network, you're well on your way to resolving the issue. Now, it's time to take action. By carefully analyzing the information and following a systematic troubleshooting process, you can identify the root causes of packet loss and implement effective solutions.

Key Obkio tools to help you troubleshoot packet loss in your network:

• SNMP Network Device Monitoring:

Network Device Monitoring feature tracks the performance and health of your network devices, like routers and switches using SNMP.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a protocol that collects detailed performance data from network devices. Using SNMP, you can track packet loss statistics and monitor device performance over time. This helps identify trends, anomalies, or specific devices that may be causing packet loss issues.

SNMP Device Monitoring provides valuable insights into device status, performance metrics, and potential internal packet loss. By analyzing this data, you can pinpoint if packet loss is occurring within your network, helping you identify problematic devices, hardware issues, or misconfigurations.

• Obkio Vision: Visual Traceroute Tool

Obkio Vision is a free Visual Traceroute tool that continuously analyzes Traceroute results to detect network issues across your WAN and the Internet. It helps pinpoint the exact location of packet loss, providing crucial data you can share with your ISP. ISP-related packet loss can cause delays, retransmissions, and reduced service quality. By identifying the problem area, you can open a service ticket with detailed information to facilitate a quicker resolution.

Now, let’s explore some key steps to help you fix packet loss:

1. Inspect Network Equipment: Start by checking all network equipment, such as switches, routers, and cables, to ensure they are functioning correctly. Replace or repair any faulty hardware to prevent it from contributing to packet loss.

2. Update Firmware: Ensure that all your network devices are running the latest firmware. Outdated firmware can be a common culprit for packet loss, so keeping it up to date is crucial.

3. Optimize Network Settings: Review and fine-tune network settings, including TCP/IP configurations, buffer sizes, and window sizes, to optimize performance. Properly configuring your network for its specific use case can significantly reduce packet loss.

4. Reduce Network Congestion: Minimize network congestion (both WAN and LAN congestion) by limiting the number of devices connected to your network, implementing Quality of Service (QoS) protocols, and optimizing your network topology. These measures can help ensure that data flows smoothly, reducing the chances of packet loss.

5. Implement Error Correction Technologies: Utilize error correction technologies like Forward Error Correction (FEC) and Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) to detect and correct packet loss. These technologies can help maintain data integrity, even when packet loss occurs.

6. Contact Your ISP: If packet loss persists, it may be due to issues with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Reach out to your ISP to report the problem – they may be able to diagnose and fix network issues on their end that are contributing to packet loss.

7. Increase Bandwidth: Consider increasing your network's bandwidth to accommodate high traffic volumes. Higher bandwidth can reduce the likelihood of packet loss during peak usage times, ensuring a smoother data transmission process.

This overview provides a brief look at addressing packet loss, but if you're looking for a detailed, step-by-step guide, check out our dedicated article, "A Comprehensive Guide to Troubleshooting Packet Loss: The Great Packet Hunt". It will walk you through various methods for locating and resolving packet loss efficiently.

When it comes to packet loss, the needs of business users and personal users can differ significantly. Businesses often require solutions that can manage large-scale networks and ensure the smooth operation of critical applications, while personal users need tools that cater to individual Internet performance, especially for activities like gaming and streaming. Due to these varying needs, it's essential to have a tailored solution that addresses the specific challenges faced by each type of user.

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For businesses, high packet loss can be a critical issue due to the scale of networks, the number of users, and the importance of maintaining uptime for essential business applications. In a corporate environment, even a small percentage of packet loss can have far-reaching effects:

1. Scaling of Networks:

Large enterprise networks often include multiple distributed locations (Headquarters, Data Centers, Remote Locations, etc.) supporting hundreds or thousands of users, all relying on a stable and efficient connection. High packet loss can disrupt critical business operations, from VoIP calls and video conferencing to cloud-based applications and file sharing.

Additionally, as many businesses migrate from MPLS to SD-WAN network infrastructures, maintaining low packet loss is essential to ensure that the transition does not compromise network performance across multiple locations and departments.

2. Critical Business Applications:

Businesses rely on various applications for communication, collaboration, and data management. High packet loss can severely degrade the performance of these applications, leading to decreased productivity, frustrated employees, and potential financial losses.

For example, poor video quality during a key client meeting on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, or delayed data in financial transactions via SaaS apps, can harm a company's reputation and bottom line.

3. Number of Users:

In a business environment, multiple users may experience the effects of packet loss simultaneously. This can lead to widespread issues, such as slow network performance, difficulty accessing shared resources, and reduced overall efficiency. Network administrators must be vigilant in monitoring and addressing packet loss to prevent it from affecting the entire organization.

Given these challenges, businesses need a robust network performance monitoring solution that can quickly identify and address packet loss issues. Obkio offers advanced tools and Business Plans designed for large-scale networks, enabling IT teams to detect, diagnose, and resolve packet loss before it impacts operations and users.

For personal users, high packet loss can be just as frustrating, especially when it comes to activities that require real-time data transmission, such as online gaming, video streaming, and home Internet performance:

1. Gaming:

Gamers are particularly sensitive to packet loss, as even minor delays can disrupt gameplay, leading to lag, disconnects, and an overall poor gaming experience. High packet loss can be the difference between winning and losing in competitive games, making it a top concern for serious gamers.

2. Home Internet Performance:

For personal users, packet loss can also affect daily activities such as video streaming, browsing, and using smart home devices. Slow Internet speeds, buffering of videos, and dropped connections can make online activities frustrating and inefficient.

To address these issues, Obkio offers a Personal Plan tailored to individual users.

Ideal for:

• Single and home offices
• IT geeks and gamers
• Monitoring Internet
• Troubleshooting network issues
• Intro to network monitoring

With Obkio’s Personal Plan, users can easily monitor their Internet performance, identify packet loss, and take steps to improve their connection for a seamless online experience.

Whether for business or personal use, Obkio ensures that high packet loss doesn’t stand in the way of your productivity or enjoyment.

High packet loss is a serious threat to network performance, affecting both business operations and personal online experiences. It can lead to slow internet speeds, dropped connections, and overall poor network reliability. Tackling packet loss without the right tools can feel like navigating in the dark, making it challenging to identify and resolve issues efficiently.

That’s where Obkio comes in. Obkio is your ultimate Network & Packet Loss Monitoring & Troubleshooting Tool. Its intuitive interface and powerful features make it easy to use, even for those who are not network experts. Obkio doesn’t just pinpoint packet loss, it provides comprehensive visibility into your entire network.

With Obkio, you can:

• Quickly Detect and Diagnose Issues: Obkio offers real-time insights into packet loss and other network performance metrics, helping you identify problems before they impact your users.
• Analyze Network Health End-to-End: Beyond packet loss, Obkio evaluates your network’s overall performance, ensuring you have a complete picture of your network’s health.
• Resolve Problems Efficiently: Its user-friendly tools and detailed reporting help you quickly address issues, minimizing downtime and improving network reliability.

Don't wait for packet loss to cause downtime. Start monitoring with Obkio today and ensure your network is running at peak performance.