What is a data packet?
A packet is the basic unit of binary data that is numbered and transmitted between network-connected devices, whether locally or over the Internet. Once a packet reaches its destination, it is reassembled by number with other packets back into the larger message that was originally transmitted.
Data packets are the building blocks of everything we send or receive online. When you download an image, send an email, log into a Zoom call, or check out with the Alibaba shopping cart, the data package powers all of these actions.
What is packet loss?
Packet loss occurs when one or more packets do not reach their destination. Packet loss can occur for a number of reasons. This is also how the network feeds link saturation back to TCP.
Transmission Control Protocol, TCP/IP is the main protocol used for Internet operations. TCP breaks down the file into tiny numbered packets and sends them to the router for processing. TCP on the receiving end puts the file back together.
If a router can't keep up with the amount of packets being sent, it lets TCP know this by dropping packets. When the packet is successfully transmitted, it returns an acknowledgment receipt to the source.
When TCP doesn't receive this returned acknowledgment some time ago, it resends the packet at a slower rate so that the receiving router can keep up without dropping the packet.
The time it takes for a packet to reach its destination is what we call latency, and the millisecond fluctuations in time between packets is what we call jitter.
Although packet loss does not actually cause TCP packets to be truly "lost," the end user's experience is affected by this condition.
What causes packet loss?
network congestion
Sometimes, data traveling across the Internet travels through networks with varying bandwidth capacities. You have to wait longer for network traffic to flow through the lower throughput "pipe", especially during traffic spikes.
hardware
Networking hardware such as routers, switches, and firewalls not only consume a lot of power and bandwidth, but as they reach the end of their useful life, they weaken the signal between networks.
These network devices may also be miscommunicating. Duplex mismatches between endpoints and network access switches or between routers and switches can cause packet loss. But duplex mismatches often occur in real-time applications such as video conferencing.
Ethernet can operate in either full-duplex or half-duplex mode of operation. The endpoint negotiates a common protocol for the highest speed it can support. Sometimes communication between endpoints fails with one end running half duplex and the other end running full duplex. This causes constant packet loss, but due to TCP packet recovery, the end user will not experience the impact unless using real-time applications such as video conferencing.
software not updated
If your software is not running on the latest version, there is an unpatched issue. If left unchecked, these software bugs can disrupt the network and cause packet loss.
Wi-Fi vs. Wired
When data is transmitted over a wireless network, there is the potential for signal interference through weather, radio waves, or physical obstructions such as mountains and walls, not to mention weakening of the signal over long distances. All of these risk factors make packet loss on Wi-Fi networks more likely.
attack on purpose
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Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)
When hackers want to shut down a website or disable a business' functionality, they can flood the network with a DDoS attack. The attacker sends a large number of packets from multiple IP addresses and exceeds what the target network can handle. If the amount of data is too large, it may be difficult to distinguish spam/attack packets from legitimate packets, which will eventually cause the network to crash.
From 2020 to the first half of 2021, DDoS attacks increased by 11%, with more than 5.4 million new records reported. We saw an example of this in early 2021 when a hacker targeted a European gambling site and sent over 800 GB of data in a DDoS attack, clogging the network and forcing it offline.
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packet loss attack
This is a denial of service attack. Hackers took control of a router that was supposed to transmit network data for the business, but instead made the router dump all packets.
How to solve the packet loss problem?
Exclusion
If you don't have the tools to identify the problem causing the packet loss, you can use elimination to contain the possible culprit. Even if you don't know exactly what's causing it, there are some general tweaks you can make to help packets reach their destination:
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As simple as it may seem, the first answer to any question is usually, "Have you tried turning it off? Have you tried restarting your network router and hardware?"
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Remove anything that might exacerbate the problem - cut off the camera, unplug the headphones, cut off the wireless speakers, whatever.
As a last resort, you can turn off the firewall to see if it causes performance degradation. Some firewalls use more bandwidth than others.
Note: We do not recommend that you turn off the firewall for longer than a short period of time for troubleshooting.
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Switch to Wired - Unplug the old gray ethernet cable and plug it in. Usually, the delay in packet loss happens somewhere in its Wi-Fi "journey".
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Use QoS – Quality of Service allows you to assign priority to different types of traffic. For example, you might decide to prioritize real-time applications like VoIP over email.
While these attempts may help with packet loss, the only sure solution is packet analysis. Packet captures allow you to view network traffic to determine where chokepoints are occurring.
Packet Capture and Analysis Tool
To pinpoint exactly what caused packet loss, you need network visibility. Hongke LiveNX network monitoring tool can provide detailed information in the packet header and payload. Packet components contain powerful information that can be acted on immediately. Deep packet inspection (DPI) and advanced analytics can discover patterns in data and help you better predict network failures.