Packets are tiny units of data sent and received over a network. Packet loss occurs when packets do not successfully reach their destinations.

What causes packet loss?

Packet loss can be caused by network congestion, overloaded devices, inadequate IT infrastructure, faulty hardware, or poor Wi-Fi connection.

How to monitor packet loss?

The most straightforward way to monitor packet loss is to ping the element you want to monitor and check for evidence of packet loss or latency.

How does packet loss monitoring work in SolarWinds VNQM?

SolarWinds VoIP & Network Quality Manager is an enterprise-grade packet loss monitor with real-time reporting and historical performance metrics.

How to reduce or fix packet loss?

To fix packet loss, test your network connection, diagnose root causes, improve hardware, and assess network configuration.

How to troubleshoot packet loss with SolarWinds VNQM?

VNQM helps you track key VoIP call performance metrics and quickly identify the underlying problem driving your packet loss.

How does SolarWinds VNQM licensing and deployment work?

SolarWinds VNQM offers four licensing models: SLA 5, SLA 25, SLA 50, and SLA X.

Packet Loss Monitoring and Troubleshooting

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Identify Performance Issues

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Diversify Packet Analysis

Measure Packet Loss

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Identify network performance issues caused by packet loss with a comprehensive packet loss monitor

Packet loss can be a major issue in large networks using voice systems. SolarWinds^® VoIP & Network Quality Manager (VNQM) is an enterprise-grade tool designed to help network administrators monitor packet loss. This tool monitors the most important VoIP call quality metrics, including packet loss, jitter, latency, and MOS. You can also view performance in terms of packet loss and use this information to set baseline performance levels.

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Simplify troubleshooting packet loss with an intelligent packet loss tool

Packet Loss Monitoring - Monitor and Troubleshoot Packet Loss 1 Features Array Item - features item image

VNQM offers numerous features designed to make troubleshooting packet loss easier. This packet loss monitoring solution allows you to monitor the specific VoIP call performance metrics that indicate packet loss and poor call quality. VNQM keeps an extensive archive of call detail records to help you diagnose issues you’re currently having in your network. You can even filter these records for call quality or common errors to pinpoint where packet loss is exceeding acceptable levels.

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Correlate packet loss with other network performance issues to diversify packet loss analysis

VoIP Call Quality Test Monitor VoIP Metrics

Packet loss is not an isolated issue—if you’re experiencing packet loss in one area, it’s reasonable to assume it’s being caused by network issues elsewhere. The PerfStack^™ dashboard helps you drill down on packet loss by correlating instances of packet loss with SIP trunk availability and activity, VoIP performance metrics, and standard network performance metrics. Seeing these factors on a common timeline makes it easier to uncover root causes.

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Easily detect and measure packet loss by using VoIP performance metrics and statistics

VoIP performance statistics can be a useful tool for packet loss monitoring. With VNQM, you can set custom real-time alerts to notify you when acceptable levels of packet loss have been exceeded. This helps you mitigate the effects of packet loss before they begin affecting end users. Also, VoIP statistics can show you specifically where call quality drops, which goes a long way in pinpointing packet loss.

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Leverage real-time and historical data to facilitate better capacity planning

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When it comes to packet loss monitoring and improving performance, ensuring resources are being distributed properly across all elements goes a long way. The VoIP PRI gateway view in VNQM lists the top ten quality issues plaguing each designated gateway. This offers critical visibility into how your VoIP capacity is being used, which can help you make smarter capacity planning decisions, free up bandwidth, and reduce packet loss.

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Get More on Packet Loss Monitoring

Do you find yourself asking…

What is packet loss?
What causes packet loss?
How to monitor packet loss?
How does packet loss monitoring work in SolarWinds VNQM?
How to reduce or fix packet loss?
How to troubleshoot packet loss with SolarWinds VNQM?
How does SolarWinds VNQM licensing and deployment work?

Packets, also called network packets, are tiny units of data sent and received over a network. Everything you do on the internet is made up of packets, from answering VoIP calls to sending emails.

Packets are tiny portions of the overall message sent or function executed on the network. Packets move through a wide range of different hubs—fiber optics, wireless routes, and copper cables—to reach their destination, following the most direct route. Taking the most direct route helps the network evenly distribute its load across multiple points, which increases operational efficiency and enhances performance. When packets successfully reach their destination, they receive a timestamp.

However, packet loss can occur when packets don’t successfully make it to their destinations. A packet is considered lost when it’s been delayed or misplaced on its way through the network. When a packet is delayed, it’s timed out. Your network will continue trying to deliver the packet, but when it arrives, it will most likely be incomplete. This process is called “retransmission timeout” or RTO. Your packets will arrive eventually, but they’ll be late and not usable.

Packet loss can slow down your network, negatively impact throughput and bandwidth, and cause bottlenecks. What’s more, packet loss can also be expensive. If you don’t get a handle on packet loss you may be forced to continue buying additional bandwidth and IT infrastructure to compensate for the lag.

Packet loss has many different causes. Sometimes packet loss can be caused by bad actors trying to attack your network, but it’s far more likely for packet loss to be the result of issues within your network. Here are the top ten causes of packet loss.

Network or link congestion: Network congestion is the most common cause of packet loss. Networks only have so much space available, and network use ebbs and flows throughout the day. At peak times when network use hits maximum capacity, like after lunch when many employees are logging back in to their computers at the same time, packet loss can be more likely.
When a network is trying to play catch up and accommodate for maximum traffic, packets are the first things to get dropped in favor of more critical operations. Packets must wait to be delivered. Luckily, a good packet loss monitoring tool will try to complete packet transmissions by automatically resending packets until congestion clears up or slowing down transfer speeds across the network to give more packets a chance to make it through.
Overloaded devices: Sometimes the devices on your network are working too hard. In this case, the packets might make it to their destinations, but by then, the network is too weak to process the packets and it sends them back. It’s good if the device has a buffer in place to automatically put packets in a holding pattern until they can be resent, but these buffers can get filled up quickly and end up dropping excess packets anyway.
Inadequate IT infrastructure: Many network administrators are forced to cobble together a functioning network monitoring solution from multiple disparate technologies. Unless these tools are specifically designed for packet loss monitoring, opportunities to reduce packet loss are bound to fall through the cracks.
Faulty network hardware: Old or glitchy hardware that cannot scale with your growing enterprise can weaken the network and make it more susceptible to packet loss.
Poor Wi-Fi connection: Wi-Fi packet loss is common because when data is sent through the air, it’s easier for packets to get lost in transit. This becomes even more likely when packets are sent over long-distance internet connections.
Software bugs: Unpatched software is vulnerable to bugs with a negative impact on network performance and prevent it from adequately transmitting packets.
Firewalls: Sometimes the measures you take to protect your network can end up hindering it. An upstream firewall might be filtering only certain types of traffic, which can cause some websites or services to randomly load or fail.
Duplex mismatch: When two ends of a link are operating at different speeds, some packets will be lost on the link.
Excessive hops: The packet sender can choose the maximum number of hops a packet will go through en route to its destination, which is known as Time to Travel (TTL). Each time the packet passes through a router, the TTL drops by one and eventually reaches zero, at which point the packet will be dropped. If a packet gets rerouted through too many hops, the TTL will reach zero before the packet reaches its destination and the packet will be dropped.
Cyberattack: It’s not very likely, but sometimes packet loss is intentionally caused by bad actors. If you notice a sharp drop in packet success or a sudden, significant slowdown in network speed, you might be experiencing a cyberattack. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about packet loss if your network is already under attack. If you act quickly enough, you can use an access list to block the hacker’s IP address.

If you’re experiencing packet loss, it will typically be because of an internal network issue. The best way to drill down and start troubleshooting packet loss is to leverage a comprehensive packet loss tool.

SolarWinds VoIP & Network Quality Manager is an enterprise-grade packet loss monitor designed to take your monitoring efforts to the next level. Packet loss is one of the most prominent issues plaguing networks using VoIP, and network administrators need a specialized packet loss monitoring tool.

VNQM helps facilitate granular packet loss monitoring by allowing you to monitor packet loss, in real time, using key VoIP performance metrics indicating packet loss. It automatically generates and stores call detail records and compares them with WAN performance to help you pinpoint issues and fix packet loss. You can use these historical records in conjunction with real-time data to create VoIP deployment performance baselines against which you can compare future performance.

VNQM lets you search through VoIP call records filtered according to the top packet loss monitoring metrics, which adds another dimension to troubleshooting packet loss. With this feature, you can easily find where packet loss is moving beyond acceptable levels and act accordingly to fix packet loss before it spirals into sustained VoIP call problems and network performance issues.

One of SolarWinds VNQM’s most helpful features is its historical reports. Across all of the VoIP-enabled devices on your network, VNQM produces the following predefined historical reports:

Calls: Last 24 Hours
PRI Gateway Utilization: Last 24 Hours
Jitter: Last 30 Days
Latency: Last 30 Days
MOS: Last 30 Days
Packet Loss: Last 30 Days
VoIP Nodes Availability: Last 30 Days

SolarWinds VNQM’s historical reports on packet loss are of particular note. By tracking all packet loss on your network over a 30-day period, VNQM helps you identify the average packet loss for call paths between source and destination.

SolarWinds VNQM also allows you to set up instant alert notifications when the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) on any segment of your network falls below a certain threshold. As soon as an alert becomes triggered, you can tap into resources found on SolarWinds Platform Web Console and efficiently drill down on the underlying issue.

Packets, also called network packets, are tiny units of data sent and received over a network. Everything you do on the internet is made up of packets, from answering VoIP calls to sending emails.
Packets are tiny portions of the overall message sent or function executed on the network. Packets move through a wide range of different hubs—fiber optics, wireless routes, and copper cables—to reach their destination, following the most direct route. Taking the most direct route helps the network evenly distribute its load across multiple points, which increases operational efficiency and enhances performance. When packets successfully reach their destination, they receive a timestamp.
However, packet loss can occur when packets don’t successfully make it to their destinations. A packet is considered lost when it’s been delayed or misplaced on its way through the network. When a packet is delayed, it’s timed out. Your network will continue trying to deliver the packet, but when it arrives, it will most likely be incomplete. This process is called “retransmission timeout” or RTO. Your packets will arrive eventually, but they’ll be late and not usable.
Packet loss can slow down your network, negatively impact throughput and bandwidth, and cause bottlenecks. What’s more, packet loss can also be expensive. If you don’t get a handle on packet loss you may be forced to continue buying additional bandwidth and IT infrastructure to compensate for the lag.
Packet loss has many different causes. Sometimes packet loss can be caused by bad actors trying to attack your network, but it’s far more likely for packet loss to be the result of issues within your network. Here are the top ten causes of packet loss.
Network or link congestion: Network congestion is the most common cause of packet loss. Networks only have so much space available, and network use ebbs and flows throughout the day. At peak times when network use hits maximum capacity, like after lunch when many employees are logging back in to their computers at the same time, packet loss can be more likely.
When a network is trying to play catch up and accommodate for maximum traffic, packets are the first things to get dropped in favor of more critical operations. Packets must wait to be delivered. Luckily, a good packet loss monitoring tool will try to complete packet transmissions by automatically resending packets until congestion clears up or slowing down transfer speeds across the network to give more packets a chance to make it through.
Overloaded devices: Sometimes the devices on your network are working too hard. In this case, the packets might make it to their destinations, but by then, the network is too weak to process the packets and it sends them back. It’s good if the device has a buffer in place to automatically put packets in a holding pattern until they can be resent, but these buffers can get filled up quickly and end up dropping excess packets anyway.
Inadequate IT infrastructure: Many network administrators are forced to cobble together a functioning network monitoring solution from multiple disparate technologies. Unless these tools are specifically designed for packet loss monitoring, opportunities to reduce packet loss are bound to fall through the cracks.
Faulty network hardware: Old or glitchy hardware that cannot scale with your growing enterprise can weaken the network and make it more susceptible to packet loss.
Poor Wi-Fi connection: Wi-Fi packet loss is common because when data is sent through the air, it’s easier for packets to get lost in transit. This becomes even more likely when packets are sent over long-distance internet connections.
Software bugs: Unpatched software is vulnerable to bugs with a negative impact on network performance and prevent it from adequately transmitting packets.
Firewalls: Sometimes the measures you take to protect your network can end up hindering it. An upstream firewall might be filtering only certain types of traffic, which can cause some websites or services to randomly load or fail.
Duplex mismatch: When two ends of a link are operating at different speeds, some packets will be lost on the link.
Excessive hops: The packet sender can choose the maximum number of hops a packet will go through en route to its destination, which is known as Time to Travel (TTL). Each time the packet passes through a router, the TTL drops by one and eventually reaches zero, at which point the packet will be dropped. If a packet gets rerouted through too many hops, the TTL will reach zero before the packet reaches its destination and the packet will be dropped.
Cyberattack: It’s not very likely, but sometimes packet loss is intentionally caused by bad actors. If you notice a sharp drop in packet success or a sudden, significant slowdown in network speed, you might be experiencing a cyberattack. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about packet loss if your network is already under attack. If you act quickly enough, you can use an access list to block the hacker’s IP address.
If you’re experiencing packet loss, it will typically be because of an internal network issue. The best way to drill down and start troubleshooting packet loss is to leverage a comprehensive packet loss tool.
SolarWinds VoIP & Network Quality Manager is an enterprise-grade packet loss monitor designed to take your monitoring efforts to the next level. Packet loss is one of the most prominent issues plaguing networks using VoIP, and network administrators need a specialized packet loss monitoring tool.
VNQM helps facilitate granular packet loss monitoring by allowing you to monitor packet loss, in real time, using key VoIP performance metrics indicating packet loss. It automatically generates and stores call detail records and compares them with WAN performance to help you pinpoint issues and fix packet loss. You can use these historical records in conjunction with real-time data to create VoIP deployment performance baselines against which you can compare future performance.
VNQM lets you search through VoIP call records filtered according to the top packet loss monitoring metrics, which adds another dimension to troubleshooting packet loss. With this feature, you can easily find where packet loss is moving beyond acceptable levels and act accordingly to fix packet loss before it spirals into sustained VoIP call problems and network performance issues.
One of SolarWinds VNQM’s most helpful features is its historical reports. Across all of the VoIP-enabled devices on your network, VNQM produces the following predefined historical reports:
Calls: Last 24 Hours
PRI Gateway Utilization: Last 24 Hours
Jitter: Last 30 Days
Latency: Last 30 Days
MOS: Last 30 Days
Packet Loss: Last 30 Days
VoIP Nodes Availability: Last 30 Days
SolarWinds VNQM’s historical reports on packet loss are of particular note. By tracking all packet loss on your network over a 30-day period, VNQM helps you identify the average packet loss for call paths between source and destination.
SolarWinds VNQM also allows you to set up instant alert notifications when the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) on any segment of your network falls below a certain threshold. As soon as an alert becomes triggered, you can tap into resources found on SolarWinds Platform Web Console and efficiently drill down on the underlying issue.
To reduce and fix packet loss, consider the following tips and best practices:
Test your network’s connection: Packet loss can transpire when network connectivity falters. If you suspect packet loss, check that all network devices, cables, and connections function properly.
Diagnose the root cause behind the packet loss: Businesses rely on enterprise-grade network monitoring tools to pinpoint the source of packet loss and drill down on the root cause. Network interference, interruption, and congestion can all lead to packet loss. Powerful network monitoring tools like VNQM cut through the noise, efficiently get to the heart of your packet loss problem and allow you to take action accordingly.
Improve your hardware: In addition to network disruptions, hardware malfunctions or faulty software can also be causes of packet loss. Since any of these factors can induce packet loss, it makes sense why organizations should invest in high-quality network monitoring tools like VNQM. If it turns out your network hardware is the culprit because it is out-of-date or simply deficient vis-a-vis your network demands, it might be time to pursue hardware upgrades. Upgrading your routers, switches, and network hardware can help unlock performance gains and decrease packet loss.
Assess your network configuration: Sub-optimal network configuration can also be responsible for packet loss. To optimize your network configuration, check that bandwidth has been appropriately allocated and that the right quality of service (QoS) settings are in place to support your network activity.
Utilize a VPN: A virtual private network (VPN) can help minimize the impact of packet loss that occurs via the Internet. Designed with encryption and other security protocols, VPNs can bolster the dependability and quality of network communications.

“Before we implemented this module from SolarWinds, we were often "flying blind" when our employees or customers complained of poor voice quality. Now we can head off problems before they get worse and shorten the duration of ones we don't catch beforehand.”

Gary Lee

EVP - Enterprise Applications

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation

Reduce your number of dropped calls with packet loss monitoring

VoIP & Network Quality Manager

Use CDR analysis to gain greater insight into VoIP performance issues caused by packet loss.
Troubleshoot packet loss more effectively.
Easily detect and measure packet loss.

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VNQM, an Orion module, is built on the SolarWinds Platform

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