Why do packets get dropped

This comprehensive guide will explain everything you need to know about the causes of packet loss in computer networks. In any network environment, data is sent and received across the network in small units called packets. This applies to everything you do on the internet, from emailing, uploading or downloading images or files, browsing, streaming, gaming — to voice and video communication.

In most cases, these situations of downtimes might have arisen from a seemingly simple issue that escalated into significant setbacks. When one or more of these packets is interrupted in its journey, this is known as packet loss.

Each individual packet may travel a different route, and when they have arrived, they are restored to the original file by the TCP at the receiving end. The primary cause of network packet loss is congestion. All networks have space limitations, so in simple terms, network congestion is very much the same as peak hour traffic. Think of the queues on the road at certain times of the day, like early mornings and the end of the working day. At peak times, when network traffic hits its maximum limit, packets are discarded and must wait to be delivered.

Fortunately, most software is designed to either automatically retrieve and resend those discarded packets or slow down transfer speed. The speed with which hardware becomes outdated or redundant these days is another major problem for your network. Hardware such as firewalls, routers, and network switches consume a lot of power, and can considerably weaken network signals.

Sometimes organizations overlook the need to update hardware during expansions or mergers and this can contribute to packet loss or connectivity outages. Closely related to faulty hardware is a buggy software running on the network device. Bugs or glitches in your system can sometimes be responsible for disrupting network performance and preventing the delivery of packets. Hardware reboots and patches may fix bugs. When a network is operating at a higher capacity than it was designed to handle, it weakens and becomes unable to process packets, and drops them.

Most devices have built-in buffers to assign packets to holding patterns until they can be sent. As a rule, wireless networks experience more issues with packet loss than wired networks. Radio frequency interference, weaker signals, distance and physical barriers like walls can all cause wireless networks to drop packets. Cybercriminals hack into your router and instruct it to drop packets. Another way that hackers can cause packet loss is to execute a denial-of-service attack DoS , preventing legitimate users from accessing files, emails, or online accounts by flooding the network with too much traffic to handle.

Packet loss can be difficult to fix during a full-blown security. This highlights the importance of a comprehensive network monitoring solution.

The only way to effectively deal with packet loss issues is to deploy a seamless network monitoring and troubleshooting platform that can view your entire system from a single window. When it comes to the determining what constitutes a strong internet connection, and the reduction of random packet loss, there are three factors to consider: upload speed, download speed and ping.

This is how fast you can send data to others. Uploading is used when sending large files through email, or in using video to chat with others. Upload speed is measured in megabits per second Mbps.

This is how fast you can pull data from the server to you. By default, connections are designed to download more quickly than they upload. Download speed is also measured in Mbps. This is the reaction time of your connection, or how quickly you get a response after sending out a request. Once all of the data packets have arrived at the destination, the data packets are pieced back together.

The data packet is divided into 3 parts:. Once broken into packets, the data packets are individually routed across different paths. This allows each data packet to take the most efficient path and for traffic to be evenly routed across the network. Now that you understand the makeup of a data packet and how it functions, where does packet loss come in?

You and a group of friends are driving to the same concert in 3 different cars. Two of the cars decide to take the highway to get to the concert. The other car takes the city streets instead.

While 2 cars made it to the concert, the 3rd was unable to arrive in time. Traffic on the network, called network congestion, is often what causes packet loss. The TCP requires an established connection before it can transmit traffic. It will also go back for any packets discarded during periods of high latency and resend the packets until the packets arrive at their destination. This makes TCP very reliable and helps load a website or send an email. However, VoIP, live stream, and video gaming rely on real-time data transmission where every millisecond counts.

The UDP does not require a connection, and it will not resend data packets if there are errors. For more information on packet loss in TCP vs. UDP, check out this article. There are a variety of reasons that could explain why you are experiencing packet loss. Think about the last time you had multiple people using your wifi. Maybe one person is having a Zoom call for work, another person is checking their email, someone is streaming on Netflix, and another is watching TikTok videos on their phone.

When there are too many people making requests over the Internet, the data packets get backed up like the freeway at rush hour. Outdated hardware like routers, modems, firewalls, or damaged ethernet cables can cause packet loss.

Think about the last time you replaced your internet hardware. If the end-user is using an older model of a computer or phone, this can also lead to latency and packet loss because the user does not have the memory to process the data requests or return the information to the requestor.

Malfunctioning software could be causing packet loss. When was the last time you updated your software? If your business sees a sudden and severe increase in packet loss, it could be from a Denial of Service DoS attack. In a DoS attack, hackers overload the system with requests causing the network to become so congested that it crashes.

It will likely take some trial and error for you to pinpoint why the packet loss is occurring. Here are a few things you can do to get started on your search. Cyber Edu. What is Packet Loss? Packet Loss Defined, Explained, and Explored. Share LinkedIn. Packet Loss Defined When accessing the internet or any network , small units of data called packets are sent and received. Causes of Packet Loss Packet loss can be caused by a number of issues, but the most common are: Network Congestion Network congestion, as its name suggests, occurs when a network becomes congested with traffic and hits maximum capacity.

Software Bugs Software bugs are another common cause of packet loss. Problems with Network Hardware Faulty or outdated network hardware such as firewalls , network switches and routers can slow down network traffic considerably. Security Threats In addition to problems with software and hardware, packet loss can also be caused by a security breach. How to Prevent Packet Loss There are a number of ways to resolve packet loss issues, and the solution you choose will depend on the specific reason for packet loss.

Entry-level Learner,Network. Get the MQ. More from Cyber Edu. What is Ransomware? What is Branch Networking?