In this post, we provide a list of how to fix packet loss and work through some considerations. We then compare the five best network monitoring tools and how they can combat the issue. You will then be better positioned to identify the problems, avoid downtime and any exposure to security risks on your network.
@VPN_News UPDATED: June 27, 2022
Have you experienced overwhelming levels of packet loss that impacted your network performance?
Do you find that overloading occurs frequently on your network?
Which tools do you use to monitor your network connectivity and prevent dropped packets?
Packet loss is one of the most critical network performance metrics, but what is packet loss, what causes it, and how do you fix it?
Here is our list of the six best tools to fix packet loss:
- SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor EDITOR’S CHOICE Comprehensive network device health checker, running on Windows Server, that employs SNMP for live monitoring. Start a 30-day free trial.
- Paessler Packet Loss Monitoring with PRTG (FREE TRIAL) A network, server, and application monitoring tool that includes a Ping sensor, a Quality of Service sensor, and a Cisco IP SLA sensor.
- Datadog Network Performance Monitoring A SaaS package that draws up a network map and gathers packet transmission statistics live around the network and also offers an end-to-end testing facility
- ManageEngine OpManager Network management system for Windows and Linux that uses SNMP to check on device statuses.
- Nagios XI An infrastructure and software monitoring tool that runs on Linux. A free version (Nagios Core) is also available.
- Progress WhatsUp Gold Windows-based network management tool that uses SNMP procedures to communicate with network devices.
How to Fix Packet Loss: 8 Step-by-Step Solution
Although it’s impossible to remedy packet loss in your network, there are some meaningful network checks you can complete to improve speed and reduce the number of packets lost.
- Check physical network connections – Check to ensure that all cables and ports are properly connected and installed.
- Restart your hardware – Restarting routers and hardware throughout your network can help to stop many technical faults or bugs.
- Use cable connections – Using cable connections rather than wireless connections can improve connection quality.
- Remove sources of interference – Remove anything that could be causing interference. Power lines, cameras, wireless speakers and wireless phones all cause interference in networks.
- If your running WIFI – Try switching to a wired connection to help reduce packet loss on your network.
- Update device software – Keeping your devices updated will help to ensure that there are no bugs in the OS causing packet loss.
- Replace outdated or deficient hardware – Upgrading your network infrastructure allows you to get rid of deficient hardware altogether.
- Use QoS settings – Prioritize your network traffic based on the applications that are most important. For example, prioritize voice or video traffic.
What is packet loss?
Packet loss refers to any packets of data that are lost or dropped in transit during travel across a computer network.
Packet loss could be due to a failure or an inefficiency of a component that carries data across a network, such as a faulty router, a loose cable connection or bad wifi signal strength.
Lost packets can also be intentional, for instance when it is used to restrict throughput during VoIP calls or video streams so as to avoid time lags, particularly during times of high network congestion. This results in lower quality data streams and calls which negatively affect user experience. To fix packet loss and keep high latency, you need to determine which parts of your network are contributing to the problem.
What causes packet loss?
Packet loss is less likely on private, wired networks, but highly probable on long-distance internet connections. The IP philosophy of passing data packets across networks gives each router the decision on where a packet should be passed to next. The sending computer has no control over the transfer speed or the route that the packet will take.
Router packet loss
The reliance on individual routers to make routing decisions means each access point on the route must maintain a database of preferable directions for each ultimate destination. This disconnected strategy works most of the time. However, one router cannot know instantly if another router further down the line is overloaded or defective.
All routers periodically inform their neighboring devices of status conditions. A problem at one point ripples through to recalculations performed in neighboring routers. A traffic block in one router gets notified to all of the routers on the internet, causing all routers to recalibrate paths that would otherwise have passed through the troubled router. The chain of information takes time to propagate.
Rerouting overload
Sometimes a router will calculate the best path and send a packet down a blocked route. By the time the packet approaches that block, the routers closer to the problem will already know about it and reroute the packet around the defective neighbor. That rerouting can overload alternative routers. If the defect on a router prevents status notifications from being sent out, then the packet will be sent to that router regardless.
In short, the further a packet has to travel, the more routers it will pass through. More routers mean more potential points of failure and a higher likelihood that dropped packets will occur.
When is packet loss too high?
You will never reach a point where your company’s network infrastructure achieves zero packet loss. You should expect this performance drag when making connections over the internet, in particular.
Once you understand the reasons for packet loss, keeping the network healthy, packet recovery becomes an easier task. Install a network monitor to prevent equipment failure, security risks, and system overloading that escalates packet loss to critical conditions.
Packet loss costs your business money because it causes extra traffic. If you don’t deal with packet loss, you’ll have to compensate by purchasing extra infrastructure and higher levels of internet bandwidth usage than you would need with a well-tuned system.
See also: Best VoIP Monitoring Tools
The best tools fix packet loss
The more tightly knit a network, with better routers and connections in place, the less likely it is to face packet loss. But invariably many communications happen using the Internet Protocol, and not all hops are known along the way.
Tools that monitor your network endpoints can help you detect, troubleshoot and fix packet loss.
The endpoints are in the best position to work out if re-transmission of dropped packets should take place. This means that we should always anticipate some level of packet loss and therefore packet recovery in data communications. Fortunately, some very effective network monitoring solutions are available today.
What should you look for in tools to fix packet loss?
We reviewed the market for tools to fix packet loss and analyzed the options based on the following criteria:
- SNMP monitoring to check on network device statuses
- Ping sweeping to test for device availability and network connectivity
- Support for the implementation of queueing
- End-to-end path testing utilities
- Link testing facilities
- An assessment period either as a free trial or as a money-back guarantee
- A valuable collection of tools that will reduce packet loss and improve the business’s profitability
These tools both help you identify the equipment causing packet loss and provide continuous device monitoring to prevent packet loss whenever possible.
1. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (FREE TRIAL)
The SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor includes an autodiscovery function that maps your entire network. This discovery feature sets up automatically and then recurs permanently, so any changes in your network will be reflected in the tool. The autodiscovery populates a list of network devices and generates a network map.
Key Features
- Network device statuses
- SNMP-based
- Alerts
- Device discovery
- Path analysis
The monitor tracks the performance of wireless devices and VM systems.
The tool picks up SNMP messages that report on warning conditions in all network devices. You can set capacity warning levels when monitoring router traffic to spot routers and switches nearing capacity. Taking action in these situations helps you head off overcapacity which results in packet loss.
The management console includes a utility called NetPath that shows the links crossed by paths in your network.
- The data used to create the graphic is continually updated and shows troubled links in red so that you can identify problems immediately.
- Each router and switch in the route is displayed as a node in the path.
- When you hover the cursor over a node, it shows the network latency and packet loss statistics for that node.
Network Performance Monitor extends its metrics out to nodes on the internet. It can even see inside the networks of service providers, such as Microsoft or Amazon, and report on the nodes within those systems.
NetPath gives great visibility to packet loss problems and lets you immediately identify the root cause of the problem. The SNMP controller module lets you adjust the settings on each device remotely, so you can quickly resolve packet loss problems on your network.
If you run your voice system over a data network, you should consider the SolarWinds VoIP and Network Quality Manager. This tool particularly focuses on network conditions important to successful VoIP traffic delivery. As packet loss is a major problem with Voice Over IP, this module hones in on that metric. The system includes a visualization module that shows the paths followed by VoIP, along with the health of each node in color-coded statuses. This tool extends VoIP quality monitoring across sites to cover your entire WAN.
Pros:
- Offers templates that allow your users to identify and fix packet loss issues right away
- Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps and inventory lists in real-time based on devices that enter the network
- Has some of the best alerting features that balance effectiveness with ease of use
- Supports both SNMP monitoring as well as packet analysis, giving you more control over monitoring than similar tools
- Tons of pre-configured templates, reports, and dashboard views
Cons:
- This is a feature-rich enterprise tool designed for sysadmin, non-technical users may some features overwhelming
Both of these SolarWinds products run on a common platform and can be integrated together. All SolarWinds infrastructure monitoring systems run on Windows Server. You can get a 30-day free trial for both of these tools.
EDITOR'S CHOICE
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor: Map your entire network to get visibility on packet loss and identify the root cause of the problem. Overall, a vital tool that is great for reducing packet loss to 0% or as close as possible.
Get 30 Day Free Trial: solarwinds.com/network-performance-monitor/
OS: Windows Server 2016 or later
2. Paessler Packet Loss Monitoring with PRTG (FREE TRIAL)
Paessler is a significant player in the network monitoring software sector and it puts all of its expertise into one killer product: PRTG Network Monitor. The company prices its product by a count of sensors.
Key Features
- Traffic monitors
- Network discovery
- SNMP processes
- Status alerts
- SaaS option
A “sensor” is a network or device condition, or a hardware feature. You need to employ three sensors to prevent or resolve packet loss:
- The Ping test sensor calculates packet loss rate and trip time at each device.
- The Quality of Service sensor checks on packet loss over each link in the network.
- The third is the Cisco IP SLA sensor that only collects data from Cisco network equipment.
The ongoing system monitoring routines of PRTG head off conditions that cause packet loss.
- First of all, you need to ensure that no software bugs or hardware failures will cripple the network. PRTG uses SNMP agents to constantly monitor for error conditions on each piece of hardware on the network.
- Set alert levels at the processing capacity of each network device and marry that to a live monitor of the network’s throughput rate per link.
The build-up of traffic in one area of the network may cause overloading on the related switch or router and in turn cause it to drop data packets.
The PRTG system monitors application performance, too. You can prevent network overloads if you spot a sudden spike in the traffic generated by one application just by blocking it temporarily. You can also track the source of traffic back to a specific endpoint on the network and block that source to head off device overloading.
The dashboard of PRTG includes some great visualizations, which include color-coded dials, charts, graphs, and histograms. The mapping features of PRTG are impressive and offer physical layout views both on the LAN and across a real-world map for WANs. A Map Editor lets you build your own network representations by selecting which layer to display and whether to include the identification of protocols, applications, and endpoints.
Pros:
- Highly customizable sensors allow users to prioritize packet loss thresholds easily
- Uses a combination of packet sniffing, WMI, and SNMP to report network performance data
- Fully customizable dashboard is great for both lone administrators as well as NOC teams
- Supports a wide range of alert integrations such as SMS, email, and integrations into platforms like Slack
- Supports a freeware version
Cons:
- Is a very detailed platform with many features that require time to learn
Paessler PRTG’s monitoring extends into the Cloud, will enable you to monitor remote sites, uncover network problems, while also covering wireless devices and virtual environments. You can install PRTG on the Windows operating system or opt to access the system over the internet as a Cloud-based service. Paessler offers a 30-day free trial of PRTG.
Paessler Packet Loss Monitoring with PRTG Download 30-day FREE Trial
3. Datadog Network Performance Monitoring
If you prefer SaaS platforms to on-premises monitoring packages then Datadog Network Performance Monitoring is your best bet for a packet loss detection system. Datadog presents packet loss figures as retransmissions.
The monitor scours your network and generates a network map. Accessing that display, you can hover over any device on the network to see its current throughput statistics, which includes the number of retransmitted packets.
The monitoring console also provides a path analysis function, which is like a visual Ping service. This will also give you a retransmission rate for the path under consideration.
Key Features:
- Live network traffic statistics
- Analysis features
- Retransmission rates
The console is more than just those visual displays. It also has screens that list details of all switches and routers in a table, so you can see traffic information at every point of the network simultaneously. Those screens also have some great graphs that show network activity.
All of the data can be searched and resorted and you can even generate your own custom graphs. Another point of customization in the package can be found in the alerting system. The Datadog monitor presents a list of available metrics and you can place a performance threshold on any one of them. For example, you could set an alert if a switch’s CPU is at 80 percent of full capacity.
Other traffic monitoring services in the Network Performance Monitor include a DNS request monitor and a load balancer tracker.
The Datadog system isn’t limited to networks because it will also watch the connections to and between cloud platforms. You need to set up the monitor with details of each of your cloud accounts and then it will include those systems as points in your network. They will appear on the network map as well as in the device performance table. The monitor can identify whether performance issues are caused by the cloud platform, the internet connection to it, or your home network.
Pros:
- Integrates cloud platform connection monitoring into the network tracker
- Shows device traffic statistics
- Provides graphs and maps for link performance
- Shows a path between two given points
Cons:
- Device health monitoring is available but in a separate package
The Datadog platform includes many other system monitoring and management tools and you can get a look at all of them with a 14-day free trial.
4. ManageEngine OpManager
OpManager features a very sophisticated dashboard that manages to crowd in a lot of information without overwhelming the viewer. You can customize the dashboard and make different versions for different team members. The installation process ends with a network discovery phase, which populates the OpManager system database. The monitor builds a graphical representation of your network that can extend to WANs and wireless equipment. If you have virtual environments, OpManager maps both the virtual and physical elements of your system.
Key Features
- SNMP monitor
- Network device statuses
- Network discovery
The comprehensive network monitoring system uses SNMP to continue monitoring the health of all connected devices on the network. The SNMP system gives device agents the power to send out alert messages called “traps.” The controller displays these alerts on the dashboard immediately and can also be set to issue notifications by email or SMS. This monitoring system helps prevent any emergency performance issues that cause packet loss.
The alert logging system offers you the easiest way to detect and resolve issues that result in packet loss. One of the alert conditions is packet loss. That alert is tied to a specific network device. On clicking on the notification, the OpManager dashboard takes you to a page about that piece of equipment and shows performance metrics in visual formats. This gives you a quick way to check which condition caused the increased packet loss rate.
If no aspect of the router’s performance shows you problems, you can also click through to read the configuration changelog. If raised packet loss rate coordinates with a configuration change, you can roll back the settings of the device to its state before those changes to see whether that resolves the problem.
Pros:
- Uses both SNMP and NetFlow for monitoring giving it more coverage options than other tools
- Can scale easily, Enterprise package supports up to 10,000 endpoints
- Utilizes automatic network discovery to create live inventories and network maps for administrators to track assets and network size
- Freeware and paid versions allow for both small and large size networks to effectively use this tool
Cons:
- OpManager is dense with features, integrations, and settings, and may take time to fully master
OpManager gives you all the information you need to prevent, resolve or reduce packet loss with just a few clicks. This system can be installed on Windows or Linux and is available for a 30-day free trial.
5. Nagios XI
Nagios Core is a free and open-source program. The only problem is that no user interface is included. To get full GUI controls, you must pay for the Nagios XI system.
Like all of the other recommendations on this list, Nagios XI discovers all of the devices connected to your network and lists them on the dashboard. It will also generate a map of your network. Ongoing status check head off potential packet loss-provoking performance problems.
Key Features
- Device discovery
- Status alerts
- Traffic monitoring
Statuses are checked by the proprietary Nagios Core 4 monitoring system rather than SNMP. However, Nagios can be extended by free plug-ins, and an SNMP-driven monitoring system is available in the plug-in library. Traffic throughput rates, CPU activity, and memory utilization appear as statuses on the dashboard include. By setting alert levels on these attributes, you can get sufficient warning to prevent overloading of each of your network devices.
A Configuration Management module checks the setup of each device on the network and logs it. The log records changes made to those configurations. If a new setting impacts performance, such as increased packet loss, you can use the Configuration Manager to instantly roll back settings on a device to an earlier configuration.
The dashboard of Nagios XI includes some very attractive visualizations with color-coded graphs, charts, and dials. You can customize the dashboard and create versions for different team members as well as non-technical managers who need to stay informed.
The Nagios XI package includes all the widgets needed to assemble a custom dashboard through a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to stop packet loss. The system comes with standard reports and you can even build your own custom output.
Nagios records and stores performance data, so you can operate the interface’s analysis tools to replay traffic events under different scenarios. The capacity planning features of this system will help spot potential overloading that would cause packet loss.
Nagios XI will cover virtual systems, cloud services, remote sites, and wireless systems as well as traditional wired LANs. You can only install this monitor on CentOS and RHEL Linux. If you don’t have those but do have VMware or Hyper-V machines, you can install it there. Nagios XI is available for a 60-day free trial.
Pros:
- Monitors the infrastructure to help identify the location and scope of packet loss
- Completely open-source tool – great for building custom features
- Flexible alerting options support SMS and email
- Available on both Windows and Linux operating systems
Cons:
- Open-source solutions lack paid support – not ideal for enterprise environments
6. Progress WhatsUp Gold
The Progress (formerly Ipswitch) product WhatsUp Gold monitors network devices and warns of possible error conditions, including device memory and CPU exhaustion. These alerts are managed via SNMP and you can head off capacity and failure problems that cause packet loss.
Key Features
- SNMP monitoring
- Physical statuses
- Network discovery
This software includes a network discovery feature, that collects all of the data for the monitor. It continually updates the topology of the LAN, detecting inventory additions, relocations, and removals. The discovery process creates a device list and builds a network map. This map is compiled from data gathered at the Data Link and Network layers. The map displays troubled devices in red. The mapping of network links extends out to the Cloud and also includes virtual environments and wireless devices.
Performance metrics like packet loss are shown in the device list and on the network map.
The WhatsUp Gold dashboard provides access to both live and historical data. This performs analysis on traffic demand trends. Live alerts raised when certain conditions are met according to pre-set rules, and you can set your own custom alert conditions. The alerts can be sent out to team members as emails, SMS messages, or Slack notifications.
Pros:
- Provides templated dashboards that help users identify where packet loss is stemming from
- Supports modular pricing, allowing companies to pay only for features they intend to use
- Can monitor LANs, WANs, and cloud-based applications such as container environments
Cons:
- WhatsUp Gold offers numerous add-ons and features that can take time to fully explore
WhatsUp Gold installs on Windows Server and you can get a free trial.
Conclusion
Being able to easily remedy unforeseen buildup in packet loss will greatly assist you in performing your job well. Although the tools on this list are a little pricey, they pay for themselves in the long run through productivity increases and lower bandwidth requirements.
Fortunately, all of those tools we outlined above are available for free trials. Check out a few to see which gives you the best opportunity to prevent or reduce packet loss in your network.
Leave a message about your experience in the comments section below, and help others in the community learn from your experience.
Packet Loss FAQs
What causes packet loss on a network?
The most common cause of packet loss on a network is overloaded network devices. Switches and routers will drop data packets if they cannot process them in time. Other major packet loss causes include faulty equipment and cabling.
How do you calculate packet loss?
Take a count of the number of packets sent at one point on the network and the rate of packets received at another node. Subtract the number of packets received from the number of packets sent and divide the result by the number of packets sent to get the packet loss rate.
Why do I have packet loss with Ethernet?
Ethernet cables will lose packets if there is heavy electromagnetic interference nearby, if part of the cable is damaged or if the connectors at each end are loosely plugged into equipment.
Does packet loss affect ping?
Packet loss is one of the factors measured by the Ping utility. However, what is commonly referred to as “ping” is the round-trip time (RTT). This is not directly changed by packet loss – the two metrics are factors that influence response times over networks.
Is some packet loss normal?
Some packet loss is to be expected and isn’t usually a major problem. The rate of packet loss to be expected greatly depends on the size and reliability of the network. The greater the number of hops a transmission needs to take, the greater the risk of packet loss. There should be a lot less packet loss experienced on a private network than on the internet. Also, small networks should experience less packet loss than large networks in normal conditions. In general, a packet loss rate of 1 to 2.5 percent is seen as acceptable. Packet loss rates are generally higher with WiFi networks than with wired systems.
Is 2% packet loss bad?
Any packet loss will slow down response time but on a public medium like the internet, an expectation of 100% delivery success is unreasonable. Be prepared to encounter at least a little packet loss and anything below 5% is considered acceptable.
Can a VPN help with packet loss?
In truth, a VPN can’t do much about packet loss if the loss is caused by poor performance by the ISP’s equipment or an overloaded router. All a VPN does is encrypt packets and alter the path that a connection would normally take to reach a specific destination by diverting the connection through a mediating server. Those packets still have to pass through your gateway to the internet and the equipment of your ISP. If faults at those points are causing packet loss, they will drop packets regardless of where they are going or how they have been encrypted.