Packet loss and latency
Measure loss and latency correctly, read ping and traceroute without being fooled, and correlate problems with graphs.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 45 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 1 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Calculate packet loss from ping statistics
- Tell real loss from ICMP rate-limiting at intermediate hops
- Correlate latency spikes with other monitoring data
- Collect the evidence an ISP needs for a fault report
Course outline
- 1.Measuring packet loss, latency and jitterVideo · 2 min
- 2.Measuring loss and latency properlyLesson · 18 min
- 3.Reading mtr and continuous path testsLesson · 15 min
- 4.Jitter, queues and protecting voiceLesson · 15 min
- 5.Packet loss and latency: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 17 questions
- 6.Packet loss and latency: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 7.Sixty alerts in five minutesScenario
- 8.Final exam8 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- RFC 792: Internet Control Message Protocol
- RFC 2681: A Round-trip Delay Metric for IPPM
- Interpreting traceroute: rate limiting and asymmetric paths
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