Packets Received
Total count of RTP packets received by the endpoint — compare with packets sent to measure delivery success across the network path.
Packets Received
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Key | packets_received |
| Unit | Packets |
| Type | Counter |
| Direction | Receive |
| RFC | RFC 3550 |
What It Measures
Packets Received counts the total number of RTP packets that arrived at the endpoint from the remote sender since the start of the media stream. This includes all packets that were successfully received, regardless of whether they arrived in order, late, or as duplicates.
If the remote endpoint sent 3,000 packets and this endpoint received 2,970, then 30 packets were lost in transit. This simple comparison is the foundation of packet loss analysis.
Why It Matters
Packets Received is the primary indicator of network delivery success:
- Delivery ratio — Compare with the remote endpoint's Packets Sent to calculate the actual loss rate across the network path.
- Asymmetric path detection — If send direction shows high delivery but receive direction shows low delivery (or vice versa), the network problem is direction-specific.
- Stream liveness — A counter that stops incrementing while the call is still active indicates the remote endpoint stopped sending or the network is completely blocking traffic.
How CallMeter Measures It
CallMeter counts every RTP packet received at the endpoint. This is a cumulative counter reported per second. The count includes all packets regardless of ordering, so duplicates and out-of-order packets are included in the total.
Thresholds
This metric does not have fixed thresholds. The expected value matches the remote sender's packet rate minus any transit loss.
Packets Received vs Packets Sent
When both endpoints are monitored by CallMeter, you can directly compare the sender's packets_sent with the receiver's packets_received to measure network loss. The difference should align with the reported packets_lost count from RTCP.
What Causes Unexpected Values
- Counter lower than expected — Packets are being lost in transit. Check Packet Loss Rate.
- Counter stops incrementing — Remote endpoint stopped sending (hold, mute, crash) or the network path is blocked.
- Counter higher than packets sent — Possible duplicate packets arriving via multiple network paths. Check Duplicate Packets.
How to Fix It
- Compare send and receive. The gap between packets sent (remote) and packets received (local) is your network loss.
- Check both directions. If only one direction shows low receive counts, the problem is asymmetric — investigate that specific path.
- Monitor over time. A gradually declining receive rate (visible in Packets Received Rate) may indicate progressive congestion.
Related Metrics
- Packets Sent — The transmission counterpart on the remote side
- Packets Lost — The difference between sent and received
- Packet Loss Rate — Loss expressed as a percentage
- Packets Received Rate — Per-second reception rate
- Bytes Received — Total data volume received