Analysis of Packet Loss Using Wireshark

Mr. Bhavesh.S , II year  B.Tech. CSE student, School of Computer Science and Engineering , VIT Chennai

April 12, 2026

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INTRODUCTION

Packet loss is a critical network performance parameter that occurs when one or more data packets fail to reach their destination during transmission. It directly affects the quality, reliability, and efficiency of a network. High packet loss can result in slow performance, interruptions in communication, buffering in video streaming, and poor voice quality in real-time applications.

Packet loss can be caused by various factors such as network congestion, faulty hardware, signal interference, or improper configurations. Monitoring and analyzing packet loss helps in identifying network issues and improving performance.

Wireshark is a powerful network protocol analyzer used to capture and analyze packets in real time. It enables users to inspect packet-level details and identify packet drops, retransmissions, and delays. In this experiment, packet loss is analyzed under different traffic conditions using Wireshark, and results are interpreted through graphical analysis.

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OBJECTIVES

1. To understand the concept of packet loss and its impact on network performance.
2. To capture real-time network packets using Wireshark under different traffic conditions.
3. To analyze packet loss using filters such as TCP retransmissions and duplicate ACKs.
4. To compare packet loss behavior under normal, medium, and high traffic conditions.
5. To visualize packet loss trends using graphical tools in Wireshark.

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REFERENCE

• https://sharkfest.wireshark.org
• https://youtu.be/rWHWOat5_Xg?si=iXqM7eSR6Sq8uylO
• This experiment was initiated by referring to SharkFest tutorials to understand packet loss detection using retransmissions and TCP analysis flags. Based on this, packet capturing and analysis were performed using Wireshark.

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ARCHITECTURE

The architecture consists of:

• Client system generating traffic
• Network medium (LAN/Wi-Fi)
• Wireshark capturing packets
• Analysis using filters and IO graphs

Diagram (conceptual):

PROCEDURE

Normal Traffic

1. Open Wireshark and select network interface
2. Start packet capture
3. Perform normal browsing
4. Stop capture after few minutes
5. Apply filter: tcp.analysis.retransmission
6. Analyze packet loss using IO Graph

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Medium Traffic

1. Start packet capture
2. Generate traffic using ping google.com -t
3. Capture packets continuously
4. Stop capture
5. Analyze retransmissions and duplicate ACKs

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High Traffic

1. Start packet capture
2. Generate heavy traffic using continuous ping / multiple requests
3. Capture large number of packets
4. Stop capture
5. Analyze packet loss patterns

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GRAPH ANALYSIS (30 GRAPHS)

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NORMAL TRAFFIC

1)Graph 1: Packet Loss (1 sec interval)

Inference:
Very low packet loss observed with almost zero retransmissions.

2)Graph 2: Packet Loss (2 sec interval)

Inference:
Smoother graph showing negligible packet drops.

3)Graph 3: Packet Loss (5 sec interval)

Inference:
Almost flat line indicating stable network.

4)Graph 4: TCP Retransmissions

Inference:
Very few retransmissions indicating healthy connection.

5)Graph 5: Duplicate ACKs

Inference:
Rare duplicate acknowledgments, minimal congestion.

6)Graph 6: Lost Segments

Inference:
Almost no lost segments detected.

7)Graph 7: Packet Delay Variation

Inference:
Low variation indicating stable communication.

8)Graph 8: Packet Drop Rate

Inference:
Close to zero drop rate.

9)Graph 9: DNS Packet Loss

Inference:
Negligible DNS loss.

10)Graph 10: HTTP Packet Loss

Inference:
Minimal impact on web traffic.

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MEDIUM TRAFFIC

1)Graph 11: Packet Loss (1 sec interval)

Inference:
Moderate packet loss observed.

2)Graph 12: Packet Loss (2 sec interval)

Inference:
Smoother but consistent packet drops.

3)Graph 13: Packet Loss (5 sec interval)

Inference:
Stable moderate loss over time.

4)Graph 14: TCP Retransmissions

Inference:
Increased retransmissions due to load.

5)Graph 15: Duplicate ACKs

Inference:
Frequent duplicate ACKs indicating minor congestion.

6)Graph 16: Lost Segments

Inference:
Noticeable lost segments.

7)Graph 17: Packet Delay Variation

Inference:
Moderate jitter observed.

8)Graph 18: Packet Drop Rate

Inference:
Drop rate increases compared to normal traffic.

9)Graph 19: UDP Packet Loss

Inference:
UDP shows more loss due to no retransmission.

10)Graph 20: DNS Packet Loss

Inference:
More frequent DNS request failures.

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HIGH TRAFFIC

1)Graph 21: Packet Loss (1 sec interval)

Inference:
High packet loss with continuous spikes.

2)Graph 22: Packet Loss (2 sec interval)

Inference:
Consistently high loss with smoother spikes.

3)Graph 23: Packet Loss (5 sec interval)

Inference:
High averaged loss indicating congestion.

4)Graph 24: TCP Retransmissions

Inference:
Large number of retransmissions due to heavy congestion.

5)Graph 25: Duplicate ACKs

Inference:
Frequent duplicate ACK bursts.

6)Graph 26: Lost Segments

Inference:
Significant number of lost segments.

7)Graph 27: Packet Delay Variation

Inference:
High jitter affecting real-time communication.

8)Graph 28: Packet Drop Rate

Inference:
High drop rate showing network overload.

9)Graph 29: UDP Packet Loss

Inference:
Severe UDP loss impacting streaming.

10)Graph 30: HTTP Packet Loss

Inference:
Heavy packet loss affecting web performance.

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FINDINGS

• Packet loss increases with traffic intensity
• Normal traffic shows negligible packet loss
• Medium traffic shows moderate and manageable loss
• High traffic leads to severe packet loss and congestion
• TCP tries to recover using retransmissions
• UDP is more affected due to lack of recovery mechanism

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AI USAGE

AI tools were used for structuring the documentation and assisting in interpretation of packet loss graphs. The experiment, packet capture, and analysis were carried out independently.

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CONCLUSION

The experiment successfully analyzed packet loss under different traffic conditions using Wireshark. It was observed that packet loss increases significantly with network load, leading to reduced performance and reliability. Proper traffic management and congestion control techniques are essential to minimize packet loss and ensure efficient communication.

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YOUTUBE LINK

https://youtu.be/WOputTJJVhE?si=neZV657dVjdauRMR

GITHUB LINK

https://github.com/BhaveshMaths/CNBLOG.git

REFERENCE

1)Wireshark Official Documentation

2)SharkFest Wireshark Developer and User Conference tutorials

3)Online resources and tutorials related to network traffic analysis.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

• I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the School of Computer Science and Engineering (SCOPE), VIT Chennai, Vellore Institute of Technology Chennai, for offering the theory and laboratory courses in Computer Networks during the Winter Semester 2025–2026 with an industry-oriented syllabus that helped me understand practical networking concepts.

• I would like to thank my course faculty, Dr. T. Subbulakshmi, Professor, SCOPE, for her valuable guidance and support throughout the course, which helped me gain a clear understanding of concepts such as packet analysis and network performance.

• I would also like to acknowledge Gerald Combs, the founder of Wireshark and recipient of the ACM Software System Award (2018), for developing such a powerful tool that made it possible to capture and analyze network traffic effectively.

• I would like to thank my friends, Nithin.S and Anush.V, for their support, suggestions, and discussions that contributed to improving this work. I also extend special thanks to them for helping me understand the basics of Wireshark and packet analysis during the initial stages.

• Finally, I am grateful to my parents for their constant support, encouragement, and motivation throughout the completion of this work. I also acknowledge various online resources, articles, and documentation that helped me understand packet loss and its impact on network performance.

                                            THANK YOU