Jitter monitoring with PRTG
Get rid of delays and speed up performance
- Run network jitter tests to detect issues quickly
- Keep an eye on VoIP and QoS for optimal performance
- Get jitter alerts for faster, proactive troubleshooting
PRTG jitter monitoring: What you’ll find on this page
PRTG makes network jitter monitoring as easy as it gets
Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent network latency and other network performance issues.
Advantages of using PRTG to measure jitter for VoIP
Many companies use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). However, one single delayed data packet can lead to transmission errors and disruptions that are noticeable at once: Jitter can cause the call quality or video quality to go down or fill the line with static. With Paessler PRTG, you’ll keep a constant eye on jitter values to make sure this doesn’t happen.
Stable video calls
In companies that use VoIP, employees can’t work efficiently unless the network is stable. Make sure your coworkers are able to do their jobs without interruption with PRTG.
If fluctuations in jitter values occur, you can quickly intervene to eliminate them. Our network monitoring tool also enables you to monitor other parameters that affect your network’s quality of service (QoS).
Custom real-time alerts
PRTG stands out from other latency and jitter monitoring tools – its alerting system is completely customizable. It immediately notifies you in the event of a problem via SMS, email, push notification, and more, so you can react quickly and before noticeable outages occur.
Thanks to PRTG, you’ll lift a huge weight off the shoulders of your support team, as fewer coworkers will have incidents to report.
What jitter monitoring looks like in PRTG
Diagnose network issues by continuously tracking jitter levels in your network. Show statistical jitter, MOS, round-trip time (RTT), and other key metrics in real time. Visualize monitoring data in clear graphs and dashboards to identify problems more easily. Gain the overview you need to troubleshoot network congestion and jitter issues.
Start monitoring jitter values with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
Discover some preconfigured sensors for jitter monitoring
Ping Jitter
The Ping Jitter sensor calculates the jitter for a series of ICMP ping signals. It can show the statistical jitter value and the execution time of the request.
QoS (Quality of Service) One Way
The QoS (Quality of Service) One Way sensor monitors the quality of a direct network connection. It can show the minimum, maximum, and average jitter, packet delay and packet loss, and more.
QoS (Quality of Service) Round Trip
The QoS (Quality of Service) Round Trip sensor monitors the quality of a network connection as a round trip between two endpoints. It can show the minimum, maximum, and average jitter, the mean opinion score (MOS), packet delay, and more.
Cisco IP SLA
The Cisco IP SLA sensor monitors VoIP network parameters using IP service level agreements (SLA) from Cisco. It can show the average jitter, latency, MOS, packet loss, and more.
Find the root cause of the problem with our PRTG jitter monitoring solution
Real-time notifications mean faster troubleshooting so that you can act before more serious issues occur.
PRTG is compatible with all major vendors, products, and systems
Run more effective jitter tests with PRTG
Run free jitter tests
PRTG comes with 100 free sensors that never expire, so you can run free network jitter tests.
Start by creating a preconfigured jitter monitoring sensor. You don’t have to run a trial first and you can read the jitter value directly from your network.
Run better jitter tests
Only PRTG’s continuous and automated jitter monitoring including its easy-to read graphs and clear dashboards can determine what is causing your jitter values to fluctuate.
Other individual jitter tests won't tell you much because they only check jitter for a specific point in time
Measure jitter accurately
PRTG complies with the standards of the RTCP for measuring jitter (RFC 1889). Jitter is measured in milliseconds (ms) and displayed directly in the PRTG sensor.
Methods for measuring jitter include mean packet delay variation and mean absolute packet delay variation.
Optimize your quality of service with these expert tips
Monitor latency
How much time does a data packet need for its "trip” from the sender to the receiver? This time is referred to as latency. According to ITU-T, the agency responsible for telecommunications standards, latencies of up to 125 milliseconds are acceptable.
PRTG’s recommendation: Set a threshold of 100 milliseconds. You’ll immediately receive an alert if this value is exceeded, allowing you to act quickly before noticeable interruptions or crashes arise.
Calculate MOS
The mean opinion score is used to express the quality of a call. VoIP transmission. It is the arithmetical average of several parameters. The lowest MOS is 1, while the highest MOS is 5.
This score is based on jitter, latency, and other parameters. As a compilation of values, MOS offers a quick overview of the status of your VoIP.
Monitor jitter
Jitter measures the variation in a mean latency value. We recommend that this deviation be less than 20 to 25 milliseconds, even if this amount is somewhat lower than what is usually considered acceptable.
What’s important is that you become aware of jitter as quickly as possible so you can take action at once. It also depends on your expectations: for some, jitter and delays of any kind are unacceptable.
Monitor packets
Individual packets are often responsible for problems with VoIP. Packets can get lost, become corrupted, or arrive as duplicates or in the wrong order.
PRTG lets you identify each of these scenarios. We recommend setting your packet loss rate threshold at 0% so that just one lost packet will generate an error message or lead to a malfunction.
PRTG makes network jitter monitoring as easy as it gets
Custom alerts and data visualization let you quickly identify and prevent network latency and other network performance issues.
Create innovative solutions with Paessler’s partners
Partnering with innovative vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.
UVnetworks
UVexplorer integrates tightly with PRTG to bring fast and accurate network discovery, detailed device inventory, and automatic network mapping to the PRTG platform.
“Excellent tool for detailed monitoring. Alarms and notifications work greatly. Equipment addition is straight forward and server initial setup is very easy. ...feel safe to purchase it if you intend to monitor a large networking landscape.”
Infrastructure and Operations Engineer in the Communications Industry, firm size 10B - 30B USD
Find the root cause of the problem with our PRTG jitter monitoring solution
Real-time notifications mean faster troubleshooting so that you can act before more serious issues occur.
Monitor jitter: FAQ
What is jitter?
Data packets are transmitted at a certain speed. A sender sends packets to a receiver in millisecond intervals. Jitter occurs when this interval gets off track, leading to deviations or irregularities in runtime. The term "jitter” means fluctuation, oscillation, or a variation in frequency.
How is jitter calculated?
Jitter is calculated mathematically and in a standardized fashion. The IETF has outlined its jitter calculation method in RFC 3550. PRTG uses this protocol to calculate jitter.
- The Real Time Jitter value is updated every time a packet is received using the formula described in RFC 1889: Jitter = Jitter + ( abs( ElapsedTime – OldElapsedTime ) – Jitter ) / 16
- The Statistical Jitter value is calculated according to the first x packets received using the statistical variance formula: Jitter Statistical = SquareRootOf( SumOf( ( ElapsedTime[i] – Average) ^ 2 ) / ( ReceivedPacketCount – 1 ) )
What happens if jitter is too high?
If data packets reach a receiver at irregular intervals, then loopholes emerge. As a result, data can no longer be circulated on a continual basis. While this may not be a big deal for web or email applications, it can cause interruptions in phone and video calls for companies who use VoIP. You’re also likely to encounter glitches at home when running real-time applications such as videos or computer games.
What causes jitter?
One example of how jitter can spike is when a data line is heavily strained, causing bandwidth bottlenecks to appear in intermediate devices. In such a case, your available bandwidth is usually not sufficient (make a bandwidth test). High jitter can also be caused by data congestion in switches and routers. PRTG promptly alerts you if your hardware is overloaded, so you can intervene quickly – before your system malfunctions.
How do I eliminate jitter?
If jitter is high, then you may want to increase your bandwidth. Usually, however, this comes at an additional charge. As an alternative, you can give higher priority to VoIP than to other data packets, such as emails.
Why is jitter monitoring important for VoIP?
If a problem occurs with VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) during the transmission of data packets, then this protocol is in danger of malfunctioning. One single delayed data packet can lead to transmission errors and delays that are noticeable at once. Jitter can cause the audio signal to go down or fill the line with static.
What is a sensor in PRTG?
In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, for example the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, or the free space on a disk drive.
On average, you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
PRTG: The multi-tool for sysadmins
Adapt PRTG individually and dynamically to your needs and rely on a strong API:- HTTP API: Access monitoring data and manipulate monitoring objects via HTTP requests
- Custom sensors: Create your own PRTG sensors for customized monitoring
- Custom notifications: Create your own notifications and send action triggers to external systems
- REST Custom sensor: Monitor almost everything that provides data in XML or JSON format
Paessler conducted trials in over 600 IT departments worldwide to tune its network monitoring software closer to the needs of sysadmins. We asked: would you recommend PRTG?
Over 95% of our customers say yes!
The result of the survey: over 95% of the participants would recommend PRTG – or already have.
Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier. Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network. Everyone has different monitoring needs. That’s why we let you try PRTG for free.Still not convinced?
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Start monitoring jitter with PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 24.3.100.1361 (September 25th, 2024) |
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