Understanding Jitter in Packet Voice Networks (Cisco IOS Platforms)

Publisher

Cisco

URL

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/voice/voice-quality/18902-jitter-packet-voice.html

Published

2006-02-02

Updated

unknown

Accessed

2026-09-25

HTTP status

200

License

Cisco copyright; all rights reserved; no-redistribution; short excerpts and locators only

Source notes citing this source

• The Cisco IOS playout delay buffer runs in adaptive mode by default, adjusting to the jitter present up to a point. It can be changed with the playout-delay command, including a fixed mode. in context
• On Cisco IOS voice gateways, the 'Buf Overflow Discard (ms)' counter in the DSP VOICE VP_ERROR statistics counts packets that fell outside the playout buffer and were dropped. A nonzero value is acceptable, but it should not keep increasing during a call. in context
• On Cisco IOS voice gateways, the playout (de-jitter) buffer discards packets that arrive outside its range, and dropouts are then heard in the audio. The DSP can interpolate over small losses, but problems become audible when jitter exceeds what it can compensate. in context
• Cisco defines jitter as a variation in the delay of received packets, caused for example by network congestion, improper queuing or configuration errors. in context
• Cisco's jitter guidance for IOS voice networks recommends IP RTP Priority or Low Latency Queuing so that voice packets are queued ahead of other traffic. in context

Cite this source record

APA

WarmTransfer. (2006, February 2). Understanding Jitter in Packet Voice Networks (Cisco IOS Platforms). WarmTransfer. https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/sources/cisco-technote-18902-jitter-packet-voice

BibTeX

@misc{warmtransfer-cisco-technote-18902-jitter-packet-voice,
  title  = {Understanding Jitter in Packet Voice Networks (Cisco IOS Platforms)},
  author = {{WarmTransfer}},
  year   = {2006},
  url    = {https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/sources/cisco-technote-18902-jitter-packet-voice},
  note   = {Cisco, accessed 2026-09-25}
}