Jitter

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Jitter refers to variation in packet delay across a network path.

In the context of Internet Quality of Service (Internet QoS), Jitter affects traffic that depends on regular packet delivery, including voice, video, telemetry, and time-sensitive operational observations.

variation in network delay experienced by packets in a packet stream

Generalised from Internet QoS terminology and IP packet delay variation terminology.

Jitter is not latency itself. Latency describes delay. Jitter describes variation in delay.

A stream with stable latency has low jitter. A stream with rapidly changing delay has high jitter.