What Network Metric Causes VoIP Audio Distortion from Out-of-Order Packets?
A network technician is troubleshooting VoIP calls that have jumbled and distorted audio. The network technician analyzes the voice VLAN traffic and determines packets on the voice VLAN are being received out of order. Which of the following network metrics are causing the VoIP issues?
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer A. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
Tests the precise definition of jitter versus latency and bandwidth, with the common trap being the assumption that any network delay automatically causes audio scrambling.
This question evaluates your knowledge of QoS parameters that impact real-time voice communications. The community consensus confirms that jitter, driven by inconsistent packet arrival times, is the direct cause of jumbled VoIP audio.
Candidates frequently choose Latency or Delay, confusing overall transmission time with timing variability, but high latency typically produces echo or conversational lag rather than out-of-sequence playback.
Community Discussion (3 comments)
Comments & Corrections
No comments yet — spotted an error or have a note? Share it below.
Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
Jitter quantifies the variation in packet arrival intervals across a network path. When voice packets arrive out of sequence or with uneven spacing, the endpoint’s buffer cannot reconstruct the stream smoothly, producing jumbled or distorted audio. CompTIA explicitly associates out-of-order delivery and real-time media degradation with jitter. Proper QoS mechanisms like traffic shaping and jitter buffers are designed to mitigate this exact issue.Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Latency and Delay measure the absolute time required for a packet to travel from source to destination; excessive values cause one-way communication delays or echo, not scrambled playback. Bandwidth defines the maximum throughput capacity, and while congestion can trigger packet drops or codec downgrades, it does not inherently reorder packets. Since the scenario isolates sequencing irregularities as the root problem, timing inconsistency remains the only technically accurate metric among the options.Community Comment Notes
Top-voted discussions consistently map “out of order/sequence” directly to jitter in VoIP troubleshooting contexts [Comment 1]. Contributors emphasize that jitter specifically addresses arrival time variability, clearly separating it from static delay measurements [Comment 2]. Users also clarify that although bandwidth limitations affect call stability, they manifest as compression artifacts or dropped frames rather than the audio distortion described here. These explanations strongly validate the selected answer and align with official exam objectives.Official Reference
Exam Strategy
Memorize the distinct symptom-to-metric mapping for real-time traffic: latency causes lag, bandwidth restricts capacity, and jitter disrupts packet sequencing. When you see keywords like “out of order,” “variable delay,” or “choppy audio,” immediately rule out latency and bandwidth to select jitter. Leverage voice VLAN context clues to reinforce that prioritization alone cannot compensate for underlying timing inconsistencies.