Jitter is the amount of variation in latency of the network data packets over a short period of time. It refers to the irregular delays that occur in data packets during transmission over packet-switched networks, such as the Internet. It is caused by the varying amounts of time it takes for data packets to travel from source to destination.

Jitter is a very important factor in measuring the quality of a network connection, as it can affect the stability and reliability of the connection. It is usually measured in milliseconds, where a higher number of milliseconds indicates higher levels of jitter in the connection. Jitter should be as low as possible, as high levels of jitter can cause a connection to become more prone to packet loss and data loss.

Jitter can be caused by many factors, such as routing congestion, inadequate bandwidth, slow transmission speeds and too many network hops. It can also be caused by hardware and software issues, such as packet fragments, packet queuing and improper packet sequencing. Network usage can also lead to jitter in some cases, as several users may be accessing the same resources.

In order to reduce jitter, network administrators can employ various techniques, such as adding additional bandwidth, decreasing the number of hops within the network, using Quality of Service (QoS) techniques, and deploying effective congestion control techniques. These techniques reduce the amount of variation in latency, thus reducing the jitter of the network.

In conclusion, jitter is a very important factor in measuring the quality of a network connection, as it can affect the stability and reliability of the connection. Network administrators can employ various techniques to reduce jitter, such as adding additional bandwidth and using Quality of Service (QoS) techniques. It is important to keep jitter as low as possible, as high levels of jitter can lead to packet loss and data loss.