Packetize

Packetize is the process of dividing a stream of data into discrete units called packets for transmission over a network. Each packet typically contains a payload portion and a header with addressing, sequencing, and error-detection information. Packetization enables efficient use of network resources, error handling, multiplexing of multiple streams, and adherence to maximum transmission unit (MTU) constraints.

In networking, packetization occurs at multiple layers. Transport protocols such as TCP encapsulate data into segments, while UDP datagrams are self-contained packets. At the application level, media and signaling streams are packetized for delivery; for example, Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) defines payload formats that packetize audio and video data for transport.

Multimedia and streaming systems often further packetize frames into fixed or variable sized packets to balance latency, jitter, and loss. Common examples include MPEG-2 Transport Stream packets and RTP payload formats used for live audio and video. To avoid network fragmentation, packet sizes are often aligned with MTU limits.

Challenges and trade-offs include header overhead, potential fragmentation, out-of-order delivery, and packet loss. Reassembly at the destination relies on sequence numbers and timing information to reconstruct the original data correctly.

Beyond networking, the term is also used in software messaging and data storage to describe dividing large messages or files into smaller units for transmission, processing, or storage.