A column on things Internet Other Formats: The Size of Packets October 2024 We've now been running packet-switched networks for many decades, and these days it's packets and not virtual circuits lie behind most of the world's digital communications service. But some very fundamental questions remain unanswered in this packet-switched world. Perhaps the most basic questions is: "How big should a packet be?" And, surprisingly enough, there is no clear answer! The pragmatic default Internet answer ...