this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2026
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networking

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I've always wondered whether network interfaces that have these flashing lights flash as a gimmick or do they actually indicate the flow of traffic? Perhaps one flash per packet in or out? I wish I could remember what my call up modem looked like to make a historical comparison too.

TL-SG105E

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[–] emotional_soup_88@programming.dev 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Right! Packets, of course, come in many sizes and a TCP handshake alone is what... Less than 1MB? And with a 1 Gbps connection, there is no way those LEDs flash once for each packet. They would probably look like static lights to the human eye if that was the case... Thanks! :)

[–] SteveTech@aussie.zone 4 points 2 weeks ago

An Ethernet frame's payload can't exceed 1500 bytes without using jumbo frames. So every internet routable packet is actually less than or equal to 1.5kB.

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

and a TCP handshake alone is what... Less than 1MB?

less than 1 KB

[–] Aerosol3215@piefed.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

They were technically right... Less than 1MB. 😆