What exactly does control PF06 cover?

How robust the application’s communication protocol is against ordinary network imperfections: lost packets, out-of-order packets and stale packets. The vendor documents the loss rate the PST tolerates without losing communication or data, how it handles reordering, and packet time-to-live, a relevant concern on the less reliable networks serving certain regions of Quebec.

How do you test packet-loss tolerance?

First design critical exchanges, such as clinical transactions, with acknowledgment, retry and duplicate-detection mechanisms. Then test the application under a simulated loss rate, for example 1%, 5% and 10%, and document the threshold beyond which integrity is no longer guaranteed, along with the reordering and packet expiry policy.

TGV guide · Performance

TGV PF06: packet handling and loss tolerance

TGV control PF06 asks the vendor to document the packet-loss rate the PST can tolerate, how it handles reordering, and packet time-to-live on real networks.

Description of the control

Document how the PST handles packets, specifying the packet-loss rate it can tolerate without loss of communication or data, how it handles reordering, and packet time-to-live.

This control belongs to the Performance group of the Trousse globale de vérification (TGV), the certification toolkit of Quebec’s health and social services network. The description restates the criterion from the TGV grid; the rest of the page is Sentrix’s interpretation.

What this control corresponds to

This control covers how robust the application’s communication protocol is against ordinary network imperfections (lost, out-of-order, or stale packets) — a particularly relevant concern on the less reliable networks serving certain regions of Quebec.

Why this control is important

A public health network runs over links of variable quality (VPN, satellite, or cellular links in remote areas). An application that implicitly assumes a perfect network can silently corrupt clinical data when packets are lost or delayed — far more serious than a merely perceptible slowdown.

How to implement it

Design critical network exchanges (clinical transactions) with acknowledgment, retry, and duplicate-detection mechanisms.
Test the application’s behaviour under a simulated packet-loss rate (e.g. 1%, 5%, 10%) and document the threshold beyond which integrity is no longer guaranteed.
Document how out-of-order packets are handled and the packet expiry (time-to-live / timeout) policy.

How to verify it is in place

Request the network resilience test report (simulated loss rate, results).
Verify no silent clinical data loss is possible below the documented threshold, via a demo or test evidence.
Confirm consistency with the logging and traceability mechanisms required elsewhere in the grid, useful for detecting a transmission anomaly after the fact.

Need help with this control?

If you need help implementing or verifying this control, our team supports PST vendors preparing their TGV certification file, control by control. See the TGV certification support service and the TGV framework page, or contact us.

Next in the guide

Next control: PF07 · Connection retention and recovery delays · Back to the TGV controls guide

Frequently asked questions

What exactly does control PF06 cover?: How robust the application’s communication protocol is against ordinary network imperfections: lost packets, out-of-order packets and stale packets. The vendor documents the loss rate the PST tolerates without losing communication or data, how it handles reordering, and packet time-to-live, a relevant concern on the less reliable networks serving certain regions of Quebec.
How do you test packet-loss tolerance?: First design critical exchanges, such as clinical transactions, with acknowledgment, retry and duplicate-detection mechanisms. Then test the application under a simulated loss rate, for example 1%, 5% and 10%, and document the threshold beyond which integrity is no longer guaranteed, along with the reordering and packet expiry policy.
Why is packet loss more serious than a slowdown?: A public health network runs over links of variable quality: VPN, satellite or cellular links in remote areas. An application that implicitly assumes a perfect network can silently corrupt clinical data when packets are lost or delayed. The certifier therefore looks for evidence that no silent loss is possible below the documented threshold.

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