This is a gauge reporting the highest packets-per-second throughput this node has achieved since its last reset. This is the packet-rate peak counterpart to the character-rate peak, and an admin sizing this node's packet-processing capacity, distinct from raw character throughput, uses this figure to judge whether the node's switching fabric has ever been pushed near its packet-handling limit, a different constraint than raw character throughput. For example, a packets-per-second peak that's disproportionately high relative to the characters-per-second peak recorded at the same time would suggest the node was handling an unusually large number of small packets during that peak period.