This object is the number of packets sent on this specific association. This is the outbound packet count for one specific peer relationship, and a big jump without a matching jump in chunks sent would indicate this device itself is sending unbundled, one-chunk-per-packet traffic to that particular peer, adding unnecessary overhead on that one link. If datagrams sent roughly equals chunks sent for this association, this device is not taking advantage of SCTP bundling on that specific link, sending each signaling message in its own packet.