This object is the actual packet count received from the specific source MAC address configured above, subject to discontinuities noted by the timestamp object. This is the payoff of the targeted source-filter setup: a hard number of packets attributable to one specific suspected node, letting an admin confirm or rule out that node as the source of unusual ring traffic volume. This counter climbing by 500,000 packets over a short interval, while the ring's total node count and other traffic stay normal, would confirm that one specific targeted node really is generating an outsized share of ring traffic.