This is the archived cumulative total-packets-transmitted count for this interface at the time of this historical sample. Comparing this archived packet count to the archived totalBytes value from the same sample lets an admin reconstruct the historical average packet size on this interface, useful for confirming whether a past performance issue was byte-bound or packet-rate-bound. A historical sample showing high totalPackets but comparatively low totalBytes documents that this interface was handling small-packet-heavy traffic at that specific time.