When used in reference to networks, a runt is a packet that 
is too small to traverse the network. Network protocols 
such as Ethernet often require that packets be a minimum 
number of bytes in order to travel the network. Runts are 
often the result of packet collisions along a busy network 
or can result from faulty hardware that is forming the 
packets or from corrupted data being sent across the 
network.

giant is a packet that is too large to traverse the 
network. Network protocols such as Ethernet often require 
that packets can not be over a specific number of bytes in 
order to travel the network.