🎁 New User? Get 20% off your first purchase with code NEWUSER20 Register Now →
Menu

Categories

Networking Intermediate

What is MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit)?

The maximum size of a data packet that can be transmitted over a network without fragmentation.

MTU defines the largest packet size a network link can handle. Standard Ethernet MTU is 1500 bytes. Packets larger than MTU are either fragmented (split into smaller packets) or dropped if the Don't Fragment flag is set.

MTU mismatches cause connectivity issues — packets are silently dropped. Path MTU Discovery automatically finds the smallest MTU along a route. Jumbo frames (MTU 9000) improve performance on local networks. VPN and tunnel overhead may require reducing MTU.

Related Terms

DNS Propagation
The time it takes for DNS record changes to spread across all DNS servers worldwide, typically taking up to 48 hours.
Network Segmentation
The practice of dividing a network into isolated segments to improve security, performance, and management.
Latency
The time delay between sending a request and receiving a response, measured in milliseconds.
Network Packet
A formatted unit of data carried over a network, containing headers with routing information and a payload with the actual data.
HTTP Keep-Alive
An HTTP mechanism that reuses a single TCP connection for multiple requests, reducing the overhead of establishing new connections.
Network Monitoring
The practice of continuously observing network infrastructure to detect failures, performance degradation, and security threats.
 View All Networking Terms →