MTU stands for Maximum Transmission Unit. In TCP/IP networking, this setting defines how many bytes are in each packet that moves across the network. Ideally, each packet flows smoothly from one stop to the next on the Internet; however, if any portion of the network (routers, Ethernet cards, and so on) uses physical frames that are smaller than the incoming packets, those packets will be chopped up en route and reassembled at their destination, causing performance slowdowns.
By default, the Windows 95 MTU is 1,500,
which is appropriate for Ethernet-based networks. When you dial in to an
ISP, your data goes through a router that uses the Internet standard MTU
setting of 576. The mismatch in settings guarantees that your 1,500-byte
packets will be fragmented into smaller packets of 576 bytes or less, resulting
in less-than-optimal performance. You can change this setting in Windows
95 manually, and there are dozens of pages on the Internet with step-by-step
instructions for making the change. But we recommend a much easier way:
Download a simple utility called TweakDun, from Patterson Design Systems,
which lets you adjust the MaxMTU setting and other dial-up connection settings
using a well-organized graphical interface. Although these adjustments
won't affect the speed of your dial-up connection, they can improve the
efficiency of data transfers, especially when downloading large files.
You'll find the latest version of TweakDun at www.pattersondesigns.com/tweakdun.
does a far better job than
its predecessor of optimizing TCP/IP transmissions, and it also lets you
change the setting without hacking the Registry. By default, all PPP connections
at speeds below 128K use an MTU of 576. At higher speeds, Windows 98 uses
an MTU of 1,500.To adjust these settings, open the Network option in Control
Panel, select Dial-Up Adapter, and click on the Properties button. Click
on the Advanced tab, and select the IP Packet Size entry in the Property
list. The Automatic setting shifts MTU size to match the connection speed;
choose Large to set MTU size to 1,500, Medium for 1,000, or Small for 576.
For all but the most performance-obsessed dial-up users, there's no need
for utilities like TweakDun with Windows 98.
Windows NT 4.0 uses a completely different TCP/IP stack, which can dynamically adjust the MTU value. Although TweakDun and other tools will work with NT workstation and server, we recommend that NT users leave these settings aloneFaster Startup
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