MTU: Difference between revisions

=Overview=

In simple terms, when you send information from one place on the internet (e.g. a web server) to another (e.g. your computer) the data is broken up in to packets. The sender breaks the overall data in to small chunks, and sends them over the internet. The internet only handles packets. The packets arrive at the other end, and they are put back together to make the whole of the original data. This could be a web page, email, image, or whatever. If a packet gets dropped, the sender works this out and resends it. That way you don't get gaps in what you receive. The process is managed by a protocol called TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). The packets get to the other by a protocol called IP (Internet Protocol). There are other protocols that work over the internet but they all come down to sending packets.

 

=How big is a packet?=