Optimal MTU for wifi?

VileReynard · ‎01-09-2007

Should the MTU size of a PC on a wifi network be identical to that of the WAN side of a network?
Typically the WAN side is set to 1500 bytes.
My Linux system defaults:-
Loopback MTU= 16436
Ethernet MTU = 1500
Wifi = 1500
On a WEP "security" wifi network is this optimal?
Regards,

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Peter_Vaughan · ‎30-07-2007

Having them all the same (ignore the linux loopback, its an internal pipe) is the best policy.
Whether 1500 is actually the best for your connection you can only find out by experimenting with some other values.

jelv · ‎10-04-2007

The big no, no is having the PC MTU larger than the WAN as this can cause fragmentation if the MTU path discovery doesn't work - that can apply to wired and wireless although the effect is less noticeable on wired.

jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
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Will · ‎19-08-2007

As jelv says, always ensure your router MTU is the same or greater than windows.
There are a number of ways you can tweak this. I find 1430 works best for me. But it's different for each user.
www.kitz.co.uk is a great took to help you tweak it.