Hi,
Thanks to some of the posts in this forum I managed to solve a problem with a friends internet connection by adjusting the MTU size. They hadn't been able to connect to most websites and changing the MTU sorted it out on both the PC laptop and MAC they had.
I then changed the MTU setting on the router (Netgear) and was surprised when I tried to connect another laptop (on which I hadn't updated the MTU from the defult of 1500) it exhibited the same problem. I thought making the change at the router would solve the problem for all connected computers.
Is there anyway I can solve this without having to make an MTU setting update on every computer that needs to connect? As my friend is running a guest house with wireless internet access it isn't really an option for every guest to have to update their MTU setting before they can use the internet fully.
Many routers have a setting in which you can alter its MTU size. You can change this, but you must make sure that the MTU setting on your router is the same as on your PC. It does not matter too much if the MTU on your router is higher than that on your PC, but the setting in your router must not be less than the MTU on your PC.
When determining the packet size to send the end to end points are used, therefore if your router has a lower MTU than the PC, your router will be the point at which the data packets become fragmented. If the MTU on your router is higher, the packets will traverse though the router unhindered.
That's my problem - I have set the MTU on the router - to 1430. But I was hoping there was a solution which meant I didn't have to adjust the MTU on the PC as well - it is set to 1500 by default so I guess that isn't going to work.
To my knowledge, in relation to MTU, computer settings take priority over router settings. So it's always better to change it in the computer but obviously check to ensure that setting is lower or same as that in the router.
You could set the router to the maximum 1500 then there won't be a problem.
Once done MTU should not need changing unless the specification of the BB connection changes i.e. moving from ADSL to ADSL2+
Joined: 13 Aug 2006Posts: 1689Location: Marylebone Central London
Only windows XP would need tuning, Vista tunes itself, if other people are temporary accessing the router then it would be wise to set the router to 1500 as ThomasA most pc's are 1500 or lower, they will get a reasonable connection, and you and anyone who lives there set your pc to 1430 for optimised tuning
You can get more info and run tests for tweaking your own pc ,
HERE
you will need java installed to run the test.
Good luck
_________________ ex Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange Blog
Thanks for the replies.
Unfortunately setting the MTU to 1430 isn't just "optimized tuning" - unless I set it to that I can't access most websites.
With a PC with MTU of 1500 the internet isn't usable, I can't even get to google or the bbc.
I guess I will just have to settle for changing the MTU on each PC that wishes to connect - maybe I could create a batch file to do this to make it a bit easier.
You are still referring to your friend's B&B with guests using their own computer rather than a computer supplied by the B&B ?
If so, then any guest's computer might have a default MTU other than 1430 and 1500 depending on their normal ISP and whether it's ADSL, ADSL IPstreamMax, ADSL2 or ADSL2+.
So it's probable that they would need to change the MTU in their computer anyway, so the best option is to set the MTU in the router at 1500.
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