A packet or "MTU" consists of a header and the actual data. The
actual data is referred to as the Maximum Segment Size or "MSS".
The MSS is the largest segment of TCP data that can be
transmitted. In other words: MTU = MSS + TCPIP headers. zero
router congestion Packet Size vs. Latency Let's examine a
transfer of 1,500,000 bytes of data using different packet size
over a T1 line (T1=1,544,000 bits/sec) using the following
formula: ( MSS + header ) * 8 bits/byte
------------------------------ = latency (per hop) Then, using
different MTU values, we can calculate the relevance of packet
size to latency. If MTU = 1500, then: (1460+40) * 8 / 1,544,000
= 7.772 ms delay per hop If MTU = 576, then: (536+40) * 8 /
1,544,000 = 2.924 ms delay Assuming a transfer over 10 hops, the
1500 MTU would wield 77.72 ms delay, while a 576 MTU would take
29.24 ms to transfer over a T1 line. So what are we getting at?
Well, it takes more time to send/receive larger packets. DUH!?
How much mathematics do we need to understand this?