Performance/ 09

MTU calculator

Account for headers and encapsulation to find your maximum payload.

Runs locally

Packet budget

Preset

Outer link MTU (bytes)

IP header (bytes)

Transport header (bytes)

Encapsulation within MTU (bytes)

PPPoE adds 8 bytes within Ethernet’s 1,500-byte payload.

Results

Maximum transport payload: 1460 bytes
Effective IP MTU: 1500 bytes
Total overhead within MTU: 40 bytes
Payload share: 97.33%

With a TCP header this is the payload ceiling (MSS for base headers). TCP/IP options and IPv6 extension headers must be added to the header budget. TLS overhead is not included.

Inside the MTU

1460 bytes payload

Encapsulation 0 BIP 20 BTransport 20 BPayload 1460 B

Ethernet’s MAC header, FCS, preamble, and inter-frame gap are outside this MTU budget. They affect wire rate, not IP payload size.

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