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ATR Newby
22nd Apr 2007, 13:47
Just for information:
I recently installed a new NETGEAR router (WNR854T) & coincidentally began to get problems when visiting certain websites, PPRuNe in particular.
The pages seemed to "stall" & would not load into my browser (IE7).
I have discovered that the default MTU setting for the router is 1500, whereas it is necessary to reduce it to 1460 to get these sites to load correctly.

Saab Dastard
22nd Apr 2007, 14:26
Thanks for the tip, ATR.

I have no problem with IE6 and Firefox 2 with the MTU at the default setting, btw.

SD

PPRuNe Towers
22nd Apr 2007, 19:19
I asked ATR to details his experiences so it would be in the search engine.

Appreciate the time taken in letting others know what happened. I think it's about 4 years since anyone had any sort of MTU isssue here and it had fallen off the map as something worth checking.

Regards
Rob

Bushfiva
23rd Apr 2007, 07:06
If your connection to your ISP is PPPoE, the optimum MTU is 1492. DHCP is 1468. AOL DSL used to be 1400. VPN/PPTP is 1430. It's a mess :-) So, 1400 will always (er, almost) work. The oldest devices your packets may bump into could still be at 576. It's a mess out there :-)

If you're comfortable at a command prompt and you have time on your hands, you could work out your max MTU using the "ping" command.

ping -f -l 1472 www. p i c k a d o m a i n.com

The "-l" sets the buffer size.

The "-f" stops intermediate devices from fragmenting the packets.

You'll get an error message like "packet needs to be fragmented but...." (I forget the rest).

Reduce the 1472 in steps of 4 or 10 depending on your patience, repeat ad nauseam.

When you stop getting error messages, add 28 to the final number. That's your maximum MTU. If you want, you can try other domains dotted around the world.

Of, if 1400 works for you, make an executive decision not to try any of this :}

Edited to add wanton complexity to what started off as a simple post.

Wedge
23rd Apr 2007, 13:49
I had a similar problem on installing a Netgear DG834N router.

Some websites were very slow.

The problem was fixed by installing the latest firmware and making some router settings changes - but I can't remember exactly which - call Netgear tech support - they got this one fixed fairly quickly and the router now works fine.

It always takes a few days to get a wireless network working properly.

Wedge
3rd Jun 2007, 13:47
Talking of the same wireless router: it's now starting to 'randomly disconnect' which is the main problem I had with my previous router and it is :mad: annoying!!!! :mad:

I have already tried:

- Reinstalling latest router firmware (twice)
- Updating Wireless Adaptor firmware
- Moving the router (but not far)
- Disconnecting WZC (Wireless Xero Config) in Windows which is the thing that scans periodically for routers
- Changing the channel (twice)

....and it's still doing it :mad:

Router is Netgear DG834N
Adaptor is a PCI (ie non USB) WN311B

Help me please!

Thanks