[c-nsp] jumbo frames

[Tim Winders]

The discussion on MPLS got me thinking about jumbo frames.  Is there any 
reason NOT to set jumbo frames to 9216 if both ends of the link support 
it?

On switches such as the 3560G-GE where you have to set a global MTU, is 
there any reason not to set the global MTU to 9198?  In most of my cases, 
end workstations will not be configured for jumbo frames, but the trunk 
back to the core would support jumbo frames and there might be an 
occasional server that would support jumbo frames.

I have stayed away from jumbo frames as I had been told that all devices 
in the network must support jumbo frames.  Leaving the MTU at 1500 seemed 
the "safest" bet.  I'm not wondering what I am losing by doing this and 
what troubles I might find myself in if I suddenly start to enable jumbo 
frames on my network.

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Tim Winders
Associate Dean of Information Technology
South Plains College
Levelland, TX 79336