Questions about Internet Packet Losses

Tue Jan 14 08:59:44 UTC 1997

tli at jnx.com said:
> - fixed host stacks.  Using the full MTU would be a boon.  Recent data
>   indicates that >40% of the packets out there are 40 bytes. 

One of the nice things about proxy servers and web caches is
they mask end user host stack inadequacy, and thus (I allege)
tend to increase MTUs and encourage better network utilization
(in additional to the normal benefits of caching).

Isn't it unsurpsrising that >40% of packets are small? ACKs?

Alex Bligh
Xara Networks