RFC 4821: Packetization Layer Path MTU Discovery

Metadata

• RFC Number: 4821
• Title: Packetization Layer Path MTU Discovery
• Authors: M. Mathis, J. Heffner
• Date: March 2007
• Status: Standards Track
• Updates: Updated by RFC 8899
• Obsoletes: None

Abstract

This document describes a robust method for Path MTU Discovery (PMTUD) that relies on TCP or some other Packetization Layer to probe an Internet path with progressively larger packets. This method is described as an extension to RFC 1191 and RFC 1981, which specify ICMP-based Path MTU Discovery for IP versions 4 and 6, respectively.

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Overview
• 3. Terminology
• 4. Requirements
• 5. Layering
• 6. Common Packetization Properties
• 7. The Probing Method
• 8. Host Fragmentation
• 9. Application Probing
• 10. Specific Packetization Layers
• 11. Security Considerations
• 12. References
• Appendix A. Acknowledgments