What TCP/IP configuration settings can you optimize for better performance? (2024)

MTU stands for Maximum Transmission Unit, and it refers to the largest packet size that can be sent over a network interface. The default MTU size for most Ethernet networks is 1500 bytes, but this may not be optimal for some situations. For example, if you have a VPN connection, you may need to reduce the MTU size to avoid fragmentation and overhead. On the other hand, if you have a high-speed network with low latency, you may benefit from increasing the MTU size to improve throughput. To adjust the MTU size, you can use the netsh command on Windows or the ifconfig command on Linux.

TCP window scaling is a feature that allows TCP to adjust the size of the receive window, which is the amount of data that can be received before sending an acknowledgment. By enabling TCP window scaling, you can increase the network bandwidth and reduce the number of round trips. TCP window scaling is enabled by default on modern operating systems, but you can check and modify it using the netsh command on Windows or the sysctl command on Linux. You can also use tools like ping and traceroute to measure the network latency and determine the optimal window size.

TCP timestamps are used to measure the round-trip time and protect against packet reordering and spoofing. However, they also add 12 bytes of overhead to each TCP packet, which can reduce the network efficiency and expose information about your system. If you don't need TCP timestamps, you can disable them using the netsh command on Windows or the sysctl command on Linux. This can free up some bandwidth and improve the network performance.

TCP congestion control is a mechanism that regulates the amount of data that can be sent over a network to avoid congestion and packet loss. There are different algorithms that implement TCP congestion control, such as Reno, Cubic, BBR, and others. Each algorithm has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the network conditions and the type of traffic. You can change the TCP congestion control algorithm using the netsh command on Windows or the sysctl command on Linux. You can also use tools like iperf and tcptrace to test and compare the performance of different algorithms.

TCP fast open is a feature that allows TCP to send data in the initial SYN packet, without waiting for the SYN-ACK response. This can reduce the latency and improve the performance of short-lived connections, such as web browsing and streaming. TCP fast open is supported by most modern browsers and servers, but it may not be enabled by default on your system. You can enable TCP fast open using the netsh command on Windows or the sysctl command on Linux. You can also use tools like curl and wget to verify if TCP fast open is working.

DNS caching is a process that stores the results of DNS queries locally, so that they can be reused without contacting the DNS server again. This can speed up the network access and reduce the DNS traffic. However, DNS caching can also cause problems if the cached records are outdated or corrupted. You can configure DNS caching using the ipconfig command on Windows or the nscd command on Linux. You can also use tools like nslookup and dig to check and flush the DNS cache.

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Network Administration

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