networking_mtu_size_calculator
Compute inner MTU, TCP MSS, and payload size after subtracting encapsulation overhead from a link MTU using RFC byte sizes. Supports presets for common stacks and path MTU discovery.
Instructions
MTU and TCP MSS Size Calculator. Compute the inner MTU, TCP MSS, usable payload, and total header overhead for a link once a stack of encapsulations is subtracted, using RFC-cited byte sizes (IPv4 20, IPv6 40, TCP 20, UDP 8, PPPoE 8, VLAN 4, QinQ 8, WireGuard 60, IPsec ESP 38 or 62, GRE 24, L2TP 12, IPIP 20). Set operation to compute for the full breakdown plus warnings, presets for a curated list of common stacks (Ethernet, PPPoE, VLAN, WireGuard, IPsec, GRE, jumbo, 6-in-4), or pathMtuDiscovery for a coarse PMTUD probe table. This is pure offline math on the numbers you supply; use networking_network_latency_calculator to interpret ping or speedtest samples instead. Read-only, non-destructive, contacts no host, and rate-limited (anonymous 60 requests/minute). Returns inner mtu, mss (null unless transport is tcp), payload, overhead, a per-layer byte breakdown, and warnings.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| operation | Yes | Which computation to run. compute returns the MTU/MSS breakdown; presets returns curated stacks and ignores all other fields; pathMtuDiscovery returns a probe table. | compute |
| linkMtu | No | Underlying link MTU in bytes (required for compute and pathMtuDiscovery; ignored for presets). Must be 576 (RFC 791 minimum) to 9216 (jumbo ceiling). | |
| ipVersion | No | IP version selecting the L3 header size (IPv4 20 bytes or IPv6 40 bytes). | 4 |
| transport | No | Transport layer selecting the L4 header size (TCP 20, UDP 8, none 0). MSS is only returned when tcp. | tcp |
| encapsulations | No | Tunnel/encapsulation layers to subtract, each contributing its RFC byte size. Unknown ids are rejected. |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| success | No | Whether the operation succeeded. | |
| operation | No | The operation performed (compute, presets, or pathMtuDiscovery). | |
| result | No | Operation output. For compute, an object as described below; for presets and pathMtuDiscovery, an array of entries. | |
| error | No | Error message when success is false (HTTP 400/500). |