What is Jumbo Frames:
Jumbo frames are the frames bigger than the default Ethernet frames (1500 bytes).
Jumbo frames (MTU) max size is 9000 bytes.
Jumbo frames are available on gigabit networks only.
Why Jumbo Frames:
Jumbo frames can increase the network throughput and reduce the CPU cycle.
Jumbo frames is recommended on networks where the majority of it's traffic is from large files/packets also it's recommended on NAS network and on interconnect network within Oracle RAC servers.
Every network device (NICs, switches, routers) should support jumbo frames as you should configure jumbo frames on all of these devices, although it's available in most network devices it's not supported by some NICs (like Intel ones) & switches (performing a test before you go production).
Before you setup jumbo frames you should know that manufacturers didn't assign the default frame 1500 byte arbitrarily, so before you alter the default frame you should have a strong justifications to do so.
How to configure Jumbo Frames:
Suppose that eth1 is the NIC connected to your NAS switch and you want to enable jumbo frames on it:
# vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1
#Add the following parameter (default value is 1500):
MTU=9000
Restart the NIC:
# ifdown eth1; ifup eth1
# ifconfig -a eth1
=> you should see the value of MTU=9000 in the output.
Testing JUMBO Frames:
There are two ways to test if your jumbo frame is working or not:
Note: Jumbo frames should be enabled on the NAS switch before doing this test or the test will fail.
1) Using traceroute command:
# traceroute -F nas-storage 9000
traceroute to nas-storage (192.168.110.2), 30 hops max, 9000 byte packets
1 nas-storage (192.168.110.2) 0.269 ms 0.238 ms 0.226 ms
=>This test was OK
=>In case you get this message "Message too long" try to reduce the MTU till that message stop appearing.
2) Using ping command: [With MTU=9000 test with 8972 bytes not more]
# ping -c 2 -M do -s 8972 nas-storage
1480 bytes from nas-storage (192.168.110.2): icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.245 ms =>This test was OK.
=>In case you got this message "Frag needed and DF set (mtu = 9000)" reduce the MTU till you get the proper ping response.
Jumbo frames are the frames bigger than the default Ethernet frames (1500 bytes).
Jumbo frames (MTU) max size is 9000 bytes.
Jumbo frames are available on gigabit networks only.
Why Jumbo Frames:
Jumbo frames can increase the network throughput and reduce the CPU cycle.
Jumbo frames is recommended on networks where the majority of it's traffic is from large files/packets also it's recommended on NAS network and on interconnect network within Oracle RAC servers.
Every network device (NICs, switches, routers) should support jumbo frames as you should configure jumbo frames on all of these devices, although it's available in most network devices it's not supported by some NICs (like Intel ones) & switches (performing a test before you go production).
Before you setup jumbo frames you should know that manufacturers didn't assign the default frame 1500 byte arbitrarily, so before you alter the default frame you should have a strong justifications to do so.
How to configure Jumbo Frames:
Suppose that eth1 is the NIC connected to your NAS switch and you want to enable jumbo frames on it:
# vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1
#Add the following parameter (default value is 1500):
MTU=9000
Restart the NIC:
# ifdown eth1; ifup eth1
# ifconfig -a eth1
=> you should see the value of MTU=9000 in the output.
Testing JUMBO Frames:
There are two ways to test if your jumbo frame is working or not:
Note: Jumbo frames should be enabled on the NAS switch before doing this test or the test will fail.
1) Using traceroute command:
# traceroute -F nas-storage 9000
traceroute to nas-storage (192.168.110.2), 30 hops max, 9000 byte packets
1 nas-storage (192.168.110.2) 0.269 ms 0.238 ms 0.226 ms
=>This test was OK
=>In case you get this message "Message too long" try to reduce the MTU till that message stop appearing.
2) Using ping command: [With MTU=9000 test with 8972 bytes not more]
# ping -c 2 -M do -s 8972 nas-storage
1480 bytes from nas-storage (192.168.110.2): icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.245 ms =>This test was OK.
=>In case you got this message "Frag needed and DF set (mtu = 9000)" reduce the MTU till you get the proper ping response.