Concepts / Errors and packet size

Errors and packet size

Fragmentation

Also called fragments, reassembly, don't fragment, DF

Cutting a packet that is too big for the next link into pieces, reassembled at the destination.

Fragments share an IP id and carry an offset. Losing any fragment loses the whole packet, and many firewalls drop fragments, so modern traffic avoids it: TCP sets Don't Fragment and relies on path MTU discovery instead.

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