What are the definitions and differences between Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) and Maximum Segment Size (MSS)?

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Accepted Answer

MTU defines the largest packet size for transmission, while MSS specifies the largest segment size for TCP connections.

MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) refers to the largest size of a packet that can be sent over a network interface.
MSS (Maximum Segment Size) is the largest segment of TCP data that can be sent in a single TCP packet.
MTU is concerned with the entire packet, including headers, while MSS only considers the TCP payload.
For example, an Ethernet MTU is typically 1500 bytes, while a common MSS value is 1460 bytes (1500 - 40 bytes for TCP/IP headers).
If the MTU is exceeded, packets may be fragmented, while exceeding MSS can lead to TCP segmentation issues.

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