Tcp mss adjust calculation for GRE tunnel over DSL line

Question

hi guys,
need your advice on this one, as i search on cisco.com and netpro but unable to find the exact info that i required.
First, can anyone confirm the following calculation to find out MSS size.
Mss size = MTU size - encapsulation size - tcp header size
So for normal case;
MSS = 1500 - 48 (48 is the tcp/ip header)
so MSS = 1452
Thus in my case GRE tunnel over DSL connection;
MSS = 1492 - 24 - 48 (24 is the GRE encap; 48 is the tcp/ip header)
MSS = 1420
is this correct?
Secondly, where should the ip tcp mss-adjust to be implemented. Is it at the Dialer(DSL) interface or at Tunnel interface?

Answer 1

I don't use the math (it doesn't work for me probably b/c I miss something). Here's how I do it-
C:\>ping 10.125.0.250 -f -l 1600
Pinging 10.125.0.250 with 1600 bytes of data:
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Ping statistics for 10.125.0.250:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
C:\>ping 10.125.0.250 -f -l 1500
Pinging 10.125.0.250 with 1500 bytes of data:
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Ping statistics for 10.125.0.250:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
C:\>ping 10.125.0.250 -f -l 1400
Pinging 10.125.0.250 with 1400 bytes of data:
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1400 time=19ms TTL=251
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1400 time=19ms TTL=251
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1400 time=19ms TTL=251
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1400 time=19ms TTL=251
Ping statistics for 10.125.0.250:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 19ms, Maximum = 19ms, Average = 19ms
C:\>ping 10.125.0.250 -f -l 1450
Pinging 10.125.0.250 with 1450 bytes of data:
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1450 time=19ms TTL=251
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1450 time=20ms TTL=251
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1450 time=19ms TTL=251
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1450 time=19ms TTL=251
Ping statistics for 10.125.0.250:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 19ms, Maximum = 20ms, Average = 19ms
C:\>ping 10.125.0.250 -f -l 1475
Pinging 10.125.0.250 with 1475 bytes of data:
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set.
Ping statistics for 10.125.0.250:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
C:\>ping 10.125.0.250 -f -l 1470
Pinging 10.125.0.250 with 1470 bytes of data:
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1470 time=19ms TTL=251
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1470 time=22ms TTL=251
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1470 time=20ms TTL=251
Reply from 10.125.0.250: bytes=1470 time=19ms TTL=251
Ping statistics for 10.125.0.250:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 19ms, Maximum = 22ms, Average = 20ms
C:\>
1470 works and has a little bit of extra room. The tcp mss-adjust should be done on the LAN interface.
Hope it helps.