How do I enable jumbo frames in ESXi?

To enable Jumbo Frames in ESXi 5.1 and later:

Browse to the host in the vSphere Web Client navigator.
Click the Manage tab, and click Networking.
Click Virtual Switches, and select the vSphere switch that you want to modify from the list.
Click Edit Settings.
On the Properties page, change the MTU parameter.

What are the benefits of jumbo frames?

Why use jumbo frames? The obvious advantage of using jumbo frames is more data is transferred in less packets. This means less protocol overhead, e.g., if one ACK were sent every 8 packets, that ACK is now acknowledging 72,000 bytes of data vs 12,000 bytes of data. This results in less network chatter.

When to use jumbo frames?

Use jumbo frames only when you have a dedicated network or VLAN, and you can configure an MTU of 9000 on all equipment, to increase performance. A good example of this approach is a separate SAN or storage network.

Should I enable jumbo frames?

To summarize this general best practice guide, you should NOT enable jumbo frame feature as a general home user. The only exception to the rule is you should only enable jumbo frame if you are consistently streaming from large media storage library or home backup systems on your network.

What is a jumbo frame switch?

Jumbo frames are any Ethernet frame that has a payload larger than 1500 bytes. When you think Jumbo frames most people think of a frame that can carry a maximum payload of 9000 bytes. Most Ethernet switches today support jumbo frames, but must be configured to do so in order for this to work correctly.

What is the size of a jumbo packet?

Jumbo frames are packets that are longer than the standard Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) frame size of 1,518 bytes. The frame size definition for jumbo frames is vendor-specific because jumbo frames are not part of the IEEE standard . The most commonly used jumbo frame size is 9,018 bytes.