Ubuntu Intrepid Users : Low MTU value maybe the reason for your Slow Internet Connection

I have been noticing from a lot of threads at ubuntuforums that many ubuntu intrepid users are experiencing low internet connection speeds. Be it downloading speeds,uploading speeds or even browsing speeds . Looking at the ifconfig outputs of such users it was noticable that most of these users had their MTU value set to 576 . Now 576 as an MTU value is extremely low and could definetly be THE reason or one of the reasons for your slow internet connection .

So firstly check whether your MTU values are correct.You can do this by typing ifconfig in your Terminal(Applications->Accessories->Terminal)
YOu should get a similar output

prash@prash-desktop:~$ ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
inet addr:55.50.25.16 Bcast:55.50.25.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fd80::201:a1hf:feaa:58b5/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:576 Metric:1
RX packets:1916500 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:3466655 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:161411769 (153.9 MB) TX bytes:232998756 (222.2 MB)
Interrupt:16 Base address:0x8000

So if you look at the above output , the MTU value is 576 , which means i have a problem.. if its less than 1000 you do have a problem.. i have been seeing 576 for most people!!So if your MTU value is 576 or anything less than 1000 and if you are facing slow internet speeds then you better try CHANGING YOUR MTU VALUES . To change your MTU values in Linux (Ubuntu) CLICK HERE