Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
IP fragmentation
open-in-new
<p>IP fragmentation is an <a href="/facts/Internet_Protocol/Qq6VeEal">Internet Protocol</a> (IP) process that breaks <a href="/facts/Network_packet/xCYf8SJu">packets</a> into smaller pieces (fragments), so that the resulting pieces can pass through a link with a smaller <a href="/facts/Maximum_transmission_unit/l2FdKoLa">maximum transmission unit</a> (MTU) than the original packet size. The fragments are reassembled by the receiving <a href="/facts/Host_(network)/HPNcFXHk">host</a>. </p><p>The details of the fragmentation mechanism, as well as the overall architectural approach to fragmentation, are different between <a href="/facts/IPv4/bnQ5MEqm">IPv4</a> and <a href="/facts/IPv6/d4dg7kIL">IPv6</a>. </p>