When a user requests a web site, a client/server negotiation occurs between the PC and the web server that hosts the web site. During the negotiation, a maximum MTU size is negotiated. Since the PC negotiates and its default MTU size is 1500 bytes (Windows 3x, 9x, NT, ME, and so forth), the web server negotiates an MTU size of 1500 bytes. Therefore, regardless of the MTU size you configure on the router, the web server still sends packets up to 1500 bytes in size.

The reason why some pages do not fully load is that the router fragments IP packets if the PC MTU is misconfigured and a packet greater than 1492 bytes is sent to the router. This fragmentation does not occur on the return path through the universal access concentrator (UAC) (Cisco 6400 or 7200). When the UAC receives a packet greater than 1492 bytes, the packet is dropped, and the UAC generates and sends an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) message to the web server that sent the oversized packet. The ICMP informs the web server that it sent an oversized packet and that it needs to resend the packet with a smaller MTU.