What is a jumbo frame?

• A. An Ethernet frame smaller than standard size.
• B. An Ethernet frame larger than 1500 bytes (commonly 9000); end-to-end compatibility is required.
• C. A wireless frame used in 802.11 networks.
• D. A frame type used for multicast traffic only.

Answer: (B)

Jumbo frames are Ethernet frames that exceed the standard maximum payload size. The typical example is about 9000 bytes of payload, larger than the usual 1500-byte MTU. They improve throughput by reducing the header overhead and handling more data per frame, but they only work if every device along the data path — NICs, switches, and routers — supports and is configured for the same large MTU. If any device uses a smaller MTU, frames can be dropped or fragmented, defeating the benefits. Jumbo frames aren’t about wireless frames or a multicast-only frame type, and they aren’t smaller than standard; they’re simply larger and require end-to-end compatibility to function correctly.