Windows XP Cannot See "Home" Share?

Here's the deal:

Jumbo frames don't improve the network itself. In fact, smaller frames provide better latency and the overhead savings on gigabit ethernet are inconsequential. But using bigger packets can reduce the CPU load in the client devices. This can increase throughput especially in older PCs or NIC cards.

However, they are non-standard, and are limited to wired ethernet exclusively (they don't go over wifi or your internet connection). Often they create problems when you try to use them.

So if you want to try them, it is important that you measure the throughput with and without, since they don't always improve performance.

And if you run into strangeness on your network (as happened here) you would need to turn them off.

Personally I decided not to bother, the potential increase in throughput was not worth it.

PeteCress wrote:
Can one perceive the added speed of Jumbo Frames or is it more of a theoretical thing? i.e. Might it be worthwhile for me to adopt them?

I have not run a with and without test on my x86 based NAS's, but it definately made a difference on the old SPARC based ones. With the less taxed CPU of the x86's, it may not matter so much.

PeteCress wrote:
Dunno what was happening or why, but the proximate cause seems to have been one or more existing connections to the NAS box that did not get removed by the first Net Use * /delete... or even the second one...

I've got a strong suspicion now.

I have been confusing the terms "Drive Mapping" and "Connection".

NET USE * /DELETE was, indeed removing all drive mappings.

But I have a media management app ("SageTV") running as a service which is reaching out to one of the shares on the NAS box - which was creating Connections....regardless of any Drive Mapping.

Kill that service, and the problem goes away: re-mappings happen with no error.