Optimize Ubuntu Networking for a Dev Workstation

A slow workstation is not always a CPU or a disk. Many development frictions come from the network: unstable DNS, incorrect MTU or aggressively saving Wi-Fi.

Guided practical case

Equipment symptoms:

• pnpm install slow and intermittent,
• timeouts when cloning/pushing,
• Unstable video calls while running containers.

Objective: stabilize connectivity and lower effective latency in development tasks.

Recommended settings (Ubuntu)

Validate interface and state:

ip -br a
nmcli device status

Define trusted DNS in NetworkManager:

nmcli connection modify "Wired connection 1" ipv4.ignore-auto-dns yes
nmcli connection modify "Wired connection 1" ipv4.dns "1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8"
nmcli connection up "Wired connection 1"

Test MTU for loss/fragmentation (example 1450):

nmcli connection modify "Wired connection 1" ethernet.mtu 1450
nmcli connection up "Wired connection 1"

Minimum local observability

• ping -c 20 1.1.1.1 for base latency.
• resolvectl status to audit real DNS resolution.
• journalctl -u NetworkManager --since "15 min ago" in case of disconnections.

Actionable checklist

• Manual DNS tested and documented by environment
• MTU validated according to provider/VPN
• Revised power saving on Wi-Fi if there are outages
• Base tests before/after (latency, loss, jitter)
• Network recovery playbook in onboarding