Configuring Catalyst Switch Operations

Introducing Spanning Tree Protocol

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Outline
Overview
Spanning Tree Protocol
Spanning-Tree Operation
Root Bridge Selection
Spanning-Tree Port States
Spanning-Tree Path Costs
Spanning-Tree Recalculation
Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol
Summary

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Spanning Tree Protocol

Provides a loop-free redundant network topology by

placing certain ports in the blocking state

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Spanning-Tree Operation
One root bridge per broadcast domain
One root port per nonroot bridge
One designated port per segment
Nondesignated ports are unused

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Spanning Tree Protocol

Root Bridge Selection

BPDU (default = sent every two seconds)

Root bridge = bridge with the lowest bridge ID
Bridge ID =
In this example, which switch has the lowest bridge ID?
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Spanning-Tree Port States

Spanning tree transits each port through several different
states:

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Spanning-Tree Port States (Cont.)

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Spanning-Tree Operation

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Spanning-Tree Path Cost

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Spanning-Tree Recalculation

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Spanning-Tree Convergence
Convergence occurs when all the switch and bridge ports
have transitioned to either the forwarding or the blocking
state.
When the network topology changes, switches and bridges
must recompute STP, which disrupts user traffic.

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Rapid Spanning-Tree Protocol

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Rapid Transition to Forwarding

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Summary
STP is a bridge-to-bridge protocol used to maintain a loop-free
network.
To maintain a loop-free network topology, STP establishes a root
bridge, a root port, and designated ports.
With STP, the root bridge has the lowest BID, which is made up of
the bridge priority and the MAC address.
When STP is enabled, every bridge in the network goes through the
blocking state and the transitory states of listening and learning at
power up. If properly configured, the ports then stabilize to the
forwarding or blocking state.
If the network topology changes, STP maintains connectivity by
transitioning some blocked ports to the forwarding state.
RSTP significantly speeds the recalculation of the spanning tree
when the network topology changes.

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

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