18.

3 Building Redundant Switched Topologies

Issues in Redundant Topologies 

In the absence of a protocol to monitor link forwarding states, a redundant switch topology is
vulnerable to these conditions:

 Continuous frame duplication: Without some loop-avoidance process, each switch floods

broadcast, multicast, and unknown unicast frames endlessly. Switches flood broadcast frames to
all ports except the port on which the frame was received. The frames then duplicate and travel
endlessly around the loop in all directions. The result of continuous broadcast frame duplication
is called a broadcast storm.
 Multiple frame transmission: Multiple copies of unicast frames may be delivered to destination
stations. Many protocols expect to receive only a single copy of each transmission. Multiple
copies of the same frame can cause unrecoverable errors.
 Media Access Control (MAC) database instability: Instability in the content of the MAC
address table results from the fact that different ports of the switch receive copies of the same
frame. Data forwarding can be impaired when the switch consumes the resources that are coping
with instability in the MAC address table.
For example, in the topology that is shown in the figure no Layer 2 loop prevention mechanism
is implemented. Suppose that host A sends a frame to host B. Host A resides on network
segment A, and host B resides on network segment B. Assume that none of the switches have
learned the address of host B.

Host A transmits the frame destined for host B on segment A.

Switch W receives the frame that is destined for host B, learns the MAC address of host A on
segment A, and floods it out to switches X and Y.

Switch X and switch Y both receive the frame from host A (via switch W) and correctly learn
that host A is on segment 1 for switch X and on segment 2 for switch Y. Switch X and switch Y
then forward the frame to switch Z. Switch Z receives two copies of the frame from host A: one
copy through switch X on segment 3 and one copy through switch Y on segment 4.

Assume that the first copy of the frame from switch X arrives first. Switch Z learns that host A
resides on segment 3. Because switch Z does not know where host B is connected, it forwards
the frame to all its ports (except the incoming port on segment 3) and therefore to host B and also
to switch Y.

When the second copy of the frame from switch Y arrives at switch Z on segment 4, switch Z
updates its table to indicate that host A resides on segment 4. Switch Z then forwards the frame
to host B and switch X.

In this example where no loop prevention mechanism exists the result is that host B has received
multiple copies of the frame, which can cause problems with the receiving application directly
on the host B.

Switches X and Y now change their internal tables to indicate that host A is on segment 3 for
switch X and on segment 4 for switch Y. The copies of the initial frame from host A being
received on different segments of the switches results in MAC database instability.

Furthermore, if the initial frame from host A was a broadcast frame, then all switches forward
the frames endlessly. Switches flood broadcast frames to all ports except the port on which the
frame was received. The frames then duplicate and travel endlessly around the loop in all
directions. They eventually would use all available network bandwidth and block transmission of
other packets on both segments. This situation results in a broadcast storm.