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Catalyst 3750-X and 3560-X Switch Software Configuration Guide
OL-21521-01
Chapter 20 Configuring STP Configuring Spanning-Tree Features
Spanning-Tree Configuration Guidelines
Each stack member runs its own spanning tree, and the entire stack appears as a single switch to the rest
of the network.
If more VLANs are defined in the VTP than there are spanning-tree instances, you can enable PVST+
or rapid PVST+ on only 128 VLANs on the switch or each switch stack. The remaining VLANs operate
with spanning tree disabled. However, you can map multiple VLANs to the same spanning-tree instances
by using MSTP. For more information, see Chapter 21, “Configuring MSTP.”
If 128 instances of spanning tree are already in use, you can disable spanning tree on one of the VLANs
and then enable it on the VLAN where you want it to run. Use the no spanning-tree vlan vlan-id global
configuration command to disable spanning tree on a specific VLAN, and use the spanning-tree vlan
vlan-id global configuration command to enable spanning tree on the desired VLAN.
Caution Switches that are not running spanning tree still forward BPDUs that they receive so that the other
switches on the VLAN that have a running spanning-tree instance can break loops. Therefore, spanning
tree must be running on enough switches to break all the loops in the network; for example, at least one
switch on each loop in the VLAN must be running spanning tree. It is not absolutely necessary to run
spanning tree on all switches in the VLAN. However, if you are running spanning tree only on a minimal
set of switches, an incautious change to the network that introduces another loop into the VLAN can
result in a broadcast storm.
Note If you have already used all available spanning-tree instances on your switch, adding another VLAN
anywhere in the VTP domain creates a VLAN that is not running spanning tree on that switch. If you
have the default allowed list on the trunk ports of that switch, the new VLAN is carried on all trunk ports.
Depending on the topology of the network, this could create a loop in the new VLAN that will not be
broken, particularly if there are several adjacent switches that have all run out of spanning-tree instances.
You can prevent this possibility by setting up allowed lists on the trunk ports of switches that have used
up their allocation of spanning-tree instances. Setting up allowed lists is not necessary in many cases and
can make it more labor-intensive to add another VLAN to the network.
Spanning-tree VLAN port cost (configurable on a per-VLAN basis) 1000 Mb/s: 4.
100 Mb/s: 19.
10 Mb/s: 100.
Spanning-tree timers Hello time: 2 seconds.
Forward-delay time: 15 seconds.
Maximum-aging time: 20 seconds.
Transmit hold count: 6 BPDUs
Table 20-3 Default Spanning-Tree Configuration (continued)
Feature Default Setting