Featured Functions |
yEach port has a cost that specifies the efficiency of each link. The efficiency cost is usually determined by the bandwidth of the link, with less efficient links assigned a higher cost. The following table shows the default port costs for a switch:
| Port Speed | Path Cost 802.1D, | Path Cost |
| 1998 Edition | |
10 Mbps | 100 | 2,000,000 |
100 Mbps | 19 | 200,000 |
1000 Mbps | 4 | 20,000 |
The first step of the STP process is to perform calculations. During this stage, each bridge on the network transmits BPDUs. The following items will be calculated:
yWhich bridge should be the Root Bridge. The Root Bridge is the central reference point from which the network is configured.
yThe Root Path Costs for each bridge. This is the cost of the paths from each bridge to the Root Bridge.
yThe identity of each bridge’s Root Port. The Root Port is the port on the bridge that connects to the Root Bridge via the most efficient path. In other words, the port connected to the Root Bridge via the path with the lowest Root Path Cost. The Root Bridge, however, does not have a Root Port.
yThe identity of the Designated Bridge for each LAN segment. The Designated Bridge is the bridge with the lowest Root Path Cost from that segment. If several bridges have the same Root Path Cost, the one with the lowest Bridge Identifier becomes the Designated Bridge. Traffic transmitted in the direction of the Root Bridge will flow through the Designated Bridge. The port on this bridge that connects to the segment is called the Designated Bridge Port.
STP ConfigurationAfter all the bridges on the network agree on the identity of the Root Bridge, and all other relevant parameters have been established, each bridge is configured to forward traffic only between its Root Port and the Designated Bridge Ports for the respective network segments. All other ports are blocked, which means that they will not be allowed to receive or forward traffic.
STP ReconfigurationOnce the network topology has stabilized, each bridge listens for Hello BPDUs transmitted from the Root Bridge at regular intervals. If a bridge does not receive a Hello BPDU after a certain interval (the Max Age time), the bridge assumes that the Root Bridge, or a link between itself and the Root Bridge, has gone down. This will trigger the bridge to reconfigure the network to account for the change. If you have configured an SNMP trap destination, when the topology of your network changes, the first bridge to detect the change sends out an SNMP trap.
Differences between RSTP and STP
RSTP is similar to STP, but includes additional information in the BPDUs that allow each bridge to confirm that it has taken action to prevent loops from forming when it decides to enable a link to a neighboring bridge. Adjacent bridges connected via