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| NOTE | The STP protocol is part of the IEEE Std 802.1D, 1998 Edition bridge specification. The | |
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| following explanation uses bridge instead of switch. |
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What is STP?
STP (802.1D) is a
yLocate and then disable less efficient paths (i.e., paths that have a lower bandwidth).
yEnable one of the less efficient paths if the most efficient path fails.
The figure below shows a network made up of three LANs separated by three bridges. Each segment uses at most two paths to communicate with the other segments. Since this configuration can give rise to loops, the network will overload if STP is NOT enabled.
Bridge A
LAN 1
Bridge B
LAN 2
Bridge C
LAN 3
If STP is enabled, it will detect duplicate paths and prevent, or block, one of them from forwarding traffic. In the following example, STP determined that traffic from LAN segment 2 to LAN segment 1 should flow through Bridges C and A because this path has a greater bandwidth and is therefore more efficient.
Bridge A
LAN 1
Bridge B
LAN 2
Bridge C
LAN 3