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Discovery 5: Configure Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol

Task 1: Configuring MST
MST Regions

MST configuration on each switch:

Name
Revision number
VLAN association table

MSTP differs from the other spanning-tree implementations in that it combines some, but not necessarily all, VLANs into
logical spanning-tree instances. This difference raises the problem of determining which VLAN is to be associated with
which instance. More precisely, this issue means tagging BPDUs so that receiving devices can identify the instances and the
VLANs to which they apply.
The issue is irrelevant in the case of the 802.1D standard, in which all instances are mapped to a unique and common
instance CST. In the PVST+ implementation, different VLANs carry the BPDUs for their respective instances (one BPDU
per VLAN), based on the VLAN tagging information.

To provide this logical assignment of VLANs to spanning trees, each switch that is running MSTP in the network has a
single MSTP configuration consisting of three attributes:

An alphanumeric configuration name (32 bytes)

A configuration revision number (2 bytes)
A 4096-element table that associates each of the potential 4096 VLANs supported on the chassis with a given instance

To ensure a consistent VLAN-to-instance mapping, it is necessary for the protocol to be able to identify the boundaries of
the regions exactly. For that purpose, the characteristics of the region are included in BPDUs. The exact VLAN-to-instance
mapping is not propagated in the BPDU because the switches need to know only whether they are in the same region as a
neighbor.
Therefore, only a digest of the VLAN-to-instance-mapping table is sent, along with the revision number and the name.
After a switch receives a BPDU, it extracts the digest (a numerical value that is derived from the VLAN-to-instance-
mapping table through a mathematical function) and compares it with its own computed digest. If the digests differ, the
mapping must be different, so the port on which the BPDU was received is at the boundary of a region.
In generic terms, a port is at the boundary of a region if the designated bridge on its segment is in a different region or if it
receives legacy 802.1D BPDUs.
The configuration revision number gives you a method of tracking the changes that are made to an MST region. It does not
automatically increase each time that you make changes to the MST configuration. Each time that you make a change, you

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should increase the revision number by one.

Activity
Step 1: Using the show spanning-tree summary command, investigate the spanning tree instances on SW3.
On SW3, enter the following command:
SW3# show spanning-tree summary
Switch is in pvst mode
Root bridge for: none
<... output omitted ...>
Name Blocking Listening Learning Forwarding STP Active
---------------------- -------- --------- -------- ---------- ----------
VLAN0001 0 0 0 24 24
VLAN0002 0 0 0 2 2
VLAN0003 0 0 0 2 2
VLAN0004 0 0 0 2 2
VLAN0005 0 0 0 2 2
---------------------- -------- --------- -------- ---------- ----------
5 vlans 0 0 0 32 32
An STP instance is created for each VLAN with PVST+. In this lab, five VLANs translate into five STP instances. If
you investigate SW1 and SW2, you will discover that both have the same number of running STP instances as SW3.
Step 2: Configure all three switches (SW1, SW2, and SW3) to be a part of the same MST region, called "CCNP," and
to have the same revision, "1."
On SW1, SW2, and SW3, enter the following commands:
SW1(config)# spanning-tree mst configuration
SW1(config-mst)# name CCNP
SW1(config-mst)# revision 1

SW2(config)# spanning-tree mst configuration

SW2(config-mst)# name CCNP
SW2(config-mst)# revision 1

SW3(config)# spanning-tree mst configuration

SW3(config-mst)# name CCNP
SW3(config-mst)# revision 1
Now all three switches belong to the same MST region.
Step 3: On all three switches (SW1, SW2, and SW3), map VLANs 2 and 3 to MST instance 1. Map VLANs 4 and 5
to MST instance 2.
On SW1, SW2, and SW3, enter the following commands:
SW1(config)# spanning-tree mst configuration
SW1(config-mst)# instance 1 vlan 2,3
SW1(config-mst)# instance 2 vlan 4,5
SW1(config-mst)# end

SW2(config)# spanning-tree mst configuration

SW2(config-mst)# instance 1 vlan 2,3
SW2(config-mst)# instance 2 vlan 4,5
SW2(config-mst)# end

SW3(config)# spanning-tree mst configuration

SW3(config-mst)# instance 1 vlan 2,3
SW3(config-mst)# instance 2 vlan 4,5
SW3(config-mst)# end
At this point, MST is configured with three instances. VLANs 2 and 3 belong to instance 1. VLANs 4 and 5 belong
to instance 2. All other VLANs between 1 and 4094 that are not in instances 1 or 2 belong to instance 0.
Using the end or exit command will apply the configuration. If you want to abort the change, use the abort keyword.

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Step 4: Configure SW1 as the primary root bridge for MST instance 1 and the secondary root for instance 2.
On SW1, enter the following commands:
SW1(config)# spanning-tree mst 1 root primary
SW1(config)# spanning-tree mst 2 root secondary
In this example, you have changed the MST switch priority by using spanning-tree mst instance-id root {primary |
secondary}. This command is a macro that sets the switch MST priority, which is a number. If you issue show
running-config, you will see the switch priority as a number—not as the primary or secondary keyword.
Alternatively, you can change the bridge priority of the switch directly by using the spanning-tree mst instance-id
priority priority command.
Step 5: Configure SW2 as the secondary root bridge for MST instance 1 and the primary root for instance 2.
On SW2, enter the following commands:
SW2(config)# spanning-tree mst 1 root secondary
SW2(config)# spanning-tree mst 2 root primary
Step 6: Change the STP mode to MST on all three switches (SW1, SW2, and SW3).
On SW1, SW2, and SW3, enter the following commands:
SW1(config)# spanning-tree mode mst

SW2(config)# spanning-tree mode mst

SW3(config)# spanning-tree mode mst

Changing the STP mode to MST before doing the actual VLAN-to-instance mappings is not advisable. Every change
in the mapping will result in a recalculation of the STP tree.
A switch cannot run MST and PVST+ at the same time. If you issue show spanning-tree command on any of the
three switches, you will notice that "MSTP" is now the enabled protocol.
Step 7: Again, investigate the spanning tree instances on SW3.
On SW3, enter the following command:
SW3# show spanning-tree summary
Switch is in mst mode (IEEE Standard)
<... output omitted ...>

Name Blocking Listening Learning Forwarding STP Active

---------------------- -------- --------- -------- ---------- ----------
MST0 0 0 0 24 24
MST1 0 0 0 4 4
MST2 0 0 0 4 4
---------------------- -------- --------- -------- ---------- ----------
3 msts 0 0 0 32 32
MST runs three instances: the default MST instance 0 and the two you configured—MST instance 1 and MST
instance 2.
Step 8: Using the spanning-tree mst configuration command, investigate the MST configuration on SW3.
On SW3, enter the following commands:
SW3(config)# spanning-tree mst configuration
SW3(config-mst)# show current
Current MST configuration
Name [CCNP]
Revision 1 Instances configured 3

Instance Vlans mapped

-------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
0 1,6-4094
1 2-3
2 4-5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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VLANs 2 and 3 are mapped to MST instance 1. VLANs 4 and 5 are mapped to MST instance 2. All other VLANs are
mapped to MST instance 0, or the IST.
To verify the currently applied MST configuration, use show current in MST configuration mode. To verify the
pending MST configuration, use show pending in MST configuration mode. When you type exit or end, the pending
configuration will become current. Thus, show current and show pending will produce the same outputs.
Step 9: Verify the MST message digest on all three switches.
On SW1, SW2, and SW3, enter the following commands:
SW1# show spanning-tree mst configuration digest
Name [CCNP]
Revision 1 Instances configured 3
Digest 0x47CAC1CE872FFD89640049F4CC87BCB2
Pre-std Digest 0x6E07725683888804D99F3D3BE25CA594

SW2# show spanning-tree mst configuration digest

Name [CCNP]
Revision 1 Instances configured 3
Digest 0x47CAC1CE872FFD89640049F4CC87BCB2
Pre-std Digest 0x6E07725683888804D99F3D3BE25CA594

SW3# show spanning-tree mst configuration digest

Name [CCNP]
Revision 1 Instances configured 3
Digest 0x47CAC1CE872FFD89640049F4CC87BCB2
Pre-std Digest 0x6E07725683888804D99F3D3BE25CA594
Since MST configuration is identical on all three switches in a region, the digest matches. A mismatch in the digest
would indicate that the VLAN lists do not match between switches. Note that the digest may be different in your
case. It only matters that the digest is the same on all three switches.
The "Pre-std Digest" refers to the Cisco legacy prestandard implementation of MST. Cisco developed a proprietary
version of MST called MISTP, which had similar principles as MST.
Step 10: On SW3, verify MST instance 1 and MST instance 2 mappings and Layer 2 convergence.
On SW3, enter the following commands:
SW3# show spanning-tree mst 1

##### MST1 vlans mapped: 2-3

<... output omitted ..>
Et0/2 Altn BLK 2000000 128.3 Shr
Et0/3 Root FWD 2000000 128.4 Shr
<... output omitted ..>

SW3# show spanning-tree mst 2

##### MST2 vlans mapped: 4-5

<... output omitted ..>
Et0/2 Root FWD 2000000 128.3 Shr
Et0/3 Altn BLK 2000000 128.4 Shr
<... output omitted ..>
MST instances 1 and 2 have two distinct Layer 2 topologies. Instance 1 uses the uplink toward SW1 as the active link
and blocks the uplink toward SW2. Instance 2 uses the uplink toward SW2 as the active link and blocks the uplink
toward SW1.
You can use show spanning-tree mst 1 to verify that SW1 is the root bridge for MST instance 1. Also, you can use
show spanning-tree mst 2 on SW2 to verify that SW2 is the root bridge for MST instance 2.

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Task 2: Configuring MST Port Priority

MST Port Priority
The port priority functions the same as with other STPs, except with MST, port priorities are configured per instance.
Like any other STP, if a loop occurs, MST can use the Port_ID of the sender to select the forwarding interface.
To set the MST port priority for a given MST instance:
Switch(config)# interface ethernet 0/2
Switch(config-if)# spanning-tree mst 1 port-priority 64
To verify the Port_ID settings that are sent:
Switch # show spanning-tree mst 1
<... output omitted ...>
Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type
---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Et0/2 Altn BLK 2000000 64.3 Shr
Et0/3 Root FWD 2000000 128.4 Shr
Et1/0 Desg FWD 2000000 128.5 Shr
Et1/1 Desg FWD 2000000 128.6 Shr

MST, like any other STP, uses this sequence of four criteria to choose the best path:

Lowest BID (Bridge ID)

Lowest root path cost
Lowest sender BID
Lowest sender Port_ID

You can assign higher sender priority values (lower numerical values) to interfaces that you want selected first, and lower
sender priority values (higher numerical values) that you want selected last. If all sender interfaces have the same priority
value, MST puts the interface with the lowest sender Port_ID in the forwarding state and blocks the other interfaces.
To change the STP port priority of an interface, enter interface configuration mode and use the spanning-tree mst instance
port-priority priority command.
For the instance variable, you can specify a single instance, a range of instances that are separated by a hyphen, or a series
of instances that are separated by a comma. The range is 0 to 4094. For the priority variable, the range is 0 to 240 in
increments of 16. The default is 128. The lower the number, the higher the priority. To return the interface to its default
setting, use the no spanning-tree mst instance port-priority interface configuration command.
To verify port priority settings, use show spanning-tree mst interface interface or show spanning-tree mst instance.
However, information is displayed only for ports that are in a link-up operative state. Otherwise, you can use the show

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running-config command to confirm the configuration.

Activity
Step 1: On SW3, set the MST port priority for MST instance 1 to 64 on interface Ethernet 0/2.
On SW3, enter the following commands:
SW3(config)# interface ethernet 0/2
SW3(config-if)# spanning-tree mst 1 port-priority 64
Step 2: On SW3, verify port priority for all interfaces in MST 1.
On SW3, enter the following commands:
SW3# show spanning-tree mst 1
<... output omitted ...>
Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type
---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Et0/2 Altn BLK 2000000 64.3 Shr
Et0/3 Root FWD 2000000 128.4 Shr
Et1/0 Desg FWD 2000000 128.5 Shr
Et1/1 Desg FWD 2000000 128.6 Shr
MST instance 1 now shows that interface Ethernet 0/2 has a priority of 64, and the remaining interfaces are still at the
default priority of 128.

Task 3: Configuring MST Path Cost

MST Path Cost
The path cost functions the same as with other STPs, but with MST, port costs are configured per-instance.
Like with any other STP, the MST path cost default value is derived from the media speed of an interface. If a loop occurs,
MST uses the cost to select the forwarding interface.
Switch(config)# interface Ethernet 0/2
Switch(config-if)# spanning-tree mst 1 cost 1000000
Sets the MST cost of the interface to 1000000
SW3# show spanning-tree mst
<... output omitted ...>
Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type
---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Et0/2 Altn BLK 1000000 128.3 Shr
Et0/3 Root FWD 2000000 128.4 Shr
Et1/0 Desg FWD 2000000 128.5 Shr
Et1/1 Desg FWD 2000000 128.6 Shr
Verifies MST path cost configuration

MST, like any other STP, uses a sequence of four criteria to choose the best path:

Lowest BID
Lowest root path cost
Lowest sender BID
Lowest sender Port_ID

You can assign lower-cost values to interfaces that you want selected first and higher-cost values that you want selected
last. If all interfaces have the same cost value, MST puts the interface with the lowest sender Port_ID in the forwarding
state and blocks the other interfaces.
To change the STP cost of an interface, enter interface configuration mode for that interface and use the command
spanning-tree mst instance cost cost. For the instance variable, you can specify a single instance, a range of instances that
are separated by a hyphen, or a series of instances that are separated by a comma. The range is 0 to 4094. For the cost
variable, the range is 1 to 200000000; the default value is usually derived from the media speed of the interface.
To verify MST path cost settings, use show spanning-tree mst interface interface-id or show spanning-tree mst instance-

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id. However, information is displayed only for ports that are in a link-up operative state. Otherwise, you can use the show
running-config command to confirm the configuration.

Activity
Step 1: On SW3, set the MST path cost for MST instance 1 to 1,000,000 on interface Ethernet 0/2.
On SW3, enter the following commands:
SW3(config)# interface ethernet 0/2
SW3(config-if)# spanning-tree mst 1 cost 1000000
Step 2: On SW3, verify the path cost for all interfaces in MST 1.
On SW3, enter the following commands:
SW3# show spanning-tree mst 1
<... output omitted ...>
Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type
---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Et0/2 Altn BLK 1000000 64.3 Shr
Et0/3 Root FWD 2000000 128.4 Shr
Et1/0 Desg FWD 2000000 128.5 Shr
Et1/1 Desg FWD 2000000 128.6 Shr
MST instance 1 now shows that the path cost for interface Ethernet 0/2 has been changed to 1,000,000. All other
interfaces show the default path cost of 2,000,000.

© 2020 Cisco Systems, Inc.

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