Chapter 3: STP

Scaling Networks

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Chapter 3- Sections & Objectives
 3.1 Spanning Tree Concepts
 Examine the purpose of STP and how the spanning tree algorithm is used create a
loop-free topology.
 3.2 Varieties of Spanning Tree Protocols
 Examine the varieties of Spanning Tree protocols including PVST+ and Rapid
PVST+.
 3.3 Spanning Tree Configuration
 Configure PVST+ and Rapid PVST+ to improve network performance.

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 3.1 Spanning Tree
Concepts

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Spanning Tree Concepts
Purpose of Spanning Tree

 Redundancy at OSI Layers 1 and 2

 When multiple paths exist between
two devices on a network, and there
is no spanning tree implementation
on the switches, a Layer 2 loop
occurs.
 Issues with Layer 1 Redundancy: MAC Database Instability
 Ethernet has no mechanism enabled to block continued propagation of
these frames on a switched network that continue to propagate between
switches.
 Issues with Layer 1 Redundancy: Broadcast Storms
 A broadcast storm occurs when there are so many broadcast frames
caught in a Layer 2 loop that all available bandwidth is consumed.
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Spanning Tree Concepts
Purpose of Spanning Tree

 Issues with Layer 1 Redundancy: Duplicate Unicast Frames

 An unknown unicast frame is when the switch does not have the destination MAC
address in its MAC address table and must forward the frame out all ports, except
the ingress port.
 Unknown unicast frames sent onto a looped network can result in duplicate frames
arriving at the destination device.

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 Purpose of Spanning Tree
Issues with Layer 1 Redundancy:
MAC Database Instability
 Ethernet frames do not have a time to live (TTL) attribute.
• Frames continue to propagate between switches endlessly, or
until a link is disrupted and breaks the loop.
• Results in MAC database instability.
• Can occur due to broadcast frames forwarding.
 If there is more than one path for the frame to be forwarded out, an
endless loop can result.
• When a loop occurs, it is possible for the MAC address table
on a switch to constantly change with the updates from the
broadcast frames, resulting in MAC database instability.

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 Purpose of Spanning Tree
Issues with Layer 1 Redundancy:
Broadcast Storms
 A broadcast storm occurs when there are so many broadcast
frames caught in a Layer 2 loop that all available bandwidth is
consumed. It is also known as denial of service
 A broadcast storm is inevitable on a looped network.
• As more devices send broadcasts over the network, more
traffic is caught within the loop; thus consuming more
resources.
• This eventually creates a broadcast storm that causes the
network to fail.

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 Purpose of Spanning Tree
Issues with Layer 1 Redundancy:
Broadcast Storms

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 Purpose of Spanning Tree
Issues with Layer 1 Redundancy:
Duplicate Unicast Frames
 Unicast frames sent onto a looped network can result in duplicate
frames arriving at the destination device.
 Most upper layer protocols are not designed to recognize, or cope
with, duplicate transmissions.
 Layer 2 LAN protocols, such as Ethernet, lack a mechanism to
recognize and eliminate endlessly looping frames.

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 Purpose of Spanning Tree
Issues with Layer 1 Redundancy:
Duplicate Unicast Frames

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STP Operation
Spanning Tree Algorithm: Introduction

 STP ensures that there is only one logical path between all
destinations on the network by intentionally blocking redundant
paths that could cause a loop.
 A port is considered blocked when user data is prevented from
entering or leaving that port. This does not include bridge protocol
data unit (BPDU) frames that are used by STP to prevent loops.
 The physical paths still exist to provide redundancy, but these
paths are disabled to prevent the loops from occurring.
 If the path is ever needed to compensate for a network cable or
switch failure, STP recalculates the paths and unblocks the
necessary ports to allow the redundant path to become active.

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STP Operation
Spanning Tree Algorithm: Introduction

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STP Operation
Spanning Tree Algorithm: Introduction

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STP Operation
Spanning Tree Algorithm: Introduction

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STP Operation
Spanning Tree Algorithm: Port Roles

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STP Operation
Spanning Tree Algorithm: Root Bridge

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STP Operation
Spanning Tree Algorithm: Path Cost

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Spanning Tree Concepts
STP Operation

 Spanning Tree Algorithm: Introduction

 STP ensures that there is only one logical path between all destinations on the network by
intentionally blocking redundant paths that could cause a loop.
 Spanning Tree Algorithm: Port Roles
 Root ports - Ports closest to the root bridge.
 Designated ports - Non-root ports permitted to forward traffic.
 Alternate and backup ports - Blocking state to prevent loops.
 Disabled ports - A disabled port is a switch port that is shut down.
 Spanning Tree Algorithm: Root Bridge
 The root bridge serves as a reference point for all STP calculations.
 The switch with the lowest BID will become the root bridge
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Spanning Tree Concepts
STP Operation

 Spanning Tree Algorithm: Root Path Cost

 Default port costs are defined by the speed at which the port operates

 Internal root path cost is determined by summing up the individual port costs along the path from the
switch to the root bridge.
 Use the spanning-tree cost value interface configuration command on both ends of a link to apply a
custom cost.
 Use the show spanning-tree command to verify the port and internal root path cost to the root bridge.

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Spanning Tree Concepts
STP Operation

 Port Role Decisions for RSTP

 Root bridge automatically configures all of its switch ports in the designated role.
 Designated ports are configured for all LAN segments.
 Designated and Alternate Ports
 The switch with the lower cost path to the root bridge (root path cost) will have its
port selected as the designated port.
 The alternate port will not send or receive traffic on that segment.

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Spanning Tree Concepts
STP Operation

 802.1D BPDU Frame Format

 The spanning tree algorithm depends on the exchange of BPDUs.
 The BPDU frame information is included in the Data portion of an Ethernet frame
and identifies the following fields:

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Spanning Tree Concepts
STP Operation

 802.1D BPDU Propagation and Process

 By default, BPDU frames are sent every two seconds.
 Each switch maintains local information about its own BID, the root ID, and the root
path cost.
 Extended System ID
 The bridge ID (BID) is used to determine the root bridge on a network. The BID field
of a BPDU frame contains three separate fields:
 Bridge priority – Default 32768
 Extended system ID - Identifies the VLAN participating in STP
 MAC address - When the bridge priorities are equal, the MAC address is the
deciding factor as to which switch is going to become the root bridge.
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 3.2 Varieties of Spanning
Tree Protocols

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Varieties of Spanning Tree Protocols
Overview

 Types of Spanning Tree Protocols

 Several varieties of spanning tree protocols have emerged since the original IEEE
802.1D.
 Characteristics of the Spanning Tree Protocols

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Varieties of Spanning Tree Protocols
PVST+
 Overview of PVST+
 Cisco developed PVST+ to run an independent instance of
the Cisco implementation of IEEE 802.1D for each VLAN in
the network.
 Port States and PVST+ Operation
 STP and PVST+ use five port states consisting of Blocking,
Listening, Learning, Forwarding, and Disabled.
 Extended System ID and PVST+ Operation
• Extended system ID ensures switches
have unique BIDs for each VLAN.
• To manipulate the root-bridge election,
assign a lower priority to the desired
root bridge switch for the VLAN(s).

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Varieties of Spanning Tree Protocols
Rapid PVST+
 Overview of Rapid PVST+
 Rapid PVST+ is the Cisco implementation of per-VLAN
RSTP.
 RSTP can achieve much faster convergence.
 RSTP (Rapid) BPDU(Bridge Protocol Data Unit)
 RSTP uses type 2, version 2 BPDUs and populates the flag
byte in a slightly different manner than in the original 802.1D.
 Edge Ports
 RSTP edge port is a switch port
that is never intended to be
connected to another switch.
 It immediately transitions to the
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Varieties of Spanning Tree Protocols
Rapid PVST+

 Link Types
 Point-to-Point - A port operating in full-duplex mode typically
connects a switch to a switch and is a candidate for a rapid
transition to a forwarding state.
 Shared - A port operating in half-duplex mode connects a
switch to a legacy hub that attaches multiple devices.
• RSTP must determine the port role:
• Root ports and Alternate (backup)
ports do not use the link-type
parameter in most cases.
• Designated ports make the most
use of the link-type parameter and
transition to the forwarding state if
the link-type parameter is set to
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 3.3 Spanning Tree
Configuration

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Spanning Tree Configuration
PVST+ Configuration

 Catalyst 2960 Default Configuration

 Default spanning tree mode is PVST+.
 Configuring and Verifying the Bridge ID
• Method 1:
• Use the spanning-tree vlan
vlan-id root primary global
config command.
• Method 2:
• Use the spanning-tree vlan
vlan-id priority value global
config command.
• Use the show spanning-tree
command to verify the bridge
priority of a switch.
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Spanning Tree Configuration
PVST+ Configuration

 PortFast and BPDU Guard

 PortFast immediately transitions an access port from blocking to forwarding state
while BPDU guard puts an access port in an errdisabled (error-disabled) state if it
receives a BPDU.
 Use the spanning-tree portfast interface configuration mode command to enable
PortFast on a switch port.
 Use the spanning-tree bpduguard enable interface configuration mode command to
enable BPDU guard on a Layer 2 access port.

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Spanning Tree Configuration
PVST+ Configuration

 PVST+ Load Balancing

 The goal is to configure two or more root bridges for different sets of VLANs and
make use of redundant links.
S3(config)# spanning-tree vlan 20 root primary S1(config)# spanning-tree vlan 10 root primary
S3(config)# spanning-tree vlan 10 root secondary S1(config)# spanning-tree vlan 20 root secondary
S3(config)# S1(config)#

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Spanning Tree Configuration
Rapid PVST+ Configuration

 Spanning Tree Mode

 Rapid PVST+ is the Cisco implementation of RSTP.
 It supports RSTP on a per-VLAN basis.

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Spanning Tree Configuration
STP Configuration Issues

 Analyzing the STP Topology

 Use show cdp neighbors to
discover topology
 Use STP knowledge to determine
the root switch
 Use show spanning-tree vlan to
verify which switch is the root and
port status (forwarding or
blocking).
 Expected Topology versus Actual Topology
 Troubleshooting consists of comparing the actual state of
the network against the expected state of the network and
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Spanning Tree Configuration
STP Configuration Issues

 Overview of STP Status

 Use the show spanning-tree command without specifying any
additional options provides a quick overview of the status of
STP for all VLANs that are defined on a switch.
• Use the show spanning-tree vlan vlan_id command to get STP
information for a particular VLAN.

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Spanning Tree Configuration
STP Configuration Issues

 Spanning Tree Failure Consequences

 There are two types of STP failures:
 STP might erroneously block ports that should have gone into the forwarding state.
 STP might erroneously move one or more ports into the forwarding state
 Repairing a Spanning Tree Problem
 Manually remove redundant links in the switched network, either physically or through
configuration, until all loops are eliminated.
 Chances are that restoring the redundant links will trigger a new broadcast storm.
 Before restoring the redundant links, determine and correct the cause of the spanning
tree failure.
 Carefully monitor the network to ensure that the problem is fixed.
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Spanning Tree Configuration
Switch Stacking Concepts

 Switch Stacking Concepts

 A switch stack can consist of up to nine Catalyst 3750 switches connected through
their StackWise ports.
 One of the switches controls the operation of the stack and is called the stack master.
 The switch is managed as a single switch, through a single IP address, including
passwords, VLANs, and interfaces.
 Spanning Tree and Switch Stacks
 Another benefit to switch stacking is the ability to add more switches to a single STP
instance without increasing the STP diameter.
 The IEEE recommends a maximum diameter of seven switches for the default STP
timers.

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