Legacy Open Mesh: Switches: Spanning Tree Protocol

Topic

This article describes Spanning Tree Protocol and how to implement it on an Open Mesh Switch.

Environment

  • Open Mesh Switches

Description

Spanning Tree Protocol is a Layer 2 protocol that prevents loops in networks with redundant paths created by multiple switches. Open Mesh Switches support three variations of this protocol, which are explained below.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Manage ? Switches and select a switch.

2. Click Switch Settings.

mceclip0.pngFigure 1: Switch Settings

3. Click the Spanning Tree Protocol drop-down to reveal settings, then click the Enable checkbox to interact with them.

mceclip1.png
Figure 2: Spanning Tree Protocol options

4. Click the drop-down menu next to Protocol and choose one of the following:

  • Spanning Tree Protocol: This is the standard Spanning Tree Protocol. A root switch with the lowest bridge switch ID (the bridge priority + the switch's MAC address) is elected. Ports are then flagged in five different states: blocking, listening, learning, forwarding, and disabled.
  • Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol: A newer variation of STP with three states instead of five: discarding, learning, and forwarding.
  • Multiple Spanning Tree: An expansion of RSTP that supports VLAN implementations.

5. Click Save Switch Settings.