Chapter 1. Spanning Tree Protocol Concepts

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) allows Ethernet LANs to have the added benefits of installing redundant links in a LAN, while overcoming the known problems that occur when adding those extra links. Using redundant links in a LAN design allows the LAN to keep working even when some links fail or even when some entire switches fail. Proper LAN design should add enough redundancy so that no single point of failure crashes the LAN; STP allows the design to use redundancy without causing some other problems.

This chapter discusses the concepts behind STP. In particular, it discusses why LANs need STP, what STP does to solve certain problems in LANs with redundant links, and how STP does its work. This chapter ...

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