Antaira Industrial Ethernet Switches
LMP-0602-24 Series User Manual V1.1
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5.6 Spanning Tree
The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), defined in the IEEE Standard 802.1d, can be created within a
mesh network of connected layer-2 switches.
The Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), defined in the IEEE 802.1w. RSTP is an enhanced
solution of STP. It shares most of its basic operation characteristics, and essentially creates a
cascading effect away from the root bridge where each designated bridge proposes to its
neighbors to determine if it can make a rapid transition.
Another extension of RSTP is the Multiple Spanning Tree protocol (MSTP), defined in the
IEEE802.1s. It allows different VLANs to travel along separate instances of spanning tree. Unlike
STP and RSTP, MSTP eliminates the needs for having different STP for each VLAN. Therefore,
in a large networking environment that employs many VLANs, MSTP can be more useful than
legacy STP.
Figure 5.29 – Non-configured Architecture setup