BROCADE IP PRIMER

Console49F Link 50F1 3 5 7 9 1113 15 17 19 21 2325 27 29 31 33 3537 39 41 43 45 47Power1F 2F 3F 4F2 4 6 8 10 1214 16 18 20 22 2426 28 30 32 34 3638 40 42 44 46 4849FLinkPower50FConsole1 3 5 7 9 1113 15 17 19 21 2325 27 29 31 33 3537 39 41 43 45 471F 2F 3F 4F2 4 6 8 10 1214 16 18 20 22 2426 28 30 32 34 3638 40 42 44 46 48Console49F Link 50F1 3 5 7 9 1113 15 17 19 21 2325 27 29 31 33 3537 39 41 43 45 47P ower1F 2F 3F 4F2 4 6 8 10 1214 16 18 20 22 2426 28 30 32 34 3638 40 42 44 46 4849FLinkP ower50FConsole1 3 5 7 9 1113 15 17 19 21 2325 27 29 31 33 3537 39 41 43 45 471F 2F 3F 4F2 4 6 8 10 1214 16 18 20 22 2426 28 30 32 34 3638 40 42 44 46 48Spanning Tree Protocol9We come to the final chapter of our Layer 2 Section: Spanning Tree Protocol. Iwant to start this chapter by making it clear that there is so much more to thisprotocol than we will be covering here. We're going to cover Spanning Tree Protocolat the high level. You should finish this chapter with good understandingof what it is, and what it can do for you.What is Spanning Tree Protocol?Over a quarter of a century ago, Dr. Radia Perlman, while working at DEC,invented what we now refer to as Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). A lot of peoplewill tell you that the primary purpose of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is to preventloops. Well, they're right, but what does that mean?Let's say you had two workstations. Each workstation is connected to a differentswitch. Those two switches are connected using a single cable. So far, sogood, right?But what if that single cable were to be unplugged or broken? We want to doour best to eliminate single points of failure. We plug another cable in betweenthe two switches; not as a trunk, but as a redundant link.Brocade IP Primer 193