SPANNING TREE PROTOCOL (STP)

Instructor: Mr Edson Nasolwa

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 Causes of Link Failures
Hardware Issues:
• Equipment malfunctions: Failed
switches, routers, or other network
devices can cause link failures.
• Cable damage: Damaged or
disconnected cables can disrupt network
connectivity.
• Hardware aging: Devices can fail over
time due to wear and tear. 3
 Causes of Link Failures
Software Problems:
• Software errors: Bugs, glitches, or
compatibility issues in software can
disrupt network functionality.
• Firmware errors: Malfunctioning
firmware can lead to unexpected
behavior and link failures.

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 Causes of Link Failures
Misconfiguration:
• Incorrect settings: Misconfigured
routers, switches, or firewalls can cause
connectivity problems.
• Out-of-band management
issues: Problems with managing network
devices can lead to failures.

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 Causes of Link Failures
Power Failures:
• Power outages: Loss of power to
network devices can cause temporary or
permanent link failures.

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 Causes of Link Failures
Human Error:
• Unplugging cables: Incorrectly
disconnecting cables can disrupt
connectivity.

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 Causes of Link Failures
Network Issues:
• Network congestion: Overloaded routers
or network equipment can lead to packet
loss and slow speeds.
• Stuck in STP loops: This can cause
network congestion and link failures.

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 Causes of Link Failures
Security Threats:
• Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks: These
attacks can overload network devices
and disrupt connectivity.
• Cyberattacks: Malicious attacks can
exploit vulnerabilities and disrupt
network services.

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 Causes of Link Failures
Natural Disasters:
• Extreme weather: Disasters like floods,
earthquakes, or storms can damage
physical infrastructure and cause link
failures.

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 Best Practice
Multiple links

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 Redundant Links
 What is redundancy in networking?

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 Redundant Links
 Redundancy in networking is essential
as it allows users to access network
resources even when certain paths fail.
The principle can be summarized as
follows: "Two is one, and one is none."
 This means that having a single
connection creates a single point of
failure. If that connection fails,
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 Advantages of Redundant
Links
1. Enhanced Reliability and High
Availability:
• Redundant links provide multiple paths
for data transmission, so if one link fails,
traffic can automatically be rerouted to
the backup link.
• This minimizes downtime and ensures
continuous network connectivity, which
is crucial for businesses that rely on
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uninterrupted operations.
 Advantages of Redundant
Links
2. Business Continuity:
• Redundant networks allow businesses to
continue operating even during outages
or disruptions, ensuring that critical
business processes can continue
uninterrupted.
• This can prevent financial losses,
productivity dips, and customer
dissatisfaction.
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 Advantages of Redundant
Links
3. Improved Performance:
• Redundant links can facilitate load
balancing, distributing network traffic
across multiple paths.
• This can improve overall network
performance, especially during peak
usage, and reduce congestion.
• Redundant paths can also lead to faster
speeds by providing multiple options for
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 Advantages of Redundant
Links
4. Enhanced Security:
• Redundant networks can offer
alternative data storage locations and
backup systems, protecting against
cyber threats, physical damage, and data
loss.
• This adds an extra layer of security and
can help businesses recover from
various incidents.
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 Advantages of Redundant
Links
5. Disaster Recovery:
• Redundant links can provide alternative
data centers or network connections,
ensuring that data and services remain
accessible even if one location is
compromised.
• This is particularly important in the
event of natural disasters, cyberattacks,
or other emergencies.
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 Point to Note
 This redundancy is beneficial, but it can
also introduce complications in a
switching environment.

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 The Challenge of Broadcast
Storms
 While redundancy is advantageous, it
can lead to significant issues such as
broadcast storms.
 A broadcast storm occurs when a
broadcast message is continuously
forwarded through the network, creating
loops that can overwhelm the network.

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 Switching Loops
 A Layer-2 switch belongs to only one
broadcast domain, and will forward
both broadcasts and multicasts out every
port but the originating port.
 When a switching loop is introduced
into the network, a destructive
broadcast storm will develop within
seconds.
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 Switching Loops
 A storm occurs when broadcasts are
endlessly forwarded through the loop.
Eventually, the storm will choke off all
other network traffic

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 Switching Loops
Consider the following example:

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 Spanning Tree Protocol
 Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) was
developed to prevent the broadcast
storms caused by switching loops.
 Switches running STP will build a map
or topology of the entire switching
network. STP will identify if there are
any loops, and then disable or block as
many ports as necessary to eliminate all
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 Spanning Tree Protocol
 A blocked port can be reactivated if
another port goes down.
 This allows STP to maintain redundancy
and fault-tolerance

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 Working Principle of STP
 How does STP work?

 How does STP prevent broadcast loops?

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 Working Principle of STP
 STP prevent broadcast storm by
blocking some of the ports

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 Step 1: Selection of Root
Bridge
 In Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), the
root bridge is a crucial switch that
serves as the central reference point for
a network's Layer 2 topology, ensuring
loop-free operation.
 It performs this by having all the
switches talking to each other by
sending out messages called BPDU
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 BPDU
 In Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), BPDU
stands for Bridge Protocol Data Unit.
 These are special data packets
exchanged between switches to
determine the best path for data
transmission and prevent loops in the
network.

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 BPDU
 BPDUs contain information about the
switch's MAC address, priority, and the
cost to reach the root bridge, which
helps switches make decisions about
their port roles
 This messages are exchanged after
every two seconds

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 Bridge ID
 Bridge ID contains:
Priority number + VLAN ID + MAC
Address

 STP use the Bridge ID to determine

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 Electing an STP Root Bridge
 The first step in the STP convergence
process is electing a Root Bridge,
which is the central reference point for
the STP topology.
 As a best practice, the Root Bridge
should be the most centralized switch in
the STP topology
 The default priority is 32,768, and the
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 Electing an STP Root Bridge
 Example

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 Electing an STP Root Bridge
 Switches exchange BPDU’s to perform
the election process, and the lowest
Bridge ID determines the Root Bridge:
 SwitchB, SwitchC, and SwitchE have the
default priority of 32,768.
 SwitchA and SwitchD are tied with a
lower priority of 100.
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 Electing an STP Root Bridge
 Switch A has the lowest MAC address,
and will be elected the Root Bridge.

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 Step 2: Selection of Root Port
 Root ports are ports on non-root
switches that forward data to the root
bridge
 The root port of each switch has the
lowest root path cost to get to the Root
Bridge.
 Each switch can only have one root port.
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 Step 2: Selection of Root Port
 The Root Bridge cannot have a root port,
as the purpose of a root port is to point
to the Root Bridge.
 Path cost is a cumulative cost to the Root
Bridge, based on the bandwidth of the
links.
 The higher the bandwidth, the lower the
path cost: 37
 Root Port Link Cost
 Consider the table:

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 Root Port Link Cost
 Example

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 Step 3: Selection of
Designated Port
 In Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), a
designated port is a port that forwards
traffic on a network segment. It's the
only port on a segment that's in a
forwarding state, meaning it actively
transmits and receives data.
 All the ports in the Root Bridge are DP

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 Step 3: Selection of Designated
Port
 The third step in the STP convergence
process is to identify designated ports.
A single designated port is identified for
each network segment.
 This port is responsible for forwarding
BPDUs and frames to that segment. If
two ports are eligible to become the
designated port, then there is a loop.
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 Step 3: Selection of Designated
Port
 Similar to a root port, the designated
port is determined by the lowest
cumulative path cost leading the Root
Bridge or by using the bridge ID
 A designated port will never be placed in
a blocking state, unless there is a
change to the switching topology and a
more preferred designated port is
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 Step 3: Selection of Designated
Port
 Note: A port can never be both a
designated port and a root port

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 Step 3: Selection of
Designated Port
 Remember, every network segment
must have one designated port,
regardless if a root port already exists
on that segment.

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 Step 3: Selection of
Designated Port
 Example

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 Port Roles in STP
STP defines several port roles:
• Root Port: The port on a switch that has
the lowest cost path to the root bridge.
• Designated Port: The port that is
allowed to forward traffic towards the
root bridge.
• Blocking Port: Ports that are disabled
to prevent loops but can still receive 46
 Basic STP Configuration
 STP is enabled by default on all Cisco
switches, for all VLANs and ports.
 STP can be disabled. This should be
done with caution - any switching loop
will result in a broadcast storm. To
disable STP for an entire VLAN:

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 Basic STP Configuration
 A switch can be indirectly forced to
become the Root Bridge for a specific
VLAN:

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 Basic STP Configuration
 STP does not technically support a
backup Root Bridge. However, the root
secondary command can increase the
likelihood that a specified switch will
succeed as the new Root Bridge in the
event of a failure:

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 Discussion Questions
 Question One
Refer to the topology shown in the exhibit.
Which ports will be STP designated ports
if all the links are operating at the same
bandwidth? (List three)

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 Discussion Questions
 Question One

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 Discussion Questions
 Question Two
If the primary root bridge experiences a
power loss, which switch takes over?
A. switch 0040.0ВС0.90C5
B. switch 00E0.F90B.6BE3
C. switch 0004.9A1A.C182
D. switch 00E0.F726.3DC6
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 Discussion Questions
 Question Three
What is the purpose of Spanning Tree
Protocol in a switched LAN?

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