Using Multiple STP Instances for VLAN Grouping
Question
An engineer is designing an enterprise campus network.
The LAN infrastructure consists of switches from multiple vendors, and Spanning Tree must be used as a Layer 2 loop prevention mechanism.
All configured VLANs must be grouped in two STP instances.
Which standards-based Spanning Tree technology supports this design solution?
Answers
Explanations
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The best Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) technology to support the design solution described in this scenario is Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP), which is a standards-based protocol.
MSTP is an evolution of the original STP and Cisco's Per VLAN Spanning Tree (PVST) protocols. It allows for multiple VLANs to be mapped to the same spanning tree instance, which is then mapped to a single instance of STP. This allows network designers to group VLANs into logical groups, which can simplify network management and optimize network performance.
In this scenario, the LAN infrastructure consists of switches from multiple vendors, which may not support Cisco's proprietary PVST protocol. Therefore, using a standards-based protocol like MSTP ensures that the switches can communicate with each other and prevent loops in the network. Additionally, grouping all configured VLANs into two STP instances simplifies network management and reduces the number of spanning tree instances that must be maintained.
Rapid STP (RSTP) and Rapid PVST (RPVST) are also standards-based protocols that support faster convergence times than traditional STP, but they do not support grouping VLANs into logical groups as MSTP does. Therefore, neither RSTP nor RPVST are the best solution for this design scenario.
In summary, Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) is the best standards-based Spanning Tree technology to support this design solution, as it allows for the grouping of VLANs into logical groups and is compatible with switches from multiple vendors.
