38 CHAPTER 4: USING RESILIENCE FEATURES
■ Each port to have a cost. This specifies the efficiency of each link, 
usually determined by the bandwidth of the link — the higher the 
cost, the less efficient the link. Table 4
 shows the default port costs for 
a Switch. 
Table 4 Default port costs 
STP Calculation The first stage in the STP process is the calculation stage. During this 
stage, each bridge on the network transmits BPDUs that allow the system 
to work out:
■ The identity of the bridge that is to be the Root Bridge. The Root 
Bridge is the central reference point from which the network is 
configured.
■ The Root Path Costs for each bridge — that is, the cost of the paths 
from each bridge to the Root Bridge.
■ The identity of the port on each bridge that is to be the Root Port. 
The Root Port is the one that is connected to the Root Bridge using 
the most efficient path, that is, the one that has the lowest Root 
Path Cost. Note that the Root Bridge does not have a Root Port.
■ The identity of the bridge that is to be the Designated Bridge of 
each LAN segment. The Designated Bridge is the one that has the 
lowest Root Path Cost from that segment. Note that if several 
bridges have the same Root Path Cost, the one with the lowest 
Bridge Identifier becomes the Designated Bridge.
All traffic destined to pass in the direction of the Root Bridge flows 
through the Designated Bridge. The port on this bridge that connects 
to the segment is called the Designated Bridge Port.
STP Configuration After all the bridges on the network have agreed on the identity of the 
Root Bridge, and have established the other relevant parameters, each 
Port Speed Link Type
Path Cost 802.1D, 
1998 Edition
Path Cost 
802.1w-2001
10 Mbps Half Duplex
Full Duplex
Aggregated Link
100
95
90
2,000,000
1,999,999
1,000,000
100 Mbps Half Duplex
Full Duplex
Aggregated Link
19
18
15
200,000
199,999
100,000
1000 Mbps Full Duplex
Aggregated Link
4
3
20,000
10,000