Switch Features Explained 17
■ Enable one of the less efficient paths if the most efficient path fails.
RSTP is an enhanced version of STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) and is fully 
compatible with STP systems. RSTP can restore a network connection 
quicker than the legacy STP feature. RSTP can detect if it is connected to a 
legacy device that only supports IEEE 802.1D STP and will automatically 
downgrade to STP on that particular port.
RSTP conforms to the IEEE Std 802.1w-2001.
For more information about RSTP, see Chapter 4 
 “Using Resilience 
Features”.
Switch Database The Switch Database is an integral part of the Switch and is used by the 
Switch to determine if a packet should be forwarded, and which port 
should transmit the packet if it is to be forwarded. 
For more information about the Switch Database, see Chapter 5 
 “Using 
the Switch Database”.
Traffic Prioritization The traffic prioritization capabilities of your Switch provides Class of 
Service (CoS) prioritization to your network. You can prioritize traffic on 
your network to ensure that high priority data is transmitted with 
minimum delay.
For more information about traffic prioritization, see Chapter 6 
 “Using 
Traffic Management”.
Rate Limiting Rate limiting is the restriction of the bandwidth to or from a section of 
your network. Limiting the rate of network traffic reduces the stress on 
your network and, when used with traffic prioritization, ensures that 
important traffic is not held up when the network is busy.
For more information about rate limiting, see Chapter 6 
 “Using Traffic 
Management”.
RMON Remote Monitoring (RMON) is an industry standard feature for traffic 
monitoring and collecting network statistics. The Switch software 
continually collects statistics about the LAN segments connected to the 
Switch. If you have a management workstation with an RMON