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Configuring Digest Snooping 
Introduction 
According to IEEE 802.1s, two interconnected switches can communicate with each other through 
MSTIs in an MST region only when the two switches have the same MST region-related configuration. 
Interconnected MSTP-enabled switches determine whether or not they are in the same MST region by 
checking the configuration IDs of the BPDUs between them (A configuration ID contains information 
such as region ID and configuration digest). 
As some other manufacturers' switches adopt proprietary spanning tree protocols, they cannot 
communicate with the other switches in an MST region even if they are configured with the same MST 
region-related settings as the other switches in the MST region. 
This problem can be overcome by implementing the digest snooping feature. If a port on an 3Com 
switches 4210 is connected to another manufacturer's switch that has the same MST region-related 
configuration as its own but adopts a proprietary spanning tree protocol, you can enable digest 
snooping on the port. Then the switch 4210 regards another manufacturer's switch as in the same 
region; it records the configuration digests carried in the BPDUs received from another manufacturer's 
switch, and put them in the BPDUs to be sent to the another manufacturer's switch. In this way, the 
switch 4210 can communicate with another manufacturer’s switches in the same MST region. 
 
 
The digest snooping function is not applicable to edge ports. 
 
Configuring Digest Snooping 
Configure the digest snooping feature on a switch to enable it to communicate with other switches 
adopting proprietary protocols to calculate configuration digests in the same MST region through 
MSTIs. 
Configuration prerequisites 
The switch to be configured is connected to another manufacturer's switch adopting a proprietary 
spanning tree protocol. MSTP and the network operate normally. 
Configuration procedure 
Follow these steps to configure digest snooping: 
To do...  Use the command...  Remarks 
Enter system view 
system-view 
— 
Enter Ethernet port view 
interface interface-type 
interface-number 
— 
Enable the digest snooping 
feature 
stp config-digest-snooping 
Required 
The digest snooping feature is 
disabled on a port by default.