Spanning Tree
STP Status and Global Settings
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• STP Operation Mode—Select an STP mode.
• BPDU Handling—Select how Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) packets are 
managed when STP is disabled on the port or the device. BPDUs are used 
to transmit spanning tree information. 
- Filtering—Filters BPDU packets when Spanning Tree is disabled on an 
interface.
- Flooding—Floods BPDU packets when Spanning Tree is disabled on an 
interface.
• Path Cost Default Values—Selects the method used to assign default path 
costs to the STP ports. The default path cost assigned to an interface varies 
according to the selected method.
- Short—Specifies the range 1 through 65,535 for port path costs.
- Long—Specifies the range 1 through 200,000,000 for port path costs. 
Bridge Settings:
• Priority—Sets the bridge priority value. After exchanging BPDUs, the device 
with the lowest priority becomes the Root Bridge. In the case that all bridges 
use the same priority, then their MAC addresses are used to determine the 
Root Bridge. The bridge priority value is provided in increments of 4096. For 
example, 4096, 8192, 12288, and so on. 
• Hello Time—Set the interval (in seconds) that a Root Bridge waits between 
configuration messages. 
• Max Age—Set the interval (in seconds) that the device can wait without 
receiving a configuration message, before attempting to redefine its own 
configuration.
• Forward Delay—Set the interval (in seconds) that a bridge remains in a 
learning state before forwarding packets. For more information, refer to 
Spanning Tree Interface Settings.
Designated Root:
• Bridge ID—The bridge priority concatenated with the MAC address of the 
device.
• Root Bridge ID—The Root Bridge priority concatenated with the MAC 
address of the Root Bridge.
• Root Port—The port that offers the lowest cost path from this bridge to the 
Root Bridge. (This is significant when the bridge is not the root.)