14-16
Catalyst 2950 and Catalyst 2955 Switch Software Configuration Guide
78-11380-12
Chapter 14      Configuring MSTP
    Configuring MSTP Features
To return the switch to its default setting, use the no spanning-tree mst instance-id root global 
configuration command.
Configuring a Secondary Root Switch
When you configure a Catalyst 2950 or Catalyst 2955 switch that supports the extended system ID as 
the secondary root, the spanning-tree switch priority is modified from the default value (32768) to 
28672. The switch is then likely to become the root switch for the specified instance if the primary root 
switch fails. This is assuming that the other network switches use the default switch priority of 32768 
and therefore are unlikely to become the root switch. For Catalyst 2950 switches without the extended 
system ID support (software earlier than Cisco IOS Release 12.1(9)EA1), the switch priority is changed 
to 16384. 
You can execute this command on more than one switch to configure multiple backup root switches. Use 
the same network diameter and hello-time values that you used when you configured the primary root 
switch with the spanning-tree mst instance-id root primary global configuration command.
Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to configure a switch as the secondary root 
switch. This procedure is optional.
To return the switch to its default setting, use the no spanning-tree mst instance-id root global 
configuration command.
Command Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal Enter global configuration mode.
Step 2
spanning-tree mst instance-id root 
secondary [diameter net-diameter 
[hello-time seconds]] 
Configure a switch as the secondary root switch. 
• For instance-id, you can specify a single instance, a range of 
instances separated by a hyphen, or a series of instances 
separated by a comma. The range is 0 to 15.
• (Optional) For diameter net-diameter, specify the maximum 
number of switches between any two end stations. The range is 2 
to 7. This keyword is available only for MST instance 0.
• (Optional) For hello-time seconds, specify the interval in 
seconds between the generation of configuration messages by 
the root switch. The range is 1 to 10 seconds; the default 
is 2 seconds.
Use the same network diameter and hello-time values that you used 
when configuring the primary root switch. See the “Configuring the 
Root Switch” section on page 14-14.
Step 3
end Return to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4
show spanning-tree mst instance-id Verify your entries.
Step 5
copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Save your entries in the configuration file.