Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Configuration Guide

20-2
Software Configuration Guide—Release IOS XE 3.3.0SG and IOS 15.1(1)SG
OL-25340-01
Chapter 20 Configuring STP and MST
About STP
A Catalyst 4500 series switch use STP (the IEEE 802.1D bridge protocol) on all VLANs. By default, a
single spanning tree runs on each configured VLAN (provided you do not manually disable the spanning
tree). You can enable and disable a spanning tree on a per-VLAN basis.
When you create fault-tolerant internetworks, you must have a loop-free path between all nodes in a
network. The spanning tree algorithm calculates the best loop-free path throughout a switched Layer 2
network. Switches send and receive spanning tree frames at regular intervals. The switches do not
forward these frames, but use the frames to construct a loop-free path.
Multiple active paths between end stations cause loops in the network. If a loop exists in the network,
end stations might receive duplicate messages and switches might learn end station MAC addresses on
multiple Layer 2 interfaces. These conditions result in an unstable network.
A spanning tree defines a tree with a root switch and a loop-free path from the root to all switches in the
Layer 2 network. A spanning tree forces redundant data paths into a standby (blocked) state. If a network
segment in the spanning tree fails and a redundant path exists, the spanning tree algorithm recalculates
the spanning tree topology and activates the standby path.
When two ports on a switch are part of a loop, the spanning tree port priority and port path cost setting
determine which port is put in the forwarding state and which port is put in the blocking state. The
spanning tree port priority value represents the location of an interface in the network topology and how
well located it is to pass traffic. The spanning tree port path cost value represents media speed.
These sections describe STP:
• Understanding the Bridge ID, page 20-2
• Bridge Protocol Data Units, page 20-3
• Election of the Root Bridge, page 20-4
• STP Timers, page 20-4
• Creating the STP Topology, page 20-5
• STP Port States, page 20-5
• MAC Address Allocation, page 20-6
• STP and IEEE 802.1Q Trunks, page 20-6
• Per-VLAN Rapid Spanning Tree, page 20-6
Understanding the Bridge ID
Each VLAN on each network device has a unique 64-bit bridge ID consisting of a bridge priority value,
an extended system ID, and an STP MAC address allocation.
Bridge Priority Value
The bridge priority value determines whether a given redundant link is given priority and considered part
of a given span in a spanning tree. Preference is given to lower values, and if you want to manually
configure a preference, assign a lower bridge priority value to a link than to its redundant possibility.
With Cisco IOS releases prior to 12.1(12c)EW, the bridge priority is a 16-bit value (see Table 20-1).With
Cisco IOS Release 12.1(12c)EW and later releases, the bridge priority is a 4-bit value when the extended
system ID is enabled (see Table 20-2). See the “Configuring the Bridge Priority of a VLAN” section on
page 20-17.

Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Specifications

General

Series	Catalyst 4500 Series
Category	Switch
Layer Support	Layer 2, Layer 3
Form Factor	Modular chassis
Stackable	No
Chassis Slots	3, 6, 7, 10
Power Supply Options	AC, DC
Redundancy	Power supply, Supervisor engine
Network Management	Cisco IOS Software CLI, SNMP, Cisco Prime Infrastructure
Features	Security, QoS
Port Density	Up to 384 ports per chassis
Security Features	802.1X, ACLs, DHCP Snooping, Dynamic ARP Inspection, IP Source Guard
Supervisor Engine	8-E