9-7
Catalyst 6500 Series Switch Software Configuration Guide—Release 8.7
OL-8978-04
Chapter 9 Configuring Spanning-Tree PortFast, UplinkFast, BackboneFast, and Loop Guard
Understanding How Loop Guard Works
Figure 9-6 Triangle Switch Configuration with Loop Guard
Figure 9-6 illustrates the following configuration:
• Switches A and B are distribution switches.
• Switch C is an access switch.
• Loop guard is enabled on ports 3/1 and 3/2 on Switches A, B, and C.
Use loop guard only in topologies where there are blocked ports. Topologies that have no blocked ports,
which are loop free, do not need to enable this feature. Enabling loop guard on a root switch has no effect
but provides protection when a root switch becomes a nonroot switch.
Follow these guidelines when using loop guard:
• You cannot enable loop guard on PortFast-enabled or dynamic VLAN ports.
• You cannot enable PortFast on loop guard-enabled ports.
• You cannot enable loop guard if root guard is enabled.
Loop guard interacts with other features as follows:
• Loop guard does not affect the functionality of UplinkFast or BackboneFast.
• Do not enable loop guard on ports that are connected to a shared link.
Note We recommend that you enable loop guard on root ports and alternate root ports on access
switches.
• Root guard forces a port to be always designated as the root port. Loop guard is effective only if the
port is a root port or an alternate port. You cannot enable loop guard and root guard on a port at the
same time.
• PortFast transitions a port into a forwarding state immediately when a link is established. Because a
PortFast-enabled port will not be a root port or alternate port, loop guard and PortFast cannot be
configured on the same port. Assigning dynamic VLAN membership for the port requires that the port
is PortFast enabled. You cannot configure a loop guard-enabled port with dynamic VLAN membership.
To Next Page
Loading...
Need help?
General