Spanning-Tree Operation 
802.1D Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP) 
■  Edge switches cannot be directly linked together using fast-uplink ports. 
For example, the connection between switches 4 and 5 in figure 6-14 is 
not allowed for fast-uplink operation. 
Switch 4 
(5304-Edge) 
Switch 3 
Switch 1 
(Root) 
Switch 2 
Link blocked by STP: 
LAN 
Switch 5 
(5304-Edge) 
The ports 
that make up 
this link 
cannot be 
configured 
as fast-
uplink ports. 
Figure 6-14.  Example of a Disallowed Connection Between Edge Switches 
■  Apply fast-uplink only on the uplink ports of an edge switch. For example, 
on switch “4” (an edge switch) in figure 6-14 above, only the ports 
connecting switch “4” to switches “2” and “3” are upstream ports that 
would use fast uplink. Note also that fast uplink should not be configured 
on both ends of a point-to-point link, but only on the uplink port of an edge 
switch. 
■  Ensure that the switch you intend as a backup root device will in fact 
become the root if the primary root fails, and that no ports on the backup 
root device are configured for fast-uplink operation. For example, if the 
STP Priority is the same on all switches—default: 32768—then the switch 
with the lowest MAC address will become the root switch. If that switch 
fails, then the switch with the next-lowest MAC address will become the 
root switch. Thus, you can use 
STP Priority to control which switch STP 
selects as the root switch and which switch will become the root if the 
first switch fails. 
■  Fast-Uplink STP requires a minimum of two uplink ports. 
Menu: Viewing and Configuring Fast-Uplink STP 
You can use the menu to quickly display the entire STP configuration and to 
make any STP configuration changes. 
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