misc.md 1.9 KB


title: Miscellaneous Network Notes breadcrumbs:

  • title: Configuration
  • title: Network --- {% include header.md %}

Terms

Cisco IOS Brocade ICX
Access port (VLAN) Untagged port
Trunk port (VLAN) Tagged port
Native VLAN Dual mode

Spanning Tree

Variants

Names Supporting Devices* Description
802.1D, STP Cisco IOS, Linksys LGS Single instance, slow
PVST/PVST+ Cisco IOS Like STP, one instance per VLAN
VSTP Juniper Compatible with Cisco's PVST
802.1w, RSTP Brocade ICX, Linksys LGS Single instance, fast, backwards-compatible with STP.
Rapid-PVST+ Cisco IOS Like PVST+ but based on RSTP
VSTP Juniper Based on RSTP, compatible with STP and Cisco's PVST
802.1s, MSTP, MST Cisco IOS Multiple instances with configurable VLAN members
802.1Q ???

(*) Very incomplete list.

Notes

  • Use extended system ID for multi-VLAN switches.
  • Make sure all switches are using compatible variants and default priorities.
  • Make sure all VLANs are running STP or that STP is running globally (not per VLAN).
  • STP (excluding per-VLAN STP and generally not MST) (including rapid versions) will consider multiple links between switches a loop, even when the links carry different VLANs.
  • The bridge priority should generally be a multiple of 4096.
  • PVST and 802.1Q regions cannot interoperate directly, but can through PVST+ regions.

Cisco IOS

  • Disable VTP, it's dangerous if not used properly. It also doesn't carry MST configuration.
  • Rapid-PVST+ ignores UplinkFast and BackboneFast and supports UDLD.

Compatibility Between Switch Models

Alternative 1

  • Cisco IOS (Cat 3750G): rapid-pvst
  • Brocade (ICX 6610): 802.1w
  • Linksys (LGS326): stp (slow but works)
  • Use the same default priority, e.g. 32768.

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