3Com 4007, Implementation Manual, Page: 167 / 684

Key Guidelines for Implementation 167
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Resilient links (Layer 2 Switching Modules only) — Resilient links
protect your network against an individual link or device failure by
providing a secondary backup link that is inactive until needed. For
more information about resilient links, see
the Resilient Links chapter
in this guide.
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Virtual LANs — A Virtual LAN (VLAN) is a logical grouping
methodology that allows dispersed users to communicate as if they
were physically connected to the same LAN (broadcast domain). For
more information, see the VLAN chapter in this guide.
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Trunking — You can aggregate multiple network links into a single
point-to-point trunk. These features allow you to increase bandwidth
and redundancy without replacing products or cabling. For more
information, see the Trunking chapter in this guide.
Key Guidelines for
Implementation
This section highlights the major issues to consider when you are
planning how to configure bridging options on a module.
Additional, more specific guidelines are included in various sections
throughout this chapter, usually under the heading “Important
Considerations.”
Physical Ports and
Bridge Ports
All front-panel ports as well as backplane ports on all modules operate as
bridge ports.
Option For Fast Aging Even if you do not want to enable STP, you may need to configure a
setting on the STP menu to activate accelerated aging when ports go
down or are disabled. See “Address Aging” in this chapter for more
information.
If You Want
To Use STP
To function, STP must be enabled both on a bridge-wide basis and on a
per-port basis. These are two different interface settings. If you disable
bridge-wide STP, no ports on the module can participate in the STP
algorithms for loop detection, even if STP is enabled on those bridge
ports. STP is enabled by factory default on the bridge and for all bridge
ports.