24-port NWay Ethernet Switch User’s Guide
50
Switch Management and Operating Concepts
packet will be passed indefinitely in a loop, potentially causing a
network failure.
STP can be applied as shown in
Figure 5-4
. In this example, STP
breaks the loop by blocking the connection between Bridge B and
C. The decision to block a particular connection is based on the
STP calculation of the most current Bridge and Port settings.
Now, if Bridge A broadcasts a packet to Bridge C, then Bridge C
will drop the packet at port 2 and the broadcast will end there.
Setting-up STP using values other than the defaults, can be
complex. Therefore, you are advised to keep the default factory
settings and STP will automatically assign root bridges/ports and
block loop connections. Influencing STP to choose a particular
switch as the root bridge using the
Priority
setting, or
influencing STP to choose a particular port to block using the
Port Priority
and
Port Cost
settings is, however, relatively
straight forward.
