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and how well it is located to pass traffic. The path cost value represents the media speed.
9.2 Spanning-Tree Topology and BPDUs
The stable, active spanning-tree topology of a switched network is controlled by these
elements:
The unique bridge ID (switch priority and MAC address) associated with each VLAN on
each switch. In a switch stack, all switches use the same bridge ID for a given
spanning-tree instance.
The spanning-tree path cost to the root switch.
The port identifier (port priority and MAC address) associated with each Layer 2
interface.
When the switches in a network are powered up, each functions as the root switch. Each
switch sends a configuration BPDU through all of its ports. The BPDUs communicate and
compute the spanning-tree topology. Each configuration BPDU contains this information:
The unique bridge ID of the switch that the sending switch identifies as the root switch
The spanning-tree path cost to the root
The bridge ID of the sending switch
Message age
The identifier of the sending interface
Values for the hello, forward delay, and max-age protocol timers
When a switch receives a configuration BPDU that contains superior information (lower
bridge ID,lower path cost, and so forth), it stores the information for that port. If this BPDU is
received on the root port of the switch, the switch also forwards it with an updated message to
all attached LANs for which it is the designated switch.
If a switch receives a configuration BPDU that contains inferior information to that currently
stored for that port, it discards the BPDU. If the switch is a designated switch for the LAN from
which the inferior BPDU was received, it sends that LAN a BPDU containing the up-to-date
information stored for that port. In this way, inferior information is discarded, and superior
information is propagated on the network.
A BPDU exchange results in these actions:
One switch in the network is elected as the root switch (the logical center of the
spanning-tree topology in a switched network). In a switch stack, one stack member is
elected as the stack root switch. The stack root switch contains the outgoing root port
(Switch 1), as shown in Figure 8-1.