Elements of the Protocol
The stage now is set for a closer view of the inner workings of the STP.
Bridges get the information that they need to build an optimal tree topology by exchanging Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) messages. These messages are addressed to the multicast address X'01-80-C2-00-00-00, which the IEEE has assigned to bridges participating in the STP.
Port Costs and the Root Path Cost
An administrator must enter configuration data at each bridge—the data does not float around on subLANs. Instead of associating a cost with a subLAN, a corresponding path cost is associated with each port. In See figure 13.6, the cost that earlier was associated to each subLAN in Figure See 13.5 has been configured as the path cost for ...
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