Module Practice and Quiz

CCNA2 – 5.4.1

What did I learn in this module?

Purpose of STP

Redundant paths in a switched Ethernet network may cause both physical and logical
Layer 2 loops. A Layer 2 loop can result in MAC address table instability, link
saturation, and high CPU utilization on switches and end-devices. This results in the
network becoming unusable. Unlike the Layer 3 protocols, IPv4 and IPv6, Layer 2
Ethernet does not include a mechanism to recognize and eliminate endlessly looping
frames. Ethernet LANs require a loop-free topology with a single path between any
two devices. STP is a loop-prevention network protocol that allows for redundancy
while creating a loop-free Layer 2 topology. Without STP, Layer 2 loops can form,
causing broadcast, multicast and unknown unicast frames to loop endlessly, bringing
down a network. A broadcast storm is an abnormally high number of broadcasts
overwhelming the network during a specific amount of time. Broadcast storms can
disable a network within seconds by overwhelming switches and end devices. STP is
based on an algorithm invented by Radia Perlman. Her spanning tree algorithm (STA)
creates a loop-free topology by selecting a single root bridge where all other switches
determine a single least-cost path.

STP Operations

Using the STA, STP builds a loop-free topology in a four-step process: elect the root
bridge, elect the root ports, elect designated ports, and elect alternate (blocked)
ports. During STA and STP functions, switches use BPDUs to share information about
themselves and their connections. BPDUs are used to elect the root bridge, root ports,
designated ports, and alternate ports. Each BPDU contains a BID that identifies the
switch that sent the BPDU. The BID is involved in making many of the STA decisions
including root bridge and port roles. The BID contains a priority value, the MAC
address of the switch, and an extended system ID. The lowest BID value is determined
by the combination of these three fields. The switch with the lowest BID will become
the root bridge. Because the default BID is 32,768 it is possible for two or more
switches to have the same priority. In this scenario, where the priorities are the same,
the switch with the lowest MAC address will become the root bridge. When the root
bridge has been elected for a given spanning tree instance, the STA determines the
best paths to the root bridge from all destinations in the broadcast domain. The path
information, known as the internal root path cost, is determined by the sum of all the
individual port costs along the path from the switch to the root bridge. After the root
bridge has been determined the STA algorithm selects the root port. The root port is
the port closest to the root bridge in terms of overall cost, which is called the internal
root path cost. After each switch selects a root port, switches will select designated
ports. The designated port is a port on the segment (with two switches) that has the
internal root path cost to the root bridge. If a port is not a root port or a designated
port, then it becomes an alternate (or backup) port. Alternate ports and backup ports
are in discarding or blocking state to prevent loops. When a switch has multiple equal-
cost paths to the root bridge, the switch will determine a port using the following
criteria: lowest sender BID, then the lowest sender port priority, and finally the lowest
sender port ID. STP convergence requires three timers: the hello timer, the forward
delay timer, and the max age timer. Port states are blocking, listening, learning,
forwarding, and disabled. In PVST versions of STP, there is a root bridge elected for
each spanning tree instance. This makes it possible to have different root bridges for
different sets of VLANs.

Evolution of STP.

The term Spanning Tree Protocol and the acronym STP can be misleading. STP is often
used to refer to the various implementations of spanning tree, such as RSTP and
MSTP. RSTP is an evolution of STP that provides faster convergence than STP. RSTP
port states are learning, forwarding and discarding. PVST+ is a Cisco enhancement of
STP that provides a separate spanning tree instance for each VLAN configured in the
network. PVST+ supports PortFast, UplinkFast, BackboneFast, BPDU guard, BPDU filter,
root guard, and loop guard. Cisco switches running IOS 15.0 or later, run PVST+ by
default. Rapid PVST+ is a Cisco enhancement of RSTP that uses PVST+ and provides a
separate instance of 802.1w per VLAN. When a switch port is configured with PortFast,
that port transitions from blocking to forwarding state immediately, bypassing the STP
listening and learning states and avoiding a 30 second delay. Use PortFast on access
ports to allow devices connected to these ports, such as DHCP clients, to access the
network immediately, rather than waiting for STP to converge on each VLAN. Cisco
switches support a feature called BPDU guard which immediately puts the switch port
in an error-disabled state upon receipt of any BPDU to protect against potential loops.
Over the years, Ethernet LANs went from a few interconnected switches that were
connected to a single router, to a sophisticated hierarchical network design.
Depending on the implementation, Layer 2 may include not only the access layer, but
also the distribution or even the core layers. These designs may include hundreds of
switches, with hundreds or even thousands of VLANs. STP has adapted to the added
redundancy and complexity with enhancements as part of RSTP and MSTP. Layer 3
routing allows for redundant paths and loops in the topology, without blocking ports.
For this reason, some environments are transitioning to Layer 3 everywhere except
where devices connect to the access layer switch.

CCNA2 – 6.4.3

EtherChannel Operation

To increase bandwidth or redundancy, multiple links could be connected between

devices. However, STP will block redundant links to prevent switching loops.
EtherChannel is a link aggregation technology that allows redundant links between
devices that will not be blocked by STP. EtherChannel groups multiple physical
Ethernet links together into one single logical link. It provides fault-tolerance, load
sharing, increased bandwidth, and redundancy between switches, routers, and
servers. When an EtherChannel is configured, the resulting virtual interface is called a
port channel. EtherChannel has several advantages, as well as some restrictions to
implementation. EtherChannels can be formed through negotiation using one of two
protocols, PAgP or LACP. These protocols allow ports with similar characteristics to
form a channel through dynamic negotiation with adjoining switches. When an
EtherChannel link is configured using Cisco-proprietary PAgP, PAgP packets are sent
between EtherChannel-capable ports to negotiate the forming of a channel. Modes for
PAgP are On, PAgP desirable, and PAgP auto. LACP performs a function similar to PAgP
with Cisco EtherChannel. Because LACP is an IEEE standard, it can be used to facilitate
EtherChannels in multivendor environments. Modes for LACP are On, LACP active, and
LACP passive.

Configure EtherChannel

The following guidelines and restrictions are useful for configuring EtherChannel:

• EtherChannel support - All Ethernet interfaces on all modules must support

EtherChannel with no requirement that interfaces be physically contiguous, or
on the same module.

• Speed and duplex - Configure all interfaces in an EtherChannel to operate at

the same speed and in the same duplex mode.

• VLAN match - All interfaces in the EtherChannel bundle must be assigned to

the same VLAN or be configured as a trunk.

• Range of VLANs - An EtherChannel supports the same allowed range of VLANs

on all the interfaces in a trunking EtherChannel.

Configuring EtherChannel with LACP requires three steps:

Step 1. Specify the interfaces that compose the EtherChannel group using the
interface range interface global configuration mode command.

Step 2. Create the port channel interface with the channel-group identifier mode
active command in interface range configuration mode.

Step 3. To change Layer 2 settings on the port channel interface, enter port channel
interface configuration mode using the interface port-channel command, followed by
the interface identifier.

Verify and Troubleshoot EtherChannel.

There are a number of commands to verify an EtherChannel configuration including

show interfaces port-channel, show etherchannel summary, show
etherchannel port-channel, and show interfaces etherchannel. Common
EtherChannel issues include the following:

• Assigned ports in the EtherChannel are not part of the same VLAN, or not
configured as trunks. Ports with different native VLANs cannot form an
EtherChannel.
• Trunking was configured on some of the ports that make up the EtherChannel,
but not all of them.

• If the allowed range of VLANs is not the same, the ports do not form an
EtherChannel even when PAgP is set to the auto or desirable mode.

• The dynamic negotiation options for PAgP and LACP are not compatibly
configured on both ends of the EtherChannel.