STP Protection Enhancement

STP Protection provides the ability to prohibit an end station from initiating or participating in an STP topology change.

The 802.1w Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) detects and eliminates logical loops in a redundant network by selectively blocking some data paths (ports) and allowing only the best data paths to forward traffic.

In an STP environment, switches, end stations, and other Layer 2 devices use Bridge Protocol Data Units (BPDUs) to exchange information that STP will use to determine the best path for data flow. When a Layer 2 device is powered on and connected to the network, or when a Layer 2 device goes down, it sends out an STP BPDU, triggering an STP topology change.

In some instances, it is unnecessary for a connected device, such as an end station, to initiate or participate in an STP topology change. In this case, you can enable STP Protection on the RUCKUS port to which the end station is connected. STP Protection disables the ability of the connected device to initiate or participate in an STP topology change by dropping all BPDUs received from the connected device.