Configuring RSTP and MSTP

Source: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/catalyst2950/software/release/12.1_9_ea1/configuration/guide/swmstp.html#wp1039650

This chapter describes how to configure the Cisco implementation of the IEEE 802.1W Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) and the IEEE 802.1S Multiple STP (MSTP) on your switch. To use the features described in this chapter, you must have the enhanced software image installed on your switch.

RSTP provides rapid convergence of the spanning tree. MSTP, which uses RSTP to provide rapid convergence, enables VLANs to be grouped into a spanning-tree instance, provides for multiple forwarding paths for data traffic, and enables load balancing. It improves the fault tolerance of the network because a failure in one instance (forwarding path) does not affect other instances (forwarding paths). The most common initial deployment of MSTP and RSTP is in the backbone and distribution layers of a Layer 2 switched network; this deployment provides the highly-available network required in a service-provider environment.

Both RSTP and MSTP improve the operation of the spanning tree while maintaining backward compatibility with equipment that is based on the (original) 802.1D spanning tree, with existing Cisco per-VLAN spanning tree (PVST+), and with the existing Cisco-proprietary Multiple Instance STP (MISTP). For information about STP, see "Configuring STP." For information about optional spanning-tree features, see "Configuring Optional Spanning-Tree Features."

 

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Note For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, refer to the Catalyst 2950 Desktop Switch Command Reference for this release.

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This chapter consists of these sections:

•Understanding RSTP

•Understanding MSTP

•Interoperability with 802.1D STP

•Configuring RSTP and MSTP Features

•Displaying the MST Configuration and Status

Understanding RSTP
The RSTP takes advantage of point-to-point wiring and provides rapid convergence of the spanning tree. Reconfiguration of the spanning tree can occur in less than 1 second (in contrast to 50 seconds with the default settings in the 802.1D spanning tree), which is critical for networks carrying delay-sensitive traffic such as voice and video.

This section describes how the RSTP works. It contains these sections:

•Port Roles and the Active Topology

•Rapid Convergence

•Synchronization of Port Roles

•Bridge Protocol Data Unit Format and Processing

For configuration information, see the "Configuring RSTP and MSTP Features" section.

Port Roles and the Active Topology
The RSTP provides rapid convergence of the spanning tree by assigning port roles and by determining the active topology. The RSTP builds upon the IEEE 802.1D STP to select the switch with the highest switch priority (lowest numerical priority value) as the root switch as described in "Election of the Root Switch" section. Then the RSTP assigns one of these port roles to individual ports:

•Root port―provides the best path (lowest cost) when the switch forwards packets to the root switch.

•Designated port―connects to the designated switch, which incurs the lowest path cost when forwarding packets from that LAN to the root switch. The port through which the designated switch is attached to the LAN is called the designated port.

•Alternate port―offers an alternate path toward the root switch to that provided by the current root port.

•Backup port―acts as a backup for the path provided by a designated port toward the leaves of the spanning tree. A backup port can exist only when two ports are connected together in a loopback by a point-to-point link or when a switch has two or more connections to a shared LAN segment.

•Disabled port―has no role within the operation of the spanning tree.

A port with the root or a designated port role is included in the active topology. A port with the alternate or backup port role is excluded from the active topology.

In a stable topology with consistent port roles throughout the network, the RSTP ensures that every root port and designated port immediately transition to the forwarding state while all alternate and backup ports are always in the discarding state (equivalent to blocking in 802.1D). The port state controls the operation of the forwarding and learning processes. Table 11-1 provides a comparison of 802.1D and RSTP port states

Table 11-1 Port State Comparison 

Operational Status	STP Port State	RSTP Port State	Is Port Included in the Active Topology?
Enabled	Blocking	Discarding	No
Enabled	Listening	Discarding	No
Enabled	Learning	Learning	Yes
Enabled	Forwarding	Forwarding	Yes
Disabled	Disabled	Discarding	No

To be consistent with Cisco STP implementations, this guide documents the port state as blocking instead of discarding. Designated ports start in the listening state.

 

Rapid Convergence
The RSTP provides for rapid recovery of connectivity following the failure of switch, a switch port, or a LAN. It provides rapid convergence for edge ports, new root ports, and ports connected through point-to-point links as follows:

•Edge ports―If you configure a port as an edge port on an RSTP switch by using the spanning-tree portfast interface configuration command, the edge port immediately transitions to the forwarding state. An edge port is the same as a Port Fast-enabled port, and you should enable it only on ports that connect to a single end station.

•Root ports―If the RSTP selects a new root port, it blocks the old root port and immediately transitions the new root port to the forwarding state.

•Point-to-point links―If you connect a port to another port through a point-to-point link and the local port becomes a designated port, it negotiates a rapid transition with the other port by using the proposal-agreement handshake to ensure a loop-free topology.

As shown in Figure 11-1, Switch A is connected to Switch B through a point-to-point link, and all of the ports are in the blocking state. Assume that the priority of Switch A is a smaller numerical value than the priority of Switch B. Switch A sends a proposal message (a configuration bridge protocol data unit [BPDU] with the proposal flag set) to Switch B, proposing itself as the designated switch.

After receiving the proposal message, Switch B selects as its new root port the port from which the proposal message was received, forces all nonedge ports to the blocking state, and sends an agreement message (a BPDU with the agreement flag set) through its new root port.

After receiving switch B's agreement message, Switch A also immediately transitions its designated port to the forwarding state. No loops in the network are formed because Switch B blocked all of its nonedge ports and because there is a point-to-point link between Switches A and B.

When Switch C is connected to Switch B, a similar set of handshaking messages are exchanged. Switch C selects the port connected to Switch B as its root port, and both ends immediately transition to the forwarding state. With each iteration of this handshaking process, one more switch joins the active topology. As the network converges, this proposal-agreement handshaking progresses from the root toward the leaves of the spanning tree.

The switch determines the link type from the port duplex mode: a full-duplex port is considered to have a point-to-point connection; a half-duplex port is considered to have a shared connection. You can override the default setting that is determined by the duplex setting by using the spanning-tree link-type interface configuration command.

Figure 11-1 Proposal and Agreement Handshaking for Rapid Convergence

 

Synchronization of Port Roles

When the switch receives a proposal message on one of its ports and that port is selected as the new root port, the RSTP forces all other ports to synchronize with the new root information.

The switch is synchronized with superior root information received on the root port if all other ports are synchronized. An individual port on the switch is synchronized if

• That port is in the blocking state

• It is an edge port (a port configured to be at the edge of the network)

If a designated port is in the forwarding state and is not configured as an edge port, it transitions to the blocking state when the RSTP forces it to synchronize with new root information. In general, when the RSTP forces a port to synchronize with root information and the port does not satisfy any of the above conditions, its port state is set to blocking.

After ensuring all of the ports are synchronized, the switch sends an agreement message to the designated switch corresponding to its root port. When the switches connected by a point-to-point link are in agreement about their port roles, the RSTP immediately transitions the port states to forwarding. The sequence of events is shown in Figure 11-2.

Figure 11-2 Sequence of Events During Rapid Convergence

 

Bridge Protocol Data Unit Format and Processing
The RSTP BPDU format is the same as the IEEE 802.1D BPDU format except that the protocol version is set to 2. A new one-byte version 1 Length field is set to zero, which means that no version 1 protocol information is present. Table 11-2 shows the RSTP flag fields.

Table 11-2 RSTP BPDU Flags 
 Bit  Function 
0
 Topology change (TC)
 
1
 Proposal
 
2-3:

00

01

10

11
 Port role:

Unknown

Alternate port

Root port

Designated port
 
4
 Learning
 
5
 Forwarding
 
6
 Agreement
 
7
 Topology change acknowledgement (TCA)
 

 

The sending switch sets the proposal flag in the RSTP BPDU to propose itself as the designated switch on that LAN. The port role in the proposal message is always set to the designated port.

The sending switch sets the agreement flag in the RSTP BPDU to accept the previous proposal. The port role in the agreement message is always set to the root port.

The RSTP does not have a separate topology change notification (TCN) BPDU. It uses the topology change (TC) flag to show the topology changes. However, for interoperability with 802.1D switches, the RSTP switch processes and generates TCN BPDUs.

The learning and forwarding flags are set according to the state of the sending port.

Processing Superior BPDU Information
If a port receives superior root information (lower bridge ID, lower path cost, and so forth) than currently stored for the port, the RSTP triggers a reconfiguration. If the port is proposed and is selected as the new root port, RSTP forces all the other ports to synchronize.

If the BPDU received is an RSTP BPDU with the proposal flag set, the switch sends an agreement message after all of the other ports are synchronized. If the BPDU is an 802.1D BPDU, the switch does not set the proposal flag and starts the forward-delay timer for the port. The new root port requires twice the forward-delay time to transition to the forwarding state.

If the superior information received on the port causes the port to become a backup or alternate port, RSTP sets the port to the blocking state but does not send the agreement message. The designated port continues sending BPDUs with the proposal flag set until the forward-delay timer expires, at which time the port transitions to the forwarding state.

Processing Inferior BPDU Information
If a designated port receives an inferior BPDU (higher bridge ID, higher path cost, and so forth than currently stored for the port) with a designated port role, it immediately replies with its own information.

Topology Changes
This section describes the differences between the RSTP and the 802.1D in handling spanning-tree topology changes.

•Detection―Unlike 802.1D in which any transition between the blocking and the forwarding state causes a topology change, only transitions from the blocking to the forwarding state cause a topology change with RSTP (only an increase in connectivity is considered a topology change). State changes on an edge port do not cause a topology change. When an RSTP switch detects a topology change, it flushes the learned information on all of its nonedge ports.

•Notification―Unlike 802.1D, which uses TCN BPDUs, the RSTP does not use them. However, for 802.1D interoperability, an RSTP switch processes and generates TCN BPDUs.

•Acknowledgement―When an RSTP switch receives a TCN message on a designated port from an 802.1D switch, it replies with an 802.1D configuration BPDU with the TCA bit set. However, if the TC-while timer (the same as the topology-change timer in 802.1D) is active on a root port connected to an 802.1D switch and a configuration BPDU with the TCA bit set is received, the TC-while timer is reset.

This behavior is only required to support 802.1D switches. The RSTP BPDUs never have the TCA bit set.

•Propagation―When an RSTP switch receives a TC message from another switch through a designated or root port, it propagates the topology change to all of its nonedge, edge, designated ports, and root port (excluding the port on which it is received). The switch starts the TC-while timer for all such ports and flushes the information learned on them.

•Protocol migration―For backward compatibility with 802.1D switches, RSTP selectively sends 802.1D configuration BPDUs and TCN BPDUs on a per-port basis.

When a port is initialized, the migrate-delay timer is started (specifies the minimum time during which RSTP BPDUs are sent), and RSTP BPDUs are sent. While this timer is active, the switch processes all BPDUs received on that port and ignores the protocol type.

If the switch receives an 802.1D BPDU after the port's migration-delay timer has expired, it assumes that it is connected to an 802.1D switch and starts using only 802.1D BPDUs. However, if the RSTP switch is using 802.1D BPDUs on a port and receives an RSTP BPDU after the timer has expired, it restarts the timer and starts using RSTP BPDUs on that port.

Understanding MSTP
MSTP, which uses RSTP for rapid convergence, enables VLANs to be grouped into a spanning-tree instance, with each instance having a spanning-tree topology independent of other spanning-tree instances. This architecture provides multiple forwarding paths for data traffic, enables load balancing, and reduces the number of spanning-tree instances required to support a large number of VLANs.

This section describes how the MSTP works and contains these sections:

•Multiple Spanning-Tree Regions

•IST, CIST, and CST

•Hop Count

For configuration information, see the "Configuring RSTP and MSTP Features" section.

Multiple Spanning-Tree Regions
For switches to participate in multiple spanning-tree (MST) instances, you must consistently configure the switches with the same MST configuration information. A collection of interconnected switches that have the same MST configuration comprises an MST region as shown in Figure 11-3.

The MST configuration determines to which MST region each switch belongs. The configuration includes the name of the region, the revision number, and the MST instance-to-VLAN assignment map. You configure the switch for a region by using the spanning-tree mst configuration global configuration command, after which the switch enters the MST configuration mode. From this mode, you can map VLANs to an MST instance by using the instance MST configuration command, specify the region name by using the name MST configuration command, and set the revision number by using the revision MST configuration command.

A region can have one member or multiple members with the same MST configuration; each member must be capable of processing RSTP BPDUs. There is no limit to the number of MST regions in a network, but each region can support up to 16 spanning-tree instances. You can assign a VLAN to only one spanning-tree instance at a time.

IST, CIST, and CST
Unlike PVST+ in which all the spanning-tree instances are independent, the MSTP establishes and maintains two types of spanning-trees:

•An internal spanning tree (IST), which is the spanning tree that runs in an MST region.

Within each MST region, the MSTP maintains multiple spanning-tree instances. Instance 0 is a special instance for a region, known as the internal spanning tree (IST). All other MST instances are numbered from 1 to 15.

The IST is the only spanning-tree instance that sends and receives BPDUs; all of the other spanning-tree instance information is contained in M-records, which are encapsulated within MSTP BPDUs. Because the MSTP BPDU carries information for all instances, the number of BPDUs that need to be processed by a switch to support multiple spanning-tree instances is significantly reduced.

All MST instances within the same region share the same protocol timers, but each MST instance has its own topology parameters, such as root switch ID, root path cost, and so forth. By default, all VLANs are assigned to the IST.

An MST instance is local to the region; for example, MST instance 1 in region A is independent of MST instance 1 in region B, even if regions A and B are interconnected.

•A common and internal spanning tree (CIST), which is a collection of the ISTs in each MST region, and the common spanning tree (CST) that interconnects the MST regions and single spanning trees.

The spanning tree computed in a region appears as a subtree in the CST that encompasses the entire switched domain. The CIST is formed as a result of the spanning-tree algorithm running between switches that support the 802.1W, 802.1S, and 802.1D protocols. The CIST inside an MST region is the same as the CST outside a region.

For more information, see the "Operations Within an MST Region" section and the "Operations Between MST Regions" section.

Operations Within an MST Region
The IST connects all the MSTP switches in a region. When the IST converges, the root of the IST becomes the IST master (shown in Figure 11-3), which is the switch within the region with the lowest bridge ID and path cost to the CST root. The IST master also is the CST root if there is only one region within the network. If the CST root is outside the region, one of the MSTP switches at the boundary of the region is selected as the IST master.

When an MSTP switch initializes, it sends BPDUs claiming itself as the root of the CST and the IST master, with both of the path costs to the CST root and to the IST master set to zero. The switch also initializes all of its MST instances and claims to be the root for all of them. If the switch receives superior MST root information (lower bridge ID, lower path cost, and so forth) than currently stored for the port, it relinquishes its claim as the IST master.

During initialization, a region might have many subregions, each with its own IST master. As switches receive superior IST information, they leave their old subregions and join the new subregion that might contain the true IST master. Thus all subregions shrink, except for the one that contains the true IST master.

For correct operation, all switches in the MST region must agree on the same IST master. Therefore, any two switches in the region synchronize their port roles for an MST instance only if they converge to a common IST master.

Operations Between MST Regions
If there are multiple regions or legacy 802.1D switches within the network, MSTP establishes and maintains the CST, which includes all MST regions and all legacy STP switches in the network. The MST instances combine with the IST at the boundary of the region to become the CST.

The IST connects all the MSTP switches in the region and appears as a subtree in the CST that encompasses the entire switched domain, with the root of the subtree being the IST master. The MST region appears as a virtual switch to adjacent STP switches and MST regions.

Figure 11-3 shows a network with three MST regions and a legacy 802.1D switch (D). The IST master for region 1 (A) is also the CST root. The IST master for region 2 (B) and the IST master for region 3 (C) are the roots for their respective subtrees within the CST. The RSTP runs in all regions.

Figure 11-3 MST Regions, IST Masters, and the CST Root

 

Figure 11-3 does not show additional MST instances for each region. Note that the topology of MST instances can be different from that of the IST for the same region.

Only the CST instance sends and receives BPDUs, and MST instances add their spanning-tree information into the BPDUs to interact with neighboring switches and compute the final spanning-tree topology. Because of this, the spanning-tree parameters related to BPDU transmission (for example, hello time, forward time, max-age, and max-hops) are configured only on the CST instance but affect all MST instances. Parameters related to the spanning-tree topology (for example, switch priority, port VLAN cost, port VLAN priority) can be configured on both the CST instance and the MST instance.

MSTP switches use version 3 RSTP BPDUs or 802.1D STP BPDUs to communicate with legacy 802.1D switches. MSTP switches use MSTP BPDUs to communicate with MSTP switches.

Hop Count
The IST and MST instances do not use the message-age and maximum-age information in the configuration BPDU to compute the spanning-tree topology. Instead, they use the path cost to the root and a hop-count mechanism similar to the IP time-to-live (TTL) mechanism.

By using the spanning-tree mst max-hops global configuration command, you can configure the maximum hops inside the region and apply it to the IST and all MST instances in that region. The hop count achieves the same result as the message-age information (determines when to trigger a reconfiguration). The root switch of the instance always sends a BPDU (or M-record) with a cost of 0 and the hop count set to the maximum value. When a switch receives this BPDU, it decrements the received remaining hop count by one and propagates this value as the remaining hop count in the BPDUs it generates. When the count reaches zero, the switch discards the BPDU and ages the information held for the port.

The message-age and maximum-age information in the RSTP portion of the BPDU remain the same throughout the region, and the same values are propagated by the region's designated ports at the boundary.

Boundary Ports
A boundary port is a a port that connects an MST region to a single spanning-tree region running RSTP, or to a single spanning-tree region running 802.1D, or to another MST region with a different MST configuration. A boundary port also connects to a LAN, the designated switch of which is either a single spanning-tree switch or a switch with a different MST configuration.

At the boundary, the roles of the MST ports do not matter, and their state is forced to be the same as the IST port state (MST ports at the boundary are in the forwarding state only when the IST port is forwarding). An IST port at the boundary can have any port role except a backup port role.

On a shared boundary link, the MST ports wait in the blocking state for the forward-delay time to expire before transitioning to the learning state. The MST ports wait another forward-delay time before transitioning to the forwarding state.

If the boundary port is on a point-to-point link and it is the IST root port, the MST ports transition to the forwarding state as soon as the IST port transitions to the forwarding state.

If the IST port is a designated port on a point-to-point link and if the IST port transitions to the forwarding state because of an agreement received from its peer port, the MST ports also immediately transition to the forwarding state.

If a boundary port transitions to the forwarding state in an IST instance, it is forwarding in all MST instances, and a topology change is triggered. If a boundary port with the IST root or designated port role receives a topology change notice external to the MST cloud, the MSTP switch triggers a topology change in the IST instance and in all the MST instances active on that port.

Interoperability with 802.1D STP
A switch running both MSTP and RSTP supports a built-in protocol migration mechanism that enables it to interoperate with legacy 802.1D switches. If this switch receives a legacy 802.1D configuration BPDU (a BPDU with the protocol version set to 0), it sends only 802.1D BPDUs on that port. An MST switch can also detect that a port is at the boundary of a region when it receives a legacy BPDU, an MST BPDU (version 3) associated with a different region, or an RST BPDU (version 2).

However, the switch does not automatically revert to the MSTP mode if it no longer receives 802.1D BPDUs because it cannot determine whether the legacy switch has been removed from the link unless the legacy switch is the designated switch. Also, a switch might continue to assign a boundary role to a port when the switch to which this switch is connected has joined the region. To restart the protocol migration process (force the renegotiation with neighboring switches), you can use the clear spanning-tree detected-protocols privileged EXEC command.

If all the legacy switches on the link are RSTP switches, they can process MSTP BPDUs as if they are RSTP BPDUs. Therefore, MSTP switches send either a version 0 configuration and TCN BPDUs or version 3 MSTP BPDUs on a boundary port. A boundary port connects to a LAN, the designated switch of which is either a single spanning-tree switch or a switch with a different MST configuration.