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10/100 Fast Ethernet Switch User’s Guide
26
Switch Management
cost as the active path, while blocking the other path and using it as
the backup path.
♦
Automatic topology re-configuration.
When the path for which there is a backup path fails, the backup path
will be automatically activated, and STA will automatically re-
configure the network topology.
STA Operation Levels
STA operates on two levels: the bridge level and the port level. On the
bridge level, STA calculates the Bridge Identifier for each Switch, then sets
the Root Bridge and the Designated Bridges. On the port level, STA sets the
Root Port and Designated Ports. Details are as follows:
On the Bridge Level
♦
Root Bridge
: The Switch with the lowest Bridge Identifier is the Root
Bridge. Naturally, you will want the Root Bridge to be the best
Switch among the Switches in the loop to ensure the highest network
performance and reliability.
♦
Bridge Identifier
: This is the combination of the Bridge Priority (a
parameter that you can set) and the MAC address of the Switch.
Example: 4 00 80 C8 00 01 00, where 4 is the Bridge Priority. A
lower Bridge Identifier results in a higher priority for the Switch, and
thus increases it probabily of being selected as the Root Bridge.
♦
Designated Bridge
: From each LAN segment, the attached Bridge
that has the lowest Root Path Cost to the Root Bridge is the
Designated Bridge. It forwards data packets for that LAN segment.
In cases where all Switches have the same Root Path Cost, the
Switch with the lowest Bridge Identifier becomes the Designated
Bridge.