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• MSTP prunes a loop network into a loop-free tree, which avoids proliferation and endless
cycling of packets in a loop network. In addition, it supports load balancing of VLAN data by
providing multiple redundant paths for data forwarding.
MSTP basic concepts
Figure 16 shows a switched network that comprises four MST regions, each MST region comprising
four MSTP devices. Figure 17 sh
ows the networking topology of MST region 3.
Figure 16 Basic concepts in MSTP
MST region 1
MST region 2 MST region 3
MST region 4
VLAN 1 MSTI 1
VLAN 2
MSTI 2
Other VLANs
MSTI 0
VLAN 1 MSTI 1
VLAN 2
MSTI 2
Other VLANs
MSTI 0
VLAN 1 MSTI 1
VLAN 2
MSTI 2
Other VLANs
MSTI 0
VLAN 1 MSTI 1
VLAN 2&3
MSTI 2
Other VLANs
MSTI 0
CST