Spanning Tree Protocol
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network protocol that builds a loop-free logical topology for Ethernet networks
Wikidata facts
- Part of
- Ethernet
- Has part
- Bridge Protocol Data Units
Show 5 more facts
- time of discovery or invention
- 1985-00-00
- discoverer or inventor
- Radia Perlman
- Commons category
- Spanning tree protocol
- publication date
- 1985-00-00
- described by source
- IEEE 802.1D
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~32 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a network protocol that builds a loop-free logical topology for Ethernet networks. The basic function of STP is to prevent bridge loops and the broadcast radiation that results from them. Spanning tree also allows a network design to include backup links providing fault tolerance if an active link fails.
As the name suggests, STP creates a spanning tree that characterizes the relationship of nodes within a network of connected layer-2 bridges, and disables those links that are not part of the spanning tree, leaving a single active path between any two network nodes. STP is based on an algorithm that was invented by Radia Perlman while she was working for Digital Equipment Corporation.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Spanning Tree Protocol” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.