Which port states are defined by RSTP?

Which port states are defined by RSTP?

• A. Discarding
• B. Learning
• C. Forwarding
• D. Discarding, Learning, and Forwarding

Answer: (D)

Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) is an evolution of the original Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) designed to improve the convergence time in network topologies. In RSTP, there are three definitive port states that describe how a port on a switch can handle traffic during the operation of the protocol. The discarding state is utilized when a port is not forwarding traffic; this can be due to the port being part of a redundant link that is in a standby state or simply to prevent loops in the network. In this state, the port does not send or receive frames, ensuring that there are no data packets being forwarded unnecessarily. The learning state allows a port to process incoming frames and determine the source MAC addresses for those frames. This state is critical for building the MAC address table but does not forward frames to other ports yet. This phase is essential to ensure that when a port transitions to the forwarding state, it has the necessary information to send traffic appropriately. Finally, the forwarding state is where a port actively sends and receives frames. In this state, frames can be forwarded to other ports on the network, and the port participates fully in the forwarding decisions based on its learned MAC addresses. The combination of these three states - discarding

Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) is an evolution of the original Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) designed to improve the convergence time in network topologies. In RSTP, there are three definitive port states that describe how a port on a switch can handle traffic during the operation of the protocol.

The discarding state is utilized when a port is not forwarding traffic; this can be due to the port being part of a redundant link that is in a standby state or simply to prevent loops in the network. In this state, the port does not send or receive frames, ensuring that there are no data packets being forwarded unnecessarily.

The learning state allows a port to process incoming frames and determine the source MAC addresses for those frames. This state is critical for building the MAC address table but does not forward frames to other ports yet. This phase is essential to ensure that when a port transitions to the forwarding state, it has the necessary information to send traffic appropriately.

Finally, the forwarding state is where a port actively sends and receives frames. In this state, frames can be forwarded to other ports on the network, and the port participates fully in the forwarding decisions based on its learned MAC addresses.

The combination of these three states - discarding