Using Rstp; Table 3: Selecting A Spanning Tree Protocol - Juniper EX9200 Features Manual

Table 3: Selecting a Spanning Tree Protocol

Protocol Advantages
RSTP Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol is the default switch
configuration and is recommended for most network
configurations because it converges more quickly
than STP after a failure.
Voice and video work better with RSTP than they
do with STP.
RSTP is backward compatible with STP; therefore,
switches do not all have to run RSTP.
RSTP supports more ports than MSTP or VSTP
STP Spanning Tree Protocol works with 802.1D 1998
bridges.
RSTP is backward compatible with STP; therefore,
switches do not all have to run STP.
MSTP Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol works with most
VLANs.
RSTP and STP are recognized as distinct
spanning-tree regions by MSTP.
VSTP VLAN Spanning Tree Protocol works with VLANS
that require device compatibility.
VSTP and RSTP are the only spanning-tree
protocols that can be configured concurrently on a
switch.
Related
Documentation
Copyright © 2017, Juniper Networks, Inc.
Understanding STP for EX Series Switches
Understanding MSTP for EX Series and QFX Series Switches on page 78
Understanding VSTP for EX Series Switches and QFX Series Switches on page 159
Example: Faster Convergence and Improved Network Stability with RSTP on EX Series
Switches
Example: Configuring Faster Convergence and Improved Network Stability with RSTP
on page 9
Configuring RSTP (CLI Procedure) on page 33
Disadvantages
RSTP does not work with 802.1D 1998 bridges.
RSTP is not recommended for multiple VLAN
networks because it is not VLAN-aware—as a result,
all VLANs within a LAN share the same spanning
tree. This limits the number of forwarding paths for
data traffic.
STP is slower than RSTP.
STP is not recommended for multiple VLAN
networks because it is not VLAN-aware—as a result,
all VLANs within a LAN share the same spanning
tree. This limits the number of forwarding paths for
data traffic.
Some protocols require compatibility that is not
provided by MSTP. In this case, use VSTP.
MSTP supports a limited number of ports.
MSTP uses more CPU than RSTP and does not
converge as fast as RSTP.
With VSTP there can be only STP instance per
VLAN, whereas MSTP lets you combine multiple
VLANs in one instance.
VSTP supports a limited number of ports compared
to RSTP.
VSTP uses more CPU than RSTP and does not
converge as fast as RSTP.
Having a large number of VSTP and RSTP instances
can cause continuous changes in the topology. As
a workaround, reduce the number of VSTP instances
to fewer than 190.
Chapter 1: Using RSTP
7