Spanning Tree Protocol (Stp) - Extreme Networks Altitude 4700 Series Product Reference Manual

The association and authentication process is identical to the MU association process. The client Access
Point sends 802.11 authentication and association frames to the base Access Point. The base Access Point
responds as if the client is an actual mobile unit. Depending on the security policy, the two Access
Point's engage in the normal handshake mechanism to establish keys.
After device association, the two Access Points are connected and the system can establish the bridge
and run the spanning tree algorithm. In the meantime, the Access Point in client bridge mode continues
to scan in the background attempts to establish an association with other Access Points using the same
ESS on the same channel.
CAUTION
An Access Point is Base Bridge mode logs out whenever a Client Bridge associates to the Base Bridge
over the LAN connection. This problem is not experienced over the Access Point's WAN connection. If this situation
is experienced, log-in to the Access Point again.
The Access Point in client bridge mode attempts to establish up to 3 simultaneous wireless connections.
The second and third connections are established in the background while the system is running. The
first connection needs to be established before the system starts bridging traffic.
The dual-radio model Access Point affords users better optimization of the mesh networking feature by
allowing the Access Point to transmit to other Access Points (in base or client bridge mode) using one
independent radio and transmit with its associated MUs using the second independent radio.
Client Bridge Configuration Process Example
In this example, two Access Points are described with the following configurations:
AP #1 base bridge
●
AP #2 repeater (both a base and client bridge)
●
In the case of a mesh enabled radio, the client bridge configuration always takes precedence over the
base bridge configuration. Therefore, when a radio is configured as a repeater (AP #2), the base bridge
configuration takes effect only after the client bridge connection to AP #1 is established. Thus, AP #2
keeps scanning to find the base bridge, form the uplink and start beaconing as a base bridge for
downstream client bridge connection. This is by design, as there is no reason to use a partially broken
connection with no uplink to a base bridge.

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)

The Access Point performs mesh networking using STP as defined in the 802.1d standard.
Once device association is complete, the client and base bridge exchange Configuration Bridge Protocol
Data Units (BPDUs) to determine the path to the root. STP also determines whether a given port is a
redundant connection or not.
Altitude 4700 Series Access Point Product Reference Guide
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