STP

Spanning Tree Protocol
7.2.3 This page will teach students about the ports and devices that are found in an STP switched network.
When the network has stabilized, it has converged and there is one spanning-tree per network.
As a result, for every switched network the following elements exist:

• One root bridge per network
• One root port per non-root bridge
• One designated port per segment
• Unused, or non-designated ports

Root ports and designated ports are used for forwarding (F) data traffic.
Non-designated ports discard data traffic. These ports are called blocking (B) or discarding ports. 
The next page will discuss the root bridge.