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Catalyst 2960 Switch Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter 1 Overview
Features
• In-band management access through SNMP Versions 1, 2c, and 3 get and set requests
• Out-of-band management access through the switch console port to a directly attached terminal or
to a remote terminal through a serial connection or a modem
Note For additional descriptions of the management interfaces, see the “Network Configuration Examples”
section on page 1-11.
Availability Features
• UniDirectional Link Detection (UDLD) and aggressive UDLD for detecting and disabling
unidirectional links on fiber-optic interfaces caused by incorrect fiber-optic wiring or port faults
• IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) for redundant backbone connections and loop-free
networks. STP has these features:
–
Up to 128 spanning-tree instances supported
–
Per-VLAN spanning-tree plus (PVST+) for balancing load across VLANs
–
Rapid PVST+ for balancing load across VLANs and providing rapid convergence of
spanning-tree instances
–
UplinkFast and BackboneFast for fast convergence after a spanning-tree topology change and
for achieving load balancing between redundant uplinks, including Gigabit uplinks
• IEEE 802.1s Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) for grouping VLANs into a spanning-tree
instance and for providing multiple forwarding paths for data traffic and load balancing and rapid
per-VLAN Spanning-Tree plus (rapid-PVST+) based on the IEEE 802.1w Rapid Spanning Tree
Protocol (RSTP) for rapid convergence of the spanning tree by immediately transitioning root and
designated ports to the forwarding state
• Optional spanning-tree features available in PVST+, rapid-PVST+, and MSTP mode:
–
Port Fast for eliminating the forwarding delay by enabling a port to immediately transition from
the blocking state to the forwarding state
–
BPDU guard for shutting down Port Fast-enabled ports that receive bridge protocol data units
(BPDUs)
–
BPDU filtering for preventing a Port Fast-enabled port from sending or receiving BPDUs
–
Root guard for preventing switches outside the network core from becoming the spanning-tree
root
–
Loop guard for preventing alternate or root ports from becoming designated ports because of a
failure that leads to a unidirectional link
• Flex Link Layer 2 interfaces to back up one another as an alternative to STP for basic link
redundancy
• RPS support through the Cisco RPS 300 and Cisco RPS 675 for enhancing power reliability
