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| STP port explaination |
In Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), the root port is the port on a non-root switch that has the lowest path cost to the root bridge. The designated port is the port on a segment that is responsible for forwarding frames onto the segment and is selected based on the lowest path cost to the root bridge.
| Concept | Designated Port | Root Port |
|---|---|---|
| Description | The port on a switch that has been selected as the designated forwarding port for a particular segment of the network. It is responsible for forwarding and receiving data for that segment. | The port on a switch that provides the shortest path to the root bridge in the network. Each switch in the network will have one root port, and it is selected based on the cost of the path to the root bridge. The root port on a non-root bridge is the port that is closest to the root bridge in terms of path cost. |
| Selection Criteria | Selected for each network segment. | Selected based on the shortest path to the root bridge. |
| Functionality | Responsible for forwarding and receiving data for a particular segment of the network. | Provides the shortest path to the root bridge. |
| Failure | If a designated port fails, the STP algorithm will elect a new designated port for that segment. | If the root port fails, the STP algorithm will select a new root port for the switch. |
Explaination Simplified
Do you know what the internet is? It's a big network of computers that can talk to each other. But sometimes, when you have a big network like that, things can get a little bit confusing, and the computers can start talking to each other too much. This is called a "loop".
To stop a loop from happening, there's something called the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) that helps the computers on the network talk to each other in a better way.
There are two important types of ports in STP called "Designated ports" and "Root ports". A Designated port is like a special messenger that helps the computers talk to each other in a particular part of the network. A Root port is like a secret path that helps the computers find the quickest way to talk to each other across the whole network.
If one of the Designated ports stops working, the network can still find another way to talk in that part of the network. But if the Root port stops working, the whole network might need to find a new path to talk to each other, and that can take some time.
