RSTP convergence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=firiJITQFGo&t=2s
At the first time when these switches came UP, both will send their BPDU with “proposal” bit
ON, on interface f1/1.
o At this time interface f1/1 role will be DP and state will be Discarding.
Both the SWHs received the BPDUs from each other and do the comparison.
SWH-2 came to know that it received a superior BPDU on its interface f1/1.
Then SWH-2 will change the role of the port to RP and send the BPDU to SWH-1 with
“agreement” bit ON and also perform the “synchronization” process.
After receiving this new agreement BPDU from SWH-2, SWH-1 will change the port f1/1 role to
DP and change its state immediately to forwarding state.
o Because, as we know that the port on which “BPDU with agreement bit” transmit and
received, their states will be immediately changed to forwarding.
o Only the SWH who is sending “BPDU with agreement bit” will perform the
“synchronization” process.
o So here is this case SWH-2 will put all the ports apart from the RP into the discarding
state. This is “synchronization” process.
o In this case interface f1/2 will go into the discarding state, then listing, learning and
finally into forwarding. That’s why we still need portfast in our access ports.
Topology change in RSTP
Direct topology change:
In this scenario, when the root port link goes down on SW-2, the SW-2 will not hold the BPDU
that was received on the RP port. It will mark that BPDU expired immediately.
And will use BPDU which was received on the “Alt” port and change its role to RP and send a
BPDU with agreement bit ON to SW-1. And then change its state from blocking to forwarding,
immediately.
oAs you know when ever a new port became RP, switch will perform synchronization
also.
This whole process will happen in milliseconds.
Indirect topology change:
When the RP port link on SW-2 goes down, it will mark the BPDU expired which was received on
that port. Because this SW-2 does not have any other alt port, it will advertise himself as root
bridge and send a BPDU on the DP port.
SW-3 received an inferior BPDU on its port.
o In RSTP the mechanism is, whenever a switch receives a inferior BPDU on its port then it
will immediately send the superior BPDU (which is received on RP port) on the port from
which inferior BPDU was received.
So, switch-3 send the superior BPDU to SW-2, currently SW-3 change the role of this port to DP.
After receiving the superior BPDU on SW-2, SW-2 will send a BPDU with agreement bit ON.
o SW-2 will change the port role to RP and state to forwarding. And perform the
“synchronization” process.
This whole process will happen in milliseconds.
