Understanding MSTP

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Understanding MSTP
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Posted by Petr Lapukhov, 4xCCIE/CCDE in Switching
Introduction
Over time I was thinking of putting together the two blog posts made in the past about MSTP and adding more
clarification for MSTP multi-region section. This new blog post recaps the information posted previously and
provides more details this time. Additionally, it discusses some MSTP design-related questions. Both single-region
and multiple-region MSTP configurations are reviewed in the post. The reader is assumed to have good
understanding of classic STP and RSTP protocols as well as Ciscos PVST/PVST+ implementations.
Table of Contents
Due to the large size of the document, a table of contents is provided for the ease of navigation.
Historical Review
Logical and Physical Topologies
Implementing MSTP
Caveats in MSTP Design
MSTP Single-Region Configuration Example
Common and Internal Spanning Tree (CIST)
Common Spanning Tree (CST)
Mapping MSTIs to CIST
MSTP Multi Region Design Considerations
Interoperating with PVST+
Scenario 1: CIST Root and CIST Regional Root
Scenario 2: MSTIs and the Master Port
Scenario 3: PVST+ and MSTP Interoperation
Conclusions
Further Reading
Historical Review
In the beginning, there was IEEE STP protocol, which was preceded by DEC and IBM STP variants. All of them
utilized the same logic originally proposed by Radia Perlman in 80s, while she was working in DEC. The IEEE
version was adapted for use with multiple VLANs using 802.1q frames tagging. A shared spanning-tree, sometimes
called Mono Spanning Tree (MST) by Cisco, or more often Common Spanning Tree (CST) was used to create a
single loop-free topology. The drawback of this approach is inability to perform VLAN traffic engineering across
redundant links: if a link is blocked, it is blocked for all VLANs. Another issue related to STP construction more
traffic is forwarded over the links closer to the root bridge, which puts higher demand on the root bridge resources
both in terms of CPU and links capacity utilization.
To overcome these limitations, Cisco introduced proprietary Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Protocol (PVST), using
separate STP instance per VLAN. Initially, PVST was created to be used with Ciscos proprietary ISL encapsulation
only, but the later PVST+ version allowed for tunneling PVST BPDUs over 802.1q trunks and IEEE STP domains.
PVST allowed for using different logical topology with every VLAN, enhancing basic Layer 2 traffic engineering.
Every VLAN may use its own root bridge and forwarding topology allowing for more fair resource utilization. This
method has some limitation as it does not deal with the actual network link capacities and utilization, but rather
statistically multiplexes VLANS to different topologies. However, this is the limitation inherent to any load-
balancing method based on STP. The main problem of PVST was that with the number of VLANs growing, PVST
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becomes a waste of switch resources and management burden. This is because the number of different logical
topologies is usually much smaller than the number of active VLANs.
With time, PVST adopted fast-convergence properties introduced by IEEE RSTP protocol, but the core feature of
keeping a separate copy of STP per VLAN did not change. Seeing the problems associated with PVST approach,
Cisco came with idea of decoupling the concepts of STP instances and VLANs. The initial implementation was
called MISTP (Multiple Instances Spanning Tree) and later evolved into IEEE 802.1s standard called MSTP
(Multiple Spanning Trees Protocol).
Logical and Physical Topologies
The core idea of MSTP is utilizing the fact that a redundant physical topology only has a small amount of different
spanning-trees (logical topologies). The figure below shows a ring topology of three switches and three different
spanning trees that may result from different root bridge placements.
Instead of running an STP instance for every VLAN, MSTP runs a number of VLAN-independent STP instances
(representing logical topologies) and then administrator maps each VLAN to the most appropriate logical topology
(STP instance). The number of STP instances is kept to minimum (saving switch resources), but the network
capacity is utilized in more optimal fashion, by using all possible paths for VLAN traffic.
The switch logic for VLAN traffic forwarding has changed a little bit. In order for a frame to be forwarded out of a
port, two conditions must be met: first, VLAN must be active on this port (e.g. not filtered) and second, the STP
instance the VLAN maps to, must be in non-discarding state for this port. The second property is normally enforced
automatically, as MAC addresses are not learned on discarding ports. It is worth reminding that due to multiple
logical topologies active on a port, the port could be blocking for one instance and forwarding for another (note that
in (R)PVST+ a port is either forwarding or discarding for a VLAN). The figure below demonstrates six VLANs
using two MSTP instances, thus reducing the number of STP trees that would be required with PVST from 6 to 2.
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Implementing MSTP
The following is a set of implementation-related questions that a theoretical implementation needs to address:
Logical Topology Calculation. How to build multiple STP instances (logical topologies) in a single
physical topology? Should we run multiple STP instances sending their BPDUs independently? If yes, then
how would we distinguish every instances BPDUs? VLAN tags cannot be utilized for that purpose, as
STPs are no bound to VLANs anymore.
Information Distribution. What protocol should be used to distribute VLAN to instance mapping tables
among switches? Should VLAN IDs be placed in BPDUs along with respective instance numbers?
Consistency Check. How to ensure the VLANs to instance mapping is consistent across all switches? That
is, how would a switch know that another switch maps VLAN X to the same instance?
MISTP vs MSTP
Original Cisco MISTP pre-standard implementation was sending separate BPDUs for each instance. Every BDPU
contained instance number and a list of VLANs, mapped on sending switch to this particular instance that allowed
for consistency check between the switches. The table mapping VLANs to instance numbers has to be configured on
each switch separately. There was no automated mechanism to distribution VLAN to instance mappings between the
switches.
The final implementation adopted by the IEEE 802.1s standard made this mechanics more elegant and simple.
Before we process with discussing IEEEs implementation, lets define MSTP region as a collection of switches,
sharing the same view of physical topology partitioning into set of logical topologies. For two switches to become
members of the same region, the following attributes must match:
Configuration name.
Configuration revision number (16 bit value).
The table of 4096 elements that map the respective VLANs to STP instance numbers.
The IEEE 802.1s implementation does not send BDPUs for every active STP instance separately, nor does it
encapsulate VLAN numbers list configuration messages. Instead, a special STP instance number 0 called Internal
Spanning Tree (IST aka MSTI0, Multiple Spanning Tree Instance 0) is designated to carry all STP-related
information. The BPDUs for IST contain all standard RSTP-style information for the IST itself, as well as carry
additional informational fields. Among those fields are configuration name, revision number and a hash value
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calculated over VLANs to MSTI mapping table contents. Using just this condensed information switches may detect
mis-configuration in VLAN mappings by comparing the hash value received from the peer with the local value.
M-Records
By default, all VLANs are mapped to the IST. This represents the case of classic IEEE RSTP with all VLANs
sharing the same spanning-tree. Other MSTP instances could be enabled, and they are referred to as Multiple
Spanning Tree Instances (MSTIs). Every MSTI assign its own priorities to the switches and use its own link costs to
come up with a private logical topology, separate from the IST. Since MSTP does not send MSTIs information in
separate BPDUs, this information is piggybacked into the ISTs BPDUs using special M-Record fields (one for
every active MSTI). Using TLVs (Type-Length-Value) those fields carry root priority, designated bridge priority,
port priority and root path cost among others.
MSTI Tree Construction
Similar to RSTP, every switch emits its own configuration BPDUs, one every Hello seconds. The BDPUs has full
information about the IST and carry M-Records for every active MSTI . Using the RSTP convergence mechanics
(Proposal & Agreement bits), separate STP instances are constructed for the IST and every MSTI. It is important to
notice that fundamental STP timers such as Hello, ForwardTime, MaxAge could only be tuned for the IST. All other
instances (MSTIs) inherit the timers from the IST this is the natural result of all MSTI information being
piggybacked in IST BPDUs.
MSTP has special mechanism to age out old information out of the domain. The IST BDPUs has special field called
Remaining Hops. The IST root sends BPDUs with hop count equal to MaxHops (configurable value) and every
downstream switch decrements the hop count field on reception of IST BPDU. As soon as hop count becomes zero,
the information in BPDU is ignored, and the switch may start declaring itself as a new IST root. The classic MaxAge
and ForwardDelay timers are still used when MSTP interacts with RSTP, STP or (R)PVST+ bridges.
STP Dispute
Cisco switches has long time been implementing LoopGuard feature that allows for blocking the non-designated
port when it loses the flow of STP BPDUs. This is helpful for detecting unidirectional link (normally on fiber optical
links) and preventing Layer 2 loops that could go undetected by STP. Ciscos implementation of MSTP allows for
detecting unidirection condition, by comparing the downstream port state reported in BPDUs. If the upstream switch
sends superior root bridge information to the downstream bridge but receives the BPDUs with Designated bit set,
the upstream switch concludes that the downstream does not hear its BPDUs. The upstream switch then blocks the
downstream port and marks it as STP dispute link.
Caveats in MSTP Design
There are some issues that may arise due to the fact that spanning-tree instances are not mapped one-to-one to
VLANs. With PVST, pruning a VLAN on a link would also disable the corresponding STP on the same link. Since
MSTIs are decoupled from VLANs, every MSTI is running on every link in the region. The MSTIs differ in their
decisions to make this link forwarding or blocking. By pruning VLANs you may end up in situation where VLAN is
not enabled on the link where the corresponding MSTI is forwarding OR enabled on the link where the
corresponding MSTI is blocking. Consider the following example to illustrate this idea:
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In this topology, VLANs are manually pruned on trunks. Since the filtering is not consistent with the respective
MSTI blocking decisions, VLAN2s traffic is blocked between SW1 and SW2. To avoid this situation, do not use
static VLAN pruning method of distributing VLANs across trunks when you have MSTP enabled. A situation
equivalent to the one described is when ports connecting the switches are access ports. MSTP runs on these ports
and have logical topologies either blocking or forwarding on the ports. Depending on VLANs to MSTI mapping, a
given VLAN could be blocked on the access ports due to MSTP decision even though the access VLANs are
different, they use the same STP. To avoid this problem, do not run MSTP on access-ports and use them for
connecting stub devices only e.g. hosts and leaf switches.
MSTP Single-Region Configuration Example
Now that we have basic understanding of how MSTP works inside a region lets create a sample configuration.
Consider the following physical topology of three switches:
The topology has the following VLANs: 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60. Our goals for this scenario are:
Make VLANs 10,20,30 follow the link from SW3 to SW1.
Make VLANs 40,50,60 follow the link from SW3 to SW2.

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If any of the above links fail, the affectred VLANs should fall-back to the other link.
To accomplish this, we create two MSTIs number 1 and 2. SW1 will be the root for instance 1 and SW2 will be
the root for instance 2. As for the IST (MSTI0), we make SW3 the root switch for it (though its not recommended
to assign root roles to access switches). As for VLAN to MSTI mappings, VLAN 1 will remain mapped to the IST.
Remaining VLANs 10, 20 and 30 would map MSTI1, while VLANs 40, 50 and 60 would map to MSTI2. Here is
the configuration:
SW1:
spanning-tree mode mst
!
spanning-tree mst configuration
name REGION1
instance 1 vlan 10, 20, 30
!
! Root for MSTI1
!
spanning-tree mst 1 priority 8192
!
interface FastEthernet0/13
switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q
switchport mode trunk
!
SW2:
!
name REGION1
!
! Root for MSTI 2
!
!
!
SW3:
!
name REGION1
!
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! Root for the IST

!
!
!
The following show commands will demonstrate the effect our configuration has on traffic forwarding:
SW1#show spanning-tree mst configuration

Name [REGION1]
Revision 0 Instances configured 3
Instance Vlans mapped

--------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
0 1-9,11-19,21-29,31-39,41-49,51-59,61-4094
1 10,20,30
2 40,50,60
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
SW1#show spanning-tree mst
##### MST0 vlans mapped: 1-9,11-19,21-29,31-39,41-49,51-59,61-4094

Bridge address 0019.5684.3700 priority 32768 (32768 sysid 0)
Root address 0012.d939.3700 priority 8192 (8192 sysid 0)
port Fa0/16 path cost 0
Regional Root address 0012.d939.3700 priority 8192 (8192 sysid 0)
internal cost 200000 rem hops 19
Operational hello time 2 , forward delay 15, max age 20, txholdcount 6
Configured hello time 2 , forward delay 15, max age 20, max hops 20
Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/13 Desg FWD 200000 128.15 P2p
Fa0/16 Root FWD 200000 128.18 P2p
##### MST1 vlans mapped: 10,20,30

Root this switch for MST1

---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/13 Desg FWD 200000 128.15 P2p
Fa0/16 Desg FWD 200000 128.18 P2p
##### MST2 vlans mapped: 40,50,60

Root address 001e.bdaa.ba80 priority 8194 (8192 sysid 2)
port Fa0/13 cost 200000 rem hops 19
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---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/13 Root FWD 200000 128.15 P2p
Fa0/16 Altn BLK 200000 128.18 P2p
SW1#show spanning-tree mst interface fastEthernet 0/13
FastEthernet0/13 of MST0 is designated forwarding

Edge port: no (default) port guard : none (default)
Link type: point-to-point (auto) bpdu filter: disable (default)
Boundary : internal bpdu guard : disable (default)
Bpdus sent 561, received 544
Instance Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Vlans mapped

-------- ---- --- --------- -------- -------------------------------
0 Desg FWD 200000 128.15 1-9,11-19,21-29,31-39,41-49,51-59
61-4094
1 Desg FWD 200000 128.15 10,20,30
2 Root FWD 200000 128.15 40,50,60
SW1#show spanning-tree mst interface fastEthernet 0/16
FastEthernet0/16 of MST0 is root forwarding

Edge port: no (default) port guard : none (default)
Link type: point-to-point (auto) bpdu filter: disable (default)
Boundary : internal bpdu guard : disable (default)
Bpdus sent 550, received 1099
Instance Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Vlans mapped

-------- ---- --- --------- -------- -------------------------------
0 Root FWD 200000 128.18 1-9,11-19,21-29,31-39,41-49,51-59
61-4094
1 Desg FWD 200000 128.18 10,20,30
2 Altn BLK 200000 128.18 40,50,60
The link cost values are much higher than the default STP costs (IEEE standard values), and MSTIx is called MSTx
(e.g. IST is MST0). Aside from that, note the term Regional Root which is to be explained in details below.
Common and Internal Spanning Tree (CIST)
As mentioned before, every MSTP region runs special instance of spanning-tree known as IST or Internal Spanning
Tree (=MSTI0). This instance mainly serves the purpose of disseminating STP topology information for MSTIs. IST
has a root bridge, elected based on the lowest Bridge ID (Bridge Priority + MAC address). The situation changes
with multiple MSTP regions in the network. When a switch detects BPDU messages sourced from another region
(or STP/PVST+ BPDU), it marks the corresponding port as MSTP boundary. For the convenience, we would call
all other ports as internal. A switch that has boundary ports is known as boundary switch.
On the figure below you can see three MSTP regions interconnected in ring topology using pair of links between
every pair of regions. The links connecting the regions connect the boundary ports. Since every switch has a
connection to some other region, all switches are boundary. Notice the simplified notation for link costs and bridge
priorities. We will use those to demonstrate how the CIST is constructed. For the simplicity, assume that all link
costs inside the region are the same value of 1.
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When multiple regions connect together, every region needs to construct its own IST and all regions should build
one common CIST spanning across the regions. To see how this is accomplished, first have a look at the structure of
MSTP BPDU. On the figure below, notice MSTP uses protocol version 3 as opposed to RSTPs version 2. Version 4
is reserved to SPT Shortest Path Tree new loop prevention and packet bridging standard defined in emerging
IEEE 802.1aq document.
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The MSTP BPDU contains two important block of information. One, highlighted in red, is related to CIST Root and
CIST Regional Root election. As you will see later, CIST Root is elected among all regions and CIST Regional Root
is elected in every region. The green block outlines the information about CIST Regional Root (which becomes the
IST Root in presence of multiple regions). The CIST Internal Root path cost is the intra-region cost to reach the
CIST Regional Root. It is important to keep in mind that IST Root = CIST Regional Root in case where multiple
regions interoperate. This transformation is explained further in the text. Now, to define the CIST Root and CIST
Regional Root roles:
CIST Root is the bridge that has the lowest Bridge ID among ALL regions. This could be a bridge inside a
region or a boundary switch in a region.
CIST Regional Root is a boundary switch elected for every region based on the shortest external path cost
to reach the CIST Root. Path cost is calculated based on costs of the links connecting the regions,
excluding the internal regional paths. CIST Regional Root becomes the root of the IST for the given region
as well.
CIST Root Bridges Election Process
When a switch boots up, it declares itself as CIST Root and CIST Regional Root and announces this fact
in outgoing BPDUs. The switch will adjust its decision upon reception of better information and continue
advertising the best known CIST Root and CIST Regional Root on all internal ports. On the boundary
ports, the switch advertises only the CIST Root Bridge ID and CIST External Root Path Cost thus hiding
the details of the regions internal topology.
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CIST External Root Path Cost is the cost to reach the CIST Root across the links connecting the
boundary ports i.e. the inter-region links. When a BPDU is received on an internal port, this cost is not
changed. When a BPDU is received on a boundary port, this cost is adjusted based on the receiving
boundary port cost. In result, the CIST External Root Path Cost is propagated unmodified inside any
region.
Only a boundary switch could be elected as the CIST Regional Root, and this is the switch with the lowest
cost to reach the CIST Root. If a boundary switch hears better CIST External Root Path cost received on its
internal link, it will relinquish its role of CIST Regional Root and start announcing the new metric out of its
boundary ports.
Every boundary switch needs to properly block its boundary ports. If the switch is a CIST Regional Root, it
elects one of the boundary ports as the CIST Root port and blocks all other boundary ports. If a boundary
switch is not the CIST Regional Root, it will mark the boundary ports as CIST Designated or Alternate. The
boundary port on a non regional-root bridge becomes designated only if it has superior information for the
CIST Root: better External Root Path cost or if the costs are equal better CIST Regional Root Bridge ID.
This follows the normal rules of STP process.
As a result of CIST construction, every region will have one switch having single port unblocked in the
direction of the CIST Root. This switch is the CIST Regional Root. All boundary switches will advertise
the regions CIST Regional Root Bridge ID out of their non-blocking boundary ports. From the outside
perspective, the whole region will look like a single virtual bridge with the Bridge ID = CIST Regional
Root ID and single root port elected on the CIST Regional Root switch.
The region that contains the CIST Root will have all boundary ports unblocked and marked as CIST
designated ports. Effectively the region would look like a virtual root bridge with the Bridge ID equal to
CIST Root and all ports being designated. Notice that the region with CIST Root has CIST Regional Root
equal to CIST Root as they share the same lowest bridge priority value across all regions.
Have a look at the diagram below. It demonstrates the CIST topology calculated from the physical topology we
outlined above. First, SW1-1 is elected as the CIST Root as it has the lowest Bridge ID among all bridges in all
regions. This automatically makes region 1 a virtual bridge with all boundary ports unblocked. Next, SW2-1 and
SW3-1 are elected as the CIST Regional Roots in their respective regions. Notice that SW3-1 and SW2-3 have equal
External Costs to reach the CIST Root but SW3-1 wins the CIST Regional Root role due to lower priority. Keep in
mind that in the topology with multiple MSTP regions, every region that does not contain the CIST Root has to
change the IST Root election process and make IST Root equal to CIST Regional Root.
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Common Spanning Tree (CST)
From the above information, we may conclude that CIST essentially has organization of a two-level hierarchy. The
first level treats all regions as virtual bridges and operates with the External Root Path Cost. The first-level
spanning tree roots in the CIST Root Bridge and encompasses the virtual bridges. This spanning-tree is known as
CST or Common Spanning Tree. The CST connects all boundary ports and perceives every region as a single virtual
bridge with the Bridge ID equal to CIST Regional Root Bridge ID.
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CST is the construct where MSTP interoperates with the IEEE STP/RSTP regions as well. The legacy switch regions
join their STP instance with the CST and perceive MSTP regions as transparent virtual bridges, staying unaware
of their internal topology. Thus, connecting to IEEE STP/RSTP domains extended the CST. MSTP discovers the
appropriate STP version on a boundary link by listening to external and switches to the respective mode of
operations (e.g. RSTP/STP). It may happen so that a switch with the lowest Bridge ID belongs to a RSTP/STP
region. This situation results in all MSTP regions electing local CIST Regional Roots and considering the new CIST
Root located outside MSTP domain.
The second level of CIST hierarchy consists of the various MSTP regional ISTs. Every MSTP region builds IST
instance using the internal path costs and following the optimal internal topology, using the CIST Regional Root
as the IST Root. The changes to CST may affect the ISTs in every region, as those changes may result in re-electing
of the new CIST Regional Roots. Changes to the regions internal topologies normally do not affect the CST, unless
those changes partition the region.
Mapping MSTIs to CIST
MSTIs are constructed independently in every region, but they have to be mapped to the CIST at the boundary ports.
This means inability to load-balance VLAN traffic on the boundary links by mapping VLANs to different instances.
All VLANs use the same non-blocking boundary ports, which are either upstream or downstream with respect to the
CIST Root. This statement is only valid with respect to the CST paths connecting the regional virtual bridges. Inside
any region VLANs follow the internal topology paths, based on the respective MSTI configurations.
The MSTIs have no idea of the CIST Root whatsoever; they only use internal paths and internal MSTI root to build
the spanning trees. However, all MSTP instances see the root port (towards the CIST Root) of the CIST Regional
Bridge as a special Master Port connecting them to the CIST Root bridge. This port serves the purpose of the
gateway linking MSTIs to other regions. Recall that switches do not send M-Records (MSTI information) out of
boundary ports, only CIST information. Thus, the CIST and MSTIs may converge independently and in parallel.
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The Master Port will only begin forwarding when all respective MSTI ports are in sync and forwarding to avoid
temporary bridging loops.
MSTP Multi-Region Design Considerations
Ethernet is known for its broadcast nature that tends propagating faults across the whole Layer 2 domain. There are
tree main problems with Ethernet that affect MSTP designs:
Unknown unicast flooding results in traffic surges under topology changes. Those are either result of
asymmetric routing or persistent topology changes. Every topology change causes massive invalidation of
MAC address tables and unicast traffic flooding. This process is the result of Ethernet topology
unawareness the bridges dont know MAC addresses location.
Broadcast and Multicast flooding. This is a separate problem as many core protocols (ARP, IGP, PIM) rely
on multicasting or broadcasting. Those packets should be delivered to every node in a broadcast domain
and under intense load network could be congested at every point.
Spanning-Tree Convergence. MSTP uses RSTP procedure for STP re-negotiation. Since it is based on
distance-vector behavior, it is prone to some convergence issues, such as counting to infinity (old
information circulation). This is especially noticeable in larger topologies with 10+ switches and under
special conditions, such as failure of the root bridge.
The concept of MSTP region allows for bounding STP re-computations. Since MSTIs in every region are
independent, any change affecting MSTI in one region will not affect MSTIs in other regions. This is a direct result
of the fact that M-Record information is not exchanged between the regions. However, the CIST recalculations
affect every region and might be slow converging. This is why it is a good idea not to map any VLAN to CIST and
avoid connecting MSTP regions to IEEE STP domains.
Topology changes in MSTP are treated the same way as in RSTP. That is, only non-edge links going to forwarding
state will cause a topology change and the switch detecting the change will flood this information through the
domain. However, single physical link may be forwarding for one MSTI and blocking for another. Thus, a single
physical change may have different effect on MSTIs and the CIST. Topology changes in MSTIs are bounded to a
single region, while topology changes to the CIST propagate through all regions. Every region treats the TC
notification from another region as external and applies them to CIST-associated ports only.
A topology change to CST (the tree connecting the virtual bridges) will affect all MSTIs in all regions and the CIST.
This is due to the fact that new link becoming forwarding between the virtual bridges may change all paths in the
topology and thus require massive MAC address re-learning. Thus, from the standpoint of topology change,
something happening to the CST will have most massive impact of flooding in the set of interconnected MSTP
regions.
The above observations advise a good design rule for MSTP networks separate meshy topologies in their own
regions and interconnect regions using sparse mesh, keeping in mind balance between redundancy and topology
changes effect. This is an adaptation of well-know design principle separate complexity from complexity to keep
networks more stable and isolate fault domains. In addition, exposing a lot of links to CST will reduce your load-
balancing choices, as CST supports only one STP instance. You want to avoid designs like the one diagrammed
below, which effectively disabled load balancing on the mesh of links that belong to CST. The reason is that now the
full-mesh of links belongs on CST and it elects only one unblocked path between the two regions.
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Even though region partitioning offers better fault isolation it still does not eliminate well-known Ethernet issues
such as unicast and broadcast flooding. Those may still occur and disrupt network connectivity. For example, unicast
flooding could be caused by unidirectional traffic and broadcast flooding may be a result of transient bridging loops
when a root bridge fails. Transient bridging loops are reality with RSTP/MSTP especially in larger topologies due to
various synchronization problems resulting in count to infinity behavior. This problem is especially dangerous when
a root bridge crashes and the remaining topology contains loops old information may circulate until its aged out
using hop counting (counting to infinity).
Interoperating with PVST+
Per its design, PSVST+ runs a separate STP instance for every VLAN. On a contrary, MSTP maps VLANs to
MSTIs, so one-to-one mapping between VLAN and STP instance no longer holds true. How should an MSTP switch
operate on a border link connected to the PVST+ domain?
MSTP runs multiple MSTIs inside a region and maps them all to CIST on the border ports. The interoperation model
needs to ensure that internal MSTIs could be aware of changes in any of PVST+ trees. Its hard to automatically
map VLAN-bounded STPs to the MSTIs and so the simplest way to accomplish the desired behavior is to join
ALL PVST+ trees with the CST.
By connecting PVST+ trees to the CST, the solution ensure that changes in any of PVST+ STP instances will affect
the CST and all MSTIs as a consequence. While not the optimal solution, it ensures that no changes go unnoticed
and no black holes occur in a single VLAN due to the topology changes. As with the IEEE STP, every tree in
PVST+ domain perceives MSTP regions like virtual bridges with multiple boundary ports. A topology change in any
of PVST+ trees will affect the CST and impact every MSTI instance in all MSTP regions. This behavior makes the
MSTP topology less stable and fully exposed to changes in PVST+ domain.
The MSTP implementation simulates PVST+ by replicating CIST BPDUs on the link facing the PVST+ domain and
sending those BPDUs on ALL VLANs active on the trunk. The MSTP switch consumes all BDPUs received from
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PVST+ domain and processes them using the CIST instance. The PSVT+ domain sees the MSTP domain as a
PVST+ bridge with all per-VLAN instances claiming the CIST Root as the root of their STP. With respect to the
common STP Root elected between MSTP and PVST+ the two following options are possible:
o MSTP domain (either a single region or multiple regions) contains the root bridge for ALL
VLANs. This means the CIST Root Bridge ID is better than any PVST+ STP root Bridge ID. If
there is only one MSTP region connecting to PVST+ domain, then all boundary ports on the
virtual-bridge will be unblocked and could be used by PVST+ trees. This is the preferred design,
as administrator can manipulate uplink costs on the PVST+ side and obtain optimal traffic
engineering results. On the figure below, VLANs 2 and 3 have their STP costs adjusted so that
they select different uplinks connected to MSTP regions boundary ports. Since the CIST Root is
inside the MSTP region, both boundary ports are non-blocking designated and thus the load
balancing scheme works fine.
PVST+ domain contains the root bridges for ALL VLANs. This is only true is all PVST+ root bridges
Bridge IDs for all VLANs are better than the MSTP CIST Root Bridge ID. This is not the preferred design,
since all MSTIs map to CIST on the border link, and you cannot load-balance the MSTIs as they enter the
PVST+ domain.
Cisco implementation does not support the second option. MSTP domain should contain the bridge with the best
Bridge ID, to ensure that the CIST Root is also the root for all PVST+ trees. In any other case, the MSTP border
switch will complain and place the ports that receive superior BPDUs from PVST+ region in root-inconsistent state.
To fix this issue, ensure that PVST+ domain does not have any bridges with Bridge IDs better than the CIST Root
Bridge ID.
And lastly a few words on MSTP and PVST interoperations. The operate in exactly the same manner and follow the
same rules as PVST+ interoperation, just ISL is used for trunking encapsulation.
Scenario 1: CIST Root and CIST Regional Root
In this scenario, we configure four switches in two regions. The first region consists of one switch (SW1) and the
second region consists of three switches: SW2, SW3 and SW4. SW1 is the CIST Root thanks to its lowest priority;
17
SW2 is the CIST Regional Root for REGION234. We modify links costs in REGION234 to make SW3 prefer path
to SW2 via SW4 and not via the directly connected link.
SW1:
!
! Minimum Priority among all bridges
!
!
name REGION1
exit
SW2:
name REGION234
exit
!
! SW2 priority is less than SW4s, but it has better cost to CIST Root
!
!
! This is the active boundary port
!
interface FastEthernet 0/13
spanning-tree mst 0 cost 50
18
!
!
SW3:
name REGION234
exit
!
!
SW4:
name REGION234
exit
!
! SW4 has better IST priority but higher cost to the CIST Root
!
!
!
!
In the above configuration we adjusted link costs to ensure the following:
MSTP REGION 234 elects SW2 as the CIST Regional Root due to its shortest path to the CIST Root. SW2
is the CIST Regional Root for REGION234, even though SW4 has better switch priority inside the region.
SW3 selects the path through SW4 to reach internal root bridge due to the shortest path cost to SW1 (CIST
Regional Root) via SW4.
Verifications for the above configuration follow:
SW1#show spanning-tree mst 0
##### MST0 vlans mapped: 1-4094

Bridge address 0019.55e6.6800 priority 4096 (4096 sysid 0)
Root this switch for the CIST
19

---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/13 Desg FWD 200000 128.15 P2p
Fa0/14 Desg FWD 200000 128.16 P2p
Fa0/19 Desg FWD 200000 128.21 P2p
SW1 says it is the CIST Root Bridge and all of its ports are unblocked (designated). The bridge priority is set to
4096 this will allow us to distinguish this switch in the show outputs below. The ports are not marked as boundary,
since SW1 is not receiving any BPDUs on these ports all downstream ports suppress sending their own BPDUs
since SW1 is the root bridge. You may confirm this using the following debugging commands:
SW1#debug spanning-tree mstp bpdu receive

MSTP BPDUs RECEIVEd dump debugging is on
SW1#
Next try dumping the BPDUs being sent by SW1. Notice that they all have Mum_mrec set to zero which means
zero M-records. SW1 claims itself as the CIST Root and CIST Regional root on all ports. The cost to both roots is
set to zero.
SW1#debug spanning-tree mstp bpdu transmit

MSTP BPDUs TRANSMITted dump debugging is on
MST[0]:-TX Fa0/13 BPDU Prot:0 Vers:3 Type:2

MST[0]: Role : Desg Flags[AFL] Age:0 RemHops:20
MST[0]: CIST_root: 4096.0019.55e6.d380 Cost :0
MST[0]: Reg_root : 4096.0019.55e6.d380 Cost :0
MST[0]: Bridge_ID: 4096.0019.55e6.d380 Port_ID:32783
MST[0]: max_age:20 hello:2 fwdelay:15
MST[0]: V3_len:64 region:REGION1 rev:0 Num_mrec: 0

MST[0]: Reg_root : 4096.0019.55e6.d380 Cost :0ll

Inspect CIST statistics on SW2:

Bridge address 001b.8f0c.2a00 priority 16384 (16384 sysid 0)
Root address 0019.55e6.6800 priority 4096 (4096 sysid 0)
20
Regional Root this switch


---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/13 Root FWD 50 128.15 P2p Bound(RSTP)
Fa0/14 Altn BLK 200 128.16 P2p Bound(RSTP)
Fa0/16 Desg FWD 10 128.18 P2p
Fa0/19 Desg FWD 200000 128.21 P2p
SW2 is the CIST Regional Root Bridge (CIST Root) with the priority value of 16384. SW2 learns that SW1 is the
CIST Root with the priority value of 4096. The boundary root port is Fa 0/13, elected based on regular STP rules
(shortest path, lowest upstream port priority). The other boundary uplink is blocking. Both ports show up as
Boundary since they face the other MSTP domain. Of course, SW2 is the Regional Root due to the fact that is has
the shortest path to the CIST Root. Dump the BPDUs being sent by SW2:


MST[0]: Role : Desg Flags[FL] Age:1 RemHops:20
MST[0]: Reg_root :16384.0019.564c.c580 Cost :0
MST[0]: Bridge_ID:16384.0019.564c.c580 Port_ID:32786

MST[0]: Role : Desg Flags[FL] Age:1 RemHops:20
SW2 only sends BPDUs out of its designated ports that are Fa 0/16 and Fa 0/19. The output also signifies that SW2
announces SW1 as the CIST Root and itself as the regional root. Notice the CIST External Root Path Cost and the
CIST Regional Root Cost. Now, check the MSTI0 statistics on SW3:

Bridge address 000c.85be.c680 priority 32768 (32768 sysid 0)
Regional Root address 001b.8f0c.2a00 priority 16384 (16384 sysid 0)

---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/16 Altn BLK 100 128.16 P2p
Fa0/19 Root FWD 10 128.19 P2p
21
SW3 sees SW1 as the CIST Root and SW2 as the CIST Regional Root. Since SW2 is also the root for IST, SW3
needs to select the root port to reach it. It selects the link via SW4 as our cost manipulations made this path more
preferred. The internal cost to reach the CIST Regional root is 10+10=20. The CIST External Root Path Cost is 50,
as it is not incremented when transported from SW2.

Bridge address 000d.2840.ab00 priority 8192 (8192 sysid 0)
Regional Root address 001b.8f0c.2a00 priority 16384 (16384 sysid 0)

---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/16 Root FWD 10 128.16 P2p
Fa0/19 Desg FWD 10 128.19 P2p
SW4 has lower bridge priority than SW2, but it is not elected as the CIST Regional Root, for SW4 path cost to the
CIST Root is worse. Notice the External and Internal root path costs values 50 and 10 respectively. Pay attention
to the fact that SW4s port Fa 0/13 is marked as alternate and blocking while the root port toward the CIST Regional
Root is unblocked.
Scenario 2: MSTIs and the Master Port
In this scenario we add another STP instance to REGION234. We also create two VLANs 10 and 20 in all switches
and map them to MSTI 1 in REGION234.
SW1:
vlan 10,20
SW2, SW3 & SW4:

vlan 10,20
!
instance 1 vlan 10, 20
We are concerned with the show commands for new MSTI 1 in REGION 234. Notice that we didnt do any path
manipulations and simply mapped the new VLANs to MSTI 1. It was not even necessary creating new VLANs, the
configuration would work without VLANs every existing as MSTIs are separated from the VLANs.
##### MST1 vlans mapped: 10,20


---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/13 Mstr FWD 200000 128.15 P2p Bound(RSTP)
22
Fa0/16 Desg FWD 200000 128.18 P2p

Fa0/19 Desg FWD 200000 128.21 P2p
There is no Regional Root for MSTI1. Just regular root, which is the root of MSTI, elected using the regular STP
rules. In our case, the root is SW4 and the root port is Fa 0/19. Next note the special Master Port. This is the
uplink port of CIST Regional Root. All MSTIs map to CIST here, and follow the single path. This port is also
forwarding and provides the path upstream to the CIST Root for all MSTIs and their mapped VLANs. It is
interesting to dump the MSTP BPDUs sent and received by SW2:

MST[0]: RX- Fa0/13 repeated designated BPDU Prot:0 Vers:3 Type:2


Nothing special in received BPDUs, only SW1 claiming itself as the CIST Root/CIST Regional Root. Look at the
BPDUs that SW2 is sending though:


MST[1]:-TX> Fa0/16 MREC

MST[1]: Role : Desg Flags[AFL] RemHops:20
MST[1]: Root_ID :32769.0019.564c.c580 Cost :0
MST[1]: Bridge_ID:16385.0019.564c.c580 Port_id:146

MST[1]:-TX Fa0/19 MREC

23
MST[1]: Role : Desg Flags[AFL] RemHops:20

MST[1]: Root_ID :32769.0019.564c.c580 Cost :0
MST[1]: Bridge_ID:16385.0019.564c.c580 Port_id:149
The output now shows one M-Record attached to the IST BPDU. This M-Record specifies SW2 as the root bridge
for IST1 you can tell that by looking at the Cost field.
Scenario 3: PVST+ and MSTP Interoperation
In this scenario, we configure SW1 to use PSVT+ and see how it interworks with MSTP. First, configure SW1 as the
root bridge for all VLANs and make it win over any bridge in MSTP region.
SW1:
spanning-tree mode pvst
spanning-tree vlan 1-4094 priority 4096
Lets see what happens on SW2:
%SPANTREE-2-PVSTSIM_FAIL: Superior PVST BPDU received on VLAN 5
##### MST0 vlans mapped: 1-9,11-19,21-4094

Regional Root this switch
---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/13 Desg BLK 50 128.15 P2p Bound(PVST)
Fa0/14 Desg BKN*200 128.16 P2p Bound(PVST) *PVST_Inc
Fa0/16 Root FWD 100 128.18 P2p Bound(RSTP)
Notice the syslog message in the beginning. It says that while emulating PVST+ operation the MSTP code
encountered the situation where PVST+ domain claims itself as a root for one or more VLANs. That is, the PVST+
Bridge has better BID than the current CIST Root. As a result, even though the MSTP considers the new root as the
legitimate new CIST Root, it blocks the uplink port as PVST Simulation Inconsistent. It is interesting to notice
that SW1 is still considered to be the CIST Root and SW2 is the CIST Regional Root but all ports to the CIST Root
are blocking! Check the flow of BPDUs received from SW1. The first is the VLAN 1 BPDUs perceived on SW2 as
IEEE STP BPDUs. They claim SW1 as the Root Bridge you may see extended system ID carrying the VLAN
number of 1.


MST[0]: Flags[] Age:0

24
MST[0]: Role : Desg Flags[FL] Age:0

There are other BPDUs received on SW2 due to the fact that 802.1Q is the trunking encapsulation SW2 receives
PVST+ BPDUs for VLANs 10 and 20:
SW2#debug spanning-tree bpdu receive

Spanning Tree BPDU Received debugging is on
STP: MST0 rx BPDU: config protocol = mstp, packet from FastEthernet0/13 ,

linktype IEEE_SPANNING , enctype 2, encsize 17
STP: enc 01 80 C2 00 00 00 00 19 55 E6 D3 8F 00 26 42 42 03
STP: Data
00000000010001001955E6D380000000000001001955E6D380800F0000140002000F00
STP: MST0 Fa0/13:0000 00 00 01 0001001955E6D380 00000000 0001001955E6D380 800F

0000 1400 0200 0F00
linktype IEEE_SPANNING , enctype 2, encsize 17
STP: enc 01 80 C2 00 00 00 00 19 55 E6 D3 90 00 27 42 42 03
STP: Data
000002021E0001001955E6D380000000000001001955E6D38080100000140002000F00
STP: MST0 Fa0/14:0000 02 02 1E 0001001955E6D380 00000000 0001001955E6D380 8010

0000 1400 0200 0F00
linktype SSTP , enctype 3, encsize 22
STP: enc 01 00 0C CC CC CD 00 19 55 E6 D3 8F 00 32 AA AA 03 00 00 0C 01 0B
STP: Data
0000000001000A001955E6D38000000000000A001955E6D380800F0000140002000F00
STP: MST0 Fa0/13:0000 00 00 01 000A001955E6D380 00000000 000A001955E6D380 800F

0000 1400 0200 0F00
STP: enc 01 00 0C CC CC CD 00 19 55 E6 D3 90 00 32 AA AA 03 00 00 0C 01 0B
STP: Data
000002021E000A001955E6D38000000000000A001955E6D38080100000140002000F00
STP: MST0 Fa0/14:0000 02 02 1E 000A001955E6D380 00000000 000A001955E6D380 8010

0000 1400 0200 0F00
STP: enc 01 00 0C CC CC CD 00 19 55 E6 D3 8F 00 32 AA AA 03 00 00 0C 01 0B
STP: Data
00000000010014001955E6D380000000000014001955E6D380800F0000140002000F00
STP: MST0 Fa0/13:0000 00 00 01 0014001955E6D380 00000000 0014001955E6D380 800F

0000 1400 0200 0F00
STP: enc 01 00 0C CC CC CD 00 19 55 E6 D3 90 00 32 AA AA 03 00 00 0C 01 0B
STP: Data
000002021E0014001955E6D380000000000014001955E6D38080100000140002000F00
25
The above output shows that both ports receive IEEE native STP BPDUs along with PVST+ SSTP BPDUs for
VLAN numbers 0xA (10) and 014 (20). Now check how MSTI1 sees the inconsistent port:


---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/13 Mstr BKN*200000 128.15 P2p Bound(PVST) *PVST_Inc
Fa0/14 Altn BLK 200000 128.16 P2p Bound(PVST)
Fa0/16 Desg FWD 200000 128.18 P2p
Fa0/19 Desg FWD 200000 128.21 P2p
Here we see that the Master Port is blocked as well, due to the PSVT simulation inconsistency. To resolve this issue
you need to ensure that MSTP domain contains the root bridge for all PVST+ trees. This is accomplished by tuning
priority value for the CIST to a number lower than any PVST+ bridge priority.
SW1:
spanning-tree mode pvst
spanning-tree vlan 1-4094 priority 8192
SW2:
Now SW2 is the new CIST Root. Look at the show command output again:
##### MST0 vlans mapped: 1-9,11-19,21-4094

Root this switch for the CIST

---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
Fa0/13 Desg FWD 50 128.15 P2p Bound(PVST)
Fa0/16 Desg FWD 100 128.18 P2p
Fa0/19 Desg FWD 200000 128.21 P2p

Root address 000d.2840.ab00 priority 32769 (32768 sysid 1)
port Fa0/19 cost 200000 rem hops 19

---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------
26
Fa0/16 Desg FWD 200000 128.18 P2p

Fa0/19 Root FWD 200000 128.21 P2p
SW1#show spanning-tree vlan 1
VLAN0001
Spanning tree enabled protocol ieee
Root ID Priority 4096
Address 001b.8f0c.2a00
Cost 19
Port 15 (FastEthernet0/13)
Hello Time 2 sec Max Age 20 sec Forward Delay 15 sec
Bridge ID Priority 8193 (priority 8192 sys-id-ext 1)

Address 0019.55e6.6800
Hello Time 2 sec Max Age 20 sec Forward Delay 15 sec
Aging Time 300

------------------- ---- --- --------- --------
--------------------------------
Fa0/13 Root FWD 19 128.15 P2p
Fa0/14 Altn BLK 19 128.16 P2p
Fa0/19 Altn BLK 19 128.21 P2p
All SW2 ports are now designated. SW2 correctly emulates the PVST+ interactions, and SW1 sees SW2 as the root
of all PVST+ instances. SW1 will then block one of its redundant uplink based on the regular STP rules. In this
situation, traffic may flow between the PVST+ and MSTP domains and you can achieve optimal load-balancing
using the PSVT+ cost tuning on SW1.
Conclusions
MSTP was designed to overcome one major problem with classic STP protocol inability to use blocked links for
traffic forwarding due to single STP instance present. This is accomplished by running multiple spanning trees in a
topology and mapping VLANs to different trees for traffic forwarding. Even though this feature does not allow for
precise and optimal traffic engineering it improves redundant link utilization. By using regions, MSTP allows for
isolating different physical topologies from each other while maintaining Layer 2 connectivity between the regions.
However, even with improved fault isolation, MSTP still suffers from the problems inherent to Ethernet topology
uncast and broadcast flooding and slow spanning-tree convergence. This limits MSTP deployments to small Layer 2
domains, such as single access-distribution switch block. Larger MSTP deployments should be planned carefully
and require strict administrative control. As a suggestion, Private VLANs could be used for larger domains to
minimize traffic flooding.
Further Reading
IEEE 802.1 Series Standards

MSTP Configuration Guide
RFC 5517: Cisco Systems Private VLANs

Understanding MSTP

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Understanding MSTP

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1

Logical and Physical Topologies

Configuration revision number (16 bit value).

MSTI Tree Construction

Caveats in MSTP Design

MSTP Single-Region Configuration Example

Make VLANs 10,20,30 follow the link from SW3 to SW1.

Make VLANs 40,50,60 follow the link from SW3 to SW2.

! Root for the IST

SW1#show spanning-tree mst configuration

Instance Vlans mapped

SW1#show spanning-tree mst

##### MST0 vlans mapped: 1-9,11-19,21-29,31-39,41-49,51-59,61-4094

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

##### MST1 vlans mapped: 10,20,30

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

##### MST2 vlans mapped: 40,50,60

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

SW1#show spanning-tree mst interface fastEthernet 0/13

FastEthernet0/13 of MST0 is designated forwarding

Instance Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Vlans mapped

SW1#show spanning-tree mst interface fastEthernet 0/16

FastEthernet0/16 of MST0 is root forwarding

Instance Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Vlans mapped

Common and Internal Spanning Tree (CIST)

CIST Root Bridges Election Process

Common Spanning Tree (CST)

Mapping MSTIs to CIST

MSTP Multi-Region Design Considerations

Interoperating with PVST+

Scenario 1: CIST Root and CIST Regional Root

In the above configuration we adjusted link costs to ensure the following:

Verifications for the above configuration follow:

SW1#show spanning-tree mst 0

##### MST0 vlans mapped: 1-4094

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

SW1#debug spanning-tree mstp bpdu receive

SW1#debug spanning-tree mstp bpdu transmit

MST[0]:-TX Fa0/13 BPDU Prot:0 Vers:3 Type:2

MST[0]:-TX Fa0/14 BPDU Prot:0 Vers:3 Type:2

MST[0]:-TX Fa0/19 BPDU Prot:0 Vers:3 Type:2

Inspect CIST statistics on SW2:

SW2#show spanning-tree mst 0

##### MST0 vlans mapped: 1-4094

Regional Root this switch

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

SW2#debug spanning-tree mstp bpdu transmit

MST[0]:-TX Fa0/16 BPDU Prot:0 Vers:3 Type:2

MST[0]:-TX Fa0/19 BPDU Prot:0 Vers:3 Type:2

SW3#show spanning-tree mst 0

##### MST0 vlans mapped: 1-4094

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

SW4#show spanning-tree mst 0

##### MST0 vlans mapped: 1-4094

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

Scenario 2: MSTIs and the Master Port

SW2, SW3 & SW4:

SW2#show spanning-tree mst 1

##### MST1 vlans mapped: 10,20

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

Fa0/16 Desg FWD 200000 128.18 P2p

SW2#debug spanning-tree mstp bpdu receive

MST[0]: RX- Fa0/13 repeated designated BPDU Prot:0 Vers:3 Type:2

MST[0]: RX- Fa0/14 repeated designated BPDU Prot:0 Vers:3 Type:2