Ethernet devices running the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) have been implemented in networks since the early 1990s. Many organizations take STP for granted and do not configure it per industry best ...

Jeff Hardee introduced me to the idea of using longer Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) path length values for high-speed links. I thought this was an intriguing idea and so I started to do some informal ...

The use of switched network environments to forward digital data transmission packets known as frames is a very basic concept in networking and telecommunications. Network switches work to direct ...

As computer networks get bigger, it becomes increasingly hard to keep track of the flow of data over this network. How do you route data, making sure that the data is spread to all parts of the ...

Joel is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of security, networking and messaging. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @joelsnyder. Building enterprise networks with routers and switches ...

An algorithm that runs in network bridges and switches to prevent loops, in which packets keep going around in circles. In a small network with one or two switches, the spanning tree protocol (STP) ...