Introduction 23GVRP SupportGARP VLAN Registration Protocol (GVRP) provides IEEE 802.1Q-compliant VLAN pruning anddynamic VLAN creation on 802.1Q trunk ports. When GVRP is enabled, the device registers andpropagates VLAN membership on all ports that are part of the active underlying "Spanning TreeProtocol Features" topology.For more information, see "Configuring GVRP".Spanning Tree Protocol FeaturesSpanning Tree Protocol (STP)802.1d Spanning tree is a standard Layer 2 switch requirement that allows bridges to automaticallyprevent and resolve L2 forwarding loops. Switches exchange configuration messages usingspecifically formatted frames and selectively enable and disable forwarding on ports.For more information, see "Configuring the Spanning Tree Protocol".Fast LinkSTP can take up to 30-60 seconds to converge. During this time, STP detects possible loops,allowing time for status changes to propagate and for relevant devices to respond. 30-60 seconds isconsidered too long of a response time for many applications. The Fast Link option bypasses thisdelay, and can be used in network topologies where forwarding loops do not occur.For more information enabling Fast Link for ports and LAGs, see "Defining STP Port Settings" or"Defining STP LAG Settings".IEEE 802.1w Rapid Spanning TreeSpanning Tree can take 30-60 seconds for each host to decide whether its ports are activelyforwarding traffic. Rapid Spanning Tree (RSTP) detects uses of network topologies to enable fasterconvergence, without creating forwarding loops.For more information, see "Configuring Rapid Spanning Tree".Link AggregationFor more information, see "Aggregating Ports".Link AggregationUp to eight Aggregated Links may be defined, each with up to eight member ports, to form a singleLink Aggregated Group (LAG). This enables:• Fault tolerance protection from physical link disruption• Higher bandwidth connections• Improved bandwidth granularity• High bandwidth server connectivity
