EtherChannel is a port link aggregation technology or port-channel architecture used primarily on Cisco switches. It allows grouping of several physical Ethernet links to create one logical Ethernet link for the purpose of providing fault-tolerance and high-speed links between switches, routers and servers. An EtherChannel can be created from between two and eight active Fast, Gigabit or 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports, with an additional one to eight inactive (failover) ports which become active as the other active ports fail. EtherChannel is primarily used in the backbone network, but can also be used to connect end user machines.

EtherChannel provides incremental trunk speeds between Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. EtherChannel combines multiple Fast Ethernet up to 800Mbps, Gigabit Ethernet up to 8Gbps , and 10 Gigabit Ethernet up to 80Gbps.

STP configures meshed topology into a loop-free, tree-like topology. When the link on a bridge port goes up, STP calculation occurs on that port. The result of the calculation is the transition of the port into forwarding or blocking state. The result depends on the position of the port in the network and the STP parameters. This calculation and transition period usually takes about 30 to 50 seconds. At that time, no user data pass via the port. Some user applications can time out during the period.

In order to allow immediate transition of the port into forwarding state, enable the STP PortFast feature. PortFast immediately transitions the port into STP forwarding mode upon linkup. The port still participates in STP. So if the port is to be a part of the loop, the port eventually transitions into STP blocking mode.

As long as the port participates in STP, some device can assume the root bridge function and affect active STP topology. To assume the root bridge function, the device would be attached to the port and would run STP with a lower bridge priority than that of the current root bridge. If another device assumes the root bridge function in this way, it renders the network suboptimal. This is a simple form of a denial of service (DoS) attack on the network. The temporary introduction and subsequent removal of STP devices with low (0) bridge priority cause a permanent STP recalculation.

The STP PortFast BPDU guard enhancement allows network designers to enforce the STP domain borders and keep the active topology predictable. The devices behind the ports that have STP PortFast enabled are not able to influence the STP topology. At the reception of BPDUs, the BPDU guard operation disables the port that has PortFast configured. The BPDU guard transitions the port into errdisable state, and a message appears on the console. This message is an example:

2000 May 12 15:13:32 %SPANTREE-2-RX_PORTFAST:Received BPDU on PortFast enable port. 
Disabling 2/1 
2000 May 12 15:13:32 %PAGP-5-PORTFROMSTP:Port 2/1 left bridge port 2/1

Consider this example:

Figure 1

Bridge A has priority 8192 and is the root for the VLAN. Bridge B has priority 16384 and is the backup root bridge for the same VLAN. Bridges A and B, which a Gigabit Ethernet link connects, make up a core of the network. Bridge C is an access switch and has PortFast configured on the port that connects to device D. If the other STP parameters are default, the bridge C port that connects to bridge B is in STP blocking state. Device D (PC) does not participate in STP. The dashed arrows indicate the flow of STP BPDUs.

Figure 2

In Figure 2, device D has started to participate in STP. For example, a Linux-based bridge application is launched on a PC. If the priority of the software bridge is 0 or any value below the priority of the root bridge, the software bridge takes over the root bridge function. The Gigabit Ethernet link that connects the two core switches transitions into blocking mode. The transition causes all the data in that VLAN to flow via the 100-Mbps link. If more data flow via the core in the VLAN than the link can accommodate, the drop of frames occurs. The frame drop leads to a connectivity outage.

The STP PortFast BPDU guard feature prevents such a situation. The feature disables the port as soon as bridge C receives the STP BPDU from device D.

Configuration

You can enable or disable STP PortFast BPDU guard on a global basis, which affects all ports that have PortFast configured. By default, STP BPDU guard is disabled. Issue this command in order to enable STP PortFast BPDU guard on the switch:

CatOS Command

Console> (enable) set spantree portfast bpdu-guard enable 

Spantree portfast bpdu-guard enabled on this switch. 

Console> (enable)

Cisco IOS Software Command

CatSwitch-IOS(config)# spanning-tree portfast bpduguard 
CatSwitch-IOS(config)

When STP BPDU guard disables the port, the port remains in the disabled state unless the port is enabled manually. You can configure a port to reenable itself automatically from the errdisable state. Issue these commands, which set the errdisable-timeout interval and enable the timeout feature:

CatOS Commands

Console> (enable) set errdisable-timeout interval 400 

Console> (enable) set errdisable-timeout enable bpdu-guard

Cisco IOS Software Commands

CatSwitch-IOS(config)# errdisable recovery cause bpduguard

CatSwitch-IOS(config)# errdisable recovery interval 400

Note: The default timeout interval is 300 seconds and, by default, the timeout feature is disabled.

Monitoring

In order to verify whether the feature is enabled or disabled, issue this command:

Command Output

CatOS Command

Console> (enable) show spantree summary
Root switch for vlans: 3-4.
Portfast bpdu-guard enabled for bridge. 
Uplinkfast disabled for bridge.
Backbonefast disabled for bridge.

Summary of Connected Spanning Tree Ports By VLAN:
 
Vlan  Blocking Listening Learning Forwarding STP Active
 
----- -------- --------- -------- ---------- ----------
 
   1         0         0        0          1          1
 
   3         0         0        0          1          1
 
   4         0         0        0          1          1
 
  20         0         0        0          1          1

 
Blocking Listening Learning Forwarding STP Active
 
----- -------- --------- -------- ---------- ----------
 
Total        0         0        0          4          4
 
Console> (enable)

Cisco IOS Software Command

CatSwitch-IOS# show spanning-tree summary totals 
Root bridge for: none.
PortFast BPDU Guard is enabled
UplinkFast is disabled
BackboneFast is disabled
Spanning tree default pathcost method used is short


Name                 Blocking Listening Learning Forwarding STP Active
-------------------- -------- --------- -------- ---------- ----------
  1 VLAN                 0        0         0        1          1         

CatSwitch-IOS#

Spanning Tree Protocol Security

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) resolves redundant topologies into loop-free, treelike topologies. When switches are interconnected via multiple paths, STP prevents loops from being formed. An STP loop (or forwarding loops) can occur when the entire network fails because of a hardware failure, a configuration issue, or a network attack. STP loops can be costly, causing major network outages. The following STP features can be used to improve the stability of the Layer 2 networks.

Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) Guard

Bridge protocol data units (BPDU) are data messages exchanged between bridges using spanning tree protocol to detect loops in a network topology. BPDU contains management and control data information that is used to determine the root bridge and establish the port roles—for example: root, designated, or blocked port.

The BPDU Guard feature is designed to keep the active topology predictable and to enhance switch network reliability by enforcing the STP domain borders.

The guard can be enabled globally on the switch or enabled on a per-interface basis. In a valid configuration, ports with port fast enabled do not receive BPDUs. Receiving a BPDU on a port with port fast enabled signals an invalid configuration, such as the connection of an unauthorized device, and the BPDU Guard feature puts the interface in the error-disabled state.

At the global level, BPDU Guard can be enabled on a port with port fast enabled using the spanning-tree portfast bpduguard default global configuration command. Spanning tree shuts down interfaces that are in a port fast operational state.

At the interface level, BPDU Guard can be enabled on an interface by using the spanning-tree bpduguard enable interface configuration command without also enabling the port fast feature. When the interface receives a BPDU, the switch assumes that a problem exists and puts the interface in the error-disabled state.

The BPDU Guard feature provides a secure response to invalid configurations because you must manually put the interface back in service. In a service-provider network environment, the BPUD Guard feature can be used to prevent an access port from participating in the spanning tree.

Root Guard

In a switched network environment with shared administrative control or in a service provider (SP) environment where there are many connections to other switches (into customer networks), it is important to identify the correct placement of the root bridge. If possible, it is also important to identify a specific predetermined location to achieve an optimal forwarding loop-free topology. There is no mechanism in the standard STP to enforce the position of the root bridge, as any bridge in a network with a lower bridge ID can assume the role of the root bridge. Sometimes because of a misconfiguration, a spanning tree may converge incorrectly by selecting an imprecise switch to be the root switch. This situation can be prevented by enabling the Root Guard feature. For example, you could enable Root Guard on SP-side switch interfaces that connect to a customer-side switch. With the Root Guard feature implemented, if a switch outside the SP network becomes the root switch, the interface is put in a blocked state, and spanning tree will select a new root switch. The customer's switch does not become the root switch and is not in the path to the root.

With the Root Guard feature, a Layer 2 interface is set as the designated port, and if any device through this port becomes the root bridge, the interface is placed into the blocked (root-inconsistent) state. The Root Guard feature can be enabled by using the spanning-tree guard root command in interface configuration mode.

EtherChannel Guard

The EtherChannel Guard feature is used to detect EtherChannel misconfigurations between the switch and a connected device. An example of a misconfiguration is when the channel parameters are not identical and do not match on both sides of the EtherChannel. Another example could be when only one side is configured with channel parameters. EtherChannel parameters must be the same on both sides for the guard to work.

When the switch detects an EtherChannel misconfiguration, the EtherChannel Guard places the switch interface in the error-disabled state and displays an error message.

The EtherChannel Guard feature can be enabled by using the spanning-tree etherchannel guard misconfig global configuration command.

Loop Guard

The Loop Guard feature provides an additional layer of protection against the Layer 2 forwarding loops (STP loops) by preventing alternative or root ports from becoming designated ports because of a failure resulting in a unidirectional link. This feature works best when enabled on all switches across a network. By default, the spanning tree does not send BPDUs on root or alternative ports.

The Loop Guard feature can be enabled by using the spanning-tree loopguard default global configuration command.