STP Crash Course

bcall64

Does anyone know a quick guide to STP? I'm reading the Odom's ICND2 book and my eyes are getting really heavy. It's very very wordy and I just need a cut and dry guide of how it works.

peanutnoggin

bcall64 wrote: »

Does anyone know a quick guide to STP? I'm reading the Odom's ICND2 book and my eyes are getting really heavy. It's very very wordy and I just need a cut and dry guide of how it works.

Get a lab... once you lab it, the terms would then make sense. Once you understand STP, its not too bad... in the beginning though, it could be dry and overwhelming! Do you have equipment to practice with?

-Peanut

bcall64

Yeah I have a pretty decent lab. I'm at work at the moment so it can be tough to stay focused. I was able to get VLANs, trunking, and VTP down pretty quickly yesterday with my lab.

peanutnoggin

Yeah... I think if you have 3 switches and begin to lab the STP configurations, you'll be able to pickup STP pretty fast. If you have problems, you know the TE community is here to help!

-Peanut

bcall64

Yeah I love this place you guys got me through the ICND1 with flying colors. I have 3 switches. The one is a 2900 seriesXL, I forget the exact model but it's older but it should work. I'm hoping to fly through the ICND2 so I can finally have my CCNA.

peanutnoggin

What are your other switches? The 2900XL is an older switch, but if you have 2950s, that should be enough for your CCNA!!

-Peanut

bcall64

peanutnoggin wrote: »

What are your other switches? The 2900XL is an older switch, but if you have 2950s, that should be enough for your CCNA!!

-Peanut

That's exactly what I have 2 2950's and 1 2900XL. It's perfect for the lab at the moment. Eventually I'd like to have an access server for ease of access, 851 router, another 2950 switch and who knows what I'll need for the security certifications.

bcall64

My full lab is 2 2524's which are old but are still useful, 2 1721's, 2 2950 switches, and a 2950 xl.

peanutnoggin

I would suggest you get a 3550 if you're going to get another switch. That'll help you further down the line with more advanced studies. Then you can ditch the 2900XL. The 851 I believe will work for the CCNA: Security if it can do the 12.4 IOS and can run SDM. You can cross that bridge when you get there! Good luck with your studies!!

-Peanut

bcall64

Sounds good to me. I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself because then I end up dreaming and not studying.

tha_dub

I'd recommend reading all the chapters on switching then lab it then read it again. (granted I don't have my ccna yet either) I'm on my second read through and its going very fast and I'm understanding it a lot better without having to re-read paragraphs.... Considering my test is in two days I'm going to go ahead and not read through the whole book again... On the practice tests my weak area was switching so thats where I'm concentrating. We'll see.

Good luck!

bcall64

Today I spent hours of Vlans, trunking, vtp, and setup router on a stick. It doesn't look like I will have time for STP.

bcall64

I was able to do a little bit of labbing on spanning tree and will really get into it later today. It doesn't look very difficult from what i've seen.