Hi all
I passed my CCNP switching exam a while ago, however there is still something rather simple that bugs me!
Obviously connecting switches back to back requires a crossover cable, if you intend to transport VLAN's then you need to setup trunk links.
We indeed have a couple of low spec catalysts that have been connected via simple a crossver cat 5 cable. We have no trunking specified because they are all in the same VLAN. I understand that if we wish to use more than one crossover to obtain a bundle we need to implement Fast EtherChannel.
However what would happen if I connected two crossover cables between the catalysts and used NO trunking or FEC? (no STP either)
Would this introduce loops etc? Which crossover cable would be used in the event a frame needed to travel to the other switch?
Thanks!
This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.
Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.
If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.
Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.
Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.
Access the answers to your technology questions today.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.
Try it out and discover for yourself.
30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.
Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.
Yes, it would cause a loop with STP disabled. You can not have redundant links without the use of STP or it will cause a loop. If STP is enabled, one link will be used and the other will be disabled. If the primary link fails, the other link will become active and allow interswitch communication to continue.
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: chicagoanPosted on 2003-12-16 at 08:18:21ID: 9950214
If you had multiple paths between switches with no operating system awareness you'd set up you spanning tree to be constantly reconfiguring itself. On a CAT, ports can be set up to detect the multiple connections with
channel-group channel-group-number mode {auto [non-silent] | desirable [non-silent] | on}
>Which crossover cable would be used in the event a frame needed to travel to the other switch?
The spanning tree on the switch sending the packet would determine which interface to send it to, but in the case of an SPT loop chances are the other switch has rebuilt it's table and the packet dies a slow death playing "which way do I go?"