Allied Telesis AT-8100 Series - Manual (Page 782)

Chapter 53: STP, RSTP and MSTP Protocols
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Point-to-Point and Edge Ports
Part of the task of configuring RSTP or MSTP is defining the port types on
the switch. This relates to the devices connected to the ports. With the port
types defined, RSTP or MSTP can reconfigure a network much quicker
than STP when a change in network topology is detected.
Note
This section applies only to RSTP and MSTP.
There are two possible selections:
 Point-to-point port
 Edge port
A port that is operating in full-duplex mode is functioning as a point-to-
point port. Figure 149 illustrates two switches that are connected with one
data link. With the link operating in full-duplex, the ports are point-to-point
ports.
Figure 149. Point-to-Point Ports
If a port is operating in half-duplex mode and is not connected to any
further bridges that are participating in spanning tree, then the port is an
edge port. Figure 150 on page 783 illustrates an edge port on the switch.
The port is connected to an Ethernet hub, which in turn is connected to a
series of Ethernet workstations. This is an edge port because it is
connected to a device that has no participating RSTP or MSTP devices.