Allied Telesis AT-S101 - Manual (Page 142)

Chapter 13: Spanning Tree and Rapid Spanning Tree Protocols
142
Mixed STP and RSTP Networks
RSTP IEEE 802.1w is fully compliant with STP IEEE 802.1d. Your network
can consist of bridges running both protocols. STP and RSTP in the same
network can operate together to create a single spanning tree domain.
If you decide to activate spanning tree on the switch, Allied Telesis
recommends RSTP instead of STP even when all of other switches in the
network are running STP. The AT-GS950/8POE switch can combine its
RSTP with the STP of the other switches. The AT-GS950/8POE switch
monitors the traffic on each port for BPDU packets. Ports that receive
RSTP BPDU packets operates in RSTP mode while ports receiving STP
BPDU packets operate in STP mode.