Compex Technologies WPE54 - Manual (Page 72)

Chapter 5 Further Configuration
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4.6 STP Setup
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a link management protocol that helps to prevent
undesirable loops occur in the network. For an Ethernet network to function properly,
only one active path can exist between two stations. If a loop exists in the network
topology, duplication of messages will occur and this might confuse the forwarding
algorithm and allow duplicate frames to be forwarded.
In short, the main purpose of activating STP is to prevent looping when you have
redundant paths in the network. Without activating STP, redundant topology will cause
broadcast storming.