Switch ports operating in which two roles will forward traffic according to the IEEE 802.1w standard? (Choose two.)
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A. B. C. D. E.CE
The IEEE 802.1w standard is also known as Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), which is an updated version of the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) that was designed to provide faster convergence times in the event of network topology changes.
RSTP has introduced some new port roles that are different from those of STP. The following are the RSTP port roles:
Root port (RP) - The port with the best path cost to the root bridge.
Designated port (DP) - The port that is responsible for forwarding data on a segment.
Alternate port (AP) - The port that provides an alternate path to the root bridge.
Backup port (BP) - The port that is ready to take over the DP role if the current DP fails.
Disabled port (DP) - The port that is administratively disabled.
Out of these five port roles, the two port roles that forward traffic according to the IEEE 802.1w standard are:
Designated port (DP) - This port role is responsible for forwarding data on a segment. When RSTP is enabled, the DP immediately transitions to the forwarding state instead of waiting for the listening and learning states as STP does. Therefore, the DP role forwards traffic according to the IEEE 802.1w standard.
Root port (RP) - This port role has the best path cost to the root bridge and forwards traffic towards the root bridge. Like the DP, the RP also transitions immediately to the forwarding state in RSTP. Therefore, the RP role also forwards traffic according to the IEEE 802.1w standard.
Therefore, the correct answers to the question are:
A. Alternate C. Designated