Drew, I don't know if your question has already been answered or not but here my $0.02.
One reason to use the MAC-layer multicast address is to minimize the impact of the BPDU flooding on non-switch/bridge devices. Regular end-stations will not need to process the BPDU packets because the destination is not one they listen for. If the packets were sent to the broadcast address then every device would need to copy them off the wire and process them further up the stack. Matt, if you search the CCIE-list archives for "Canonical" or "bit-swapping" you should get several hits - the Big-Endian/Little-Endian question has been well-discussed because of its impact on certain DLSw/bridging issues. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Drew Simonis Sent: Friday, November 16, 2001 4:30 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Spanning Tree Protocol [7:26538] Randy Lopez wrote: > > What Multicast address does STP use? > Since spanning tree is a layer 2 protocol, why would it use any multicast address? STP is used between directly connected switches and uses BPDU packets, flooded out all ports for set up. Not multicast. http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/473/5.html Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=26731&t=26538 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
