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Any configuration changes made locally on the switch won't be synchronized with Sophos Central. We recommend making changes from the Sophos Central control panel instead.

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STP

The Spanning Tree Algorithm (STA) can detect and block network loops and provide backup links between switches. This allows Sophos Switch to interact with other bridging devices in your network, ensuring that only one route exists between any two destinations and providing backup links that automatically take over when the primary link goes down.

STP provides a tree topology for the switch. There are different types of Spanning Tree versions supported, including Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) IEEE 802.1D, Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) IEEE 802.1w, and Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) IEEE 802.1s.

MSPT vs RSTP

MSTP: Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) enables Sophos Switch to map multiple VLANS and reduces the number of spanning-tree instances needed to support many VLANs. You can use a single STP if there’s only one VLAN in the network.

If your network has more than one VLAN, the logical network configured by a single STP would work. However, using an alternate spanning tree for different VLANs or groups of VLANs becomes more efficient. MSTP (based on RSTP for fast convergence) supports independent spanning trees based on VLAN groups. MSTP enables load balancing and provides multiple forwarding paths for traffic.

RSTP: RSTP prevents loops from forming by ensuring that only one path exists between the endpoints in your network. RSTP is a general replacement for the slower, legacy STP. RSTP is much faster than legacy STP. It can complete convergence in seconds, which diminishes the possible impact of the process on your network compared to STP.