Trying to go through some exercises, and I'm really confused.
Imagine 4 switches arranged in a square. They are connected around the perimeter, but also in an "X" through the center.
SW A ----------SW B | \\ / | | \\ / | | \\ / | | \\ / | | \\ / | | \\ / | | X | | / \\ |
SW C SW D
(I don't want to do any more...you get the idea).
All switches have the same priority, and links are a mixture of
100Mbps and 1 Gbps.
I set this same topology up in Packet Tracer, and arranged the switches so that tha MAC addresses have the same relationships as they do in the exercise. I wanted to see how PT assigns things so I could check my own work.
PT says SW A is the root bridge, SW B has one root, one DP, and one blocked port. SW D has one root and 2 DPs. SW C has one root and 2 blocked ports.
Is there only one solution, or does it depend on the order that you do things? If I start with SW B and start calculating path costs and assigning port designations, I get the same answer as PT. But if I start with, say, SW C I get something different.
BTW...this is page 196 of the LAN Switching and Wireless Study Guide.