Spanning Tree Protocol Packet

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The purpose of a spanning tree protocol packet like BGP [Border Gateway Protocol] is to provide switching information to the LAN [Local Area Network] switches to forward ethernet packets. A router can filter/forward/forget (drop) on both IP [Internet Protocol] 32-bit addresses and MAC [Media Access Control] 48-bit address on the LAN card (often referred as the hardware address). A router only broadcasts to LAN packets that have addresses on that network which reduces broadcast and collision domains.

Routers are able to route or direct packets by both IP and MAC addresses as well as by data type (email, graphics), function (file transfer, hyper-text transfer protocol) and other variables and functions (firewall) to improve performance, reduce collisions and control users.

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[tags]TECHtionary, spanning tree protocol, border gateway protocol, bgp[/tags]