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V-66077

CAT II (Medium)

The HP FlexFabric Switch must implement Rapid STP where VLANs span multiple switches with redundant links.

Rule ID

SV-80567r1_rule

STIG

HP FlexFabric Switch L2S Security Technical Implementation Guide

Version

V1R3

CCIs

CCI-000366

Discussion

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is implemented on bridges and switches to prevent layer 2 loops when a broadcast domain spans multiple bridges and switches and when redundant links are provisioned to provide high availability in case of link failures. Convergence time can be significantly reduced using Rapid STP (802.1w) instead of STP (802.1d), resulting in improved availability. Rapid STP should be deployed by implementing either Rapid or Multiple Spanning-Tree Protocol (MSTP) -- the latter scales much better when there are many VLANs.

Check Content

In cases where VLANs do not span multiple switches, it is a best practice to not implement STP. Avoiding the use of STP will provide the most deterministic and highly available network topology.  If STP is required, then review the HP FlexFabric Switch configuration to verify that Rapid STP has been implemented. 

If Rapid STP has not been implemented where STP is required, this is a finding.

[HP]display stp vlan X

Fix Text

Configure Rapid STP to be implemented at the access and distribution layers where VLANs span multiple switches.