STP Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the STP exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 STP Exam Format at a Glance
📚 STP Topics to Study (35)
✍️ Sample STP Questions & Answers
1. What distinguishes an RSTP Alternate Port from a Backup Port?
An Alternate Port offers an alternate path to the root through a different bridge, while a Backup Port is a redundant port on the same shared segment.
2. When comparing Rapid PVST+ to MSTP, which statement is accurate?
MSTP reduces CPU and memory overhead by mapping many VLANs to a single instance, whereas Rapid PVST+ runs one STP process per VLAN.
3. Which blood type is known as the universal donor?
O-negative (O-) blood is considered the universal donor because it lacks A, B, and Rh antigens on the surface of its red blood cells. This means it can be safely transfused to patients of any blood type without triggering an immune response. Its compatibility makes it invaluable in emergency situations when a patient's blood type is unknown.
4. What is the primary advantage of PVST+ over classic 802.1D STP?
PVST+ maintains one STP instance per VLAN, allowing different root bridges per VLAN and load balancing across redundant links.
5. What is the default STP bridge priority value on a Cisco switch?
Cisco switches default to a bridge priority of 32768, which is the midpoint of the 0–65535 range.
6. Which STP port state immediately precedes the Forwarding state during normal port initialization?
A port transitions from Listening → Learning → Forwarding; the Learning state is the final intermediate state before a port begins forwarding data.