Re: spanning tree ?

From: Damien Hull <dhull@digitaloverload.net>
Date: Mon May 08 2006 - 18:52:56 AKDT

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

I'm in love with Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanning_tree_protocol

I read about half the page and got a headache. Lots of info that I don't
understand. This info would be good for designing large networks.
Networks that have more then a few switches.

I think the high school has about 10. Oh, and one hub. The hub could be
causing problems.

I'll have to place spanning tree on the to-do list.

Mac Mason wrote:
> On Mon, May 08, 2006 at 12:01:46PM -1000, dhull wrote:
>
>>I'm on my second cup of coffee (20oz black), compiling kernel
>>2.6.16-14 for my laptop and reading slashdot. There's an article about
>>the mother of the Internet. I don't know how true that is but she did
>>invent spanning tree.
>
> Well, she invented the distributed spanning tree algorithm that we
> use...
>
>>She mentions some interesting things about networking and how things
>>evolved. One thing she mentions is DECnet ( before my time) is better
>>then IP. There is also some talk about IT people being inappropriately
>>trained. Too much ?do this or that? when IT people should be learning
>>theory. I found it an interesting read.
>
>
> I agree on this; theory is way more important than "certification".
>
>
>>Here's my question. Should I learn the ins and outs of spanning tree?
>>The reason I ask is because the high school I'm working at has network
>>problems that I think are related to spanning tree. They will setup a
>>game server on one part of the network and only some of the clients
>>can see or access the server.
>
>
> Yes and no; on one hand, it's pretty straightforward; on the other, it's
> probably not the problem, unless your network is a real demonspawn (and
> having poked at some high school networks in my day, this is a real
> possibility)
>
>
>>They are using Cisco catalyst switches. I don't like them because they
>>have way to many options. Most of which are never used.
>
>
> Ahh, Cisco. "They were hard to build, they should be hard to use!"
>
>>spanning tree
>>1.where does this rank among all the other things a network engineer
>>should know
>
>
> In terms of day-to-day usefullness, near the bottom. On the list of
> "Things a well-trained IT or CS person should know about", in the
> middle.
>
>
>>2.how much weight should be given to spanning tree when trouble shooting
>
>
> Lots, once you've tried everything else. Have you traced packets trying
> to get from the source to the server it can't see? Which router loses
> them?
>
>
>>3.should it be placed on a check list
>
>
> Probably not...if your network is in that much trouble, you should be
> past checklist land.
>
>
>>With all the other things a network engineer needs to know I'm not
>>sure how I'm going to fit this in. There's DHCP, DNS, IP, TCP/IP,
>>routing etc... that I need to know. When will it end.
>
>
> As always, do it because it's interesting.
>
>
>>I'll take the chip implant with IT knowledge pleas.
>
>
> Knowledge isn't the important part; curiosity is, plus a good
> understanding of the diagnostic process.
>
> --Mac
>

- --
You can get my public PGP key at https://keyserver.pgp.com

Digital Overload
http://www.digitaloverload.net

Keep your data safe by doing regular backups. At Digital Overload we use
a combination of DVD and hard drive backups. For off site storage we use
a safe-deposit box at the bank.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.7 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iD8DBQFEYAQH+rNhalK/8UURAmkgAKCb9eqOuyCX0CxHpB2O5Qwb2Az+uwCfT792
YgTOeu0oam+rcBHfXLbnVp0=
=klwm
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
---------
To unsubscribe, send email to <aklug-request@aklug.org>
with 'unsubscribe' in the message body.
Received on Mon May 8 18:53:25 2006

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Mon May 08 2006 - 18:53:25 AKDT