An understanding of the following key points should have been achieved:

• Redundancy and its importance in networking
• The key elements of a redundant networking topology
• Broadcast storms and their impact on switched networks
• Multiple frame transmissions and their impact on switched networks
• Causes and results of MAC address database instability
• The benefits and risks of a redundant topology
• The role of spanning tree in a redundant-path switched network
• The key elements of spanning-tree operation
• The process for root bridge election
• Spanning-tree states
• Spanning-Tree Protocol compared to Rapid Spanning-Tree Protocol