IEEE 802.1s-2002

To develop an architecture and protocols for the use of multiple instances of the Spanning Tree Protocol (-1-) within a network employing VLANs (-2-). The architecture and protocols will be compatible and interoperable with existing Virtual Bridged Local Area Network equipment and will support a range of implementations.

802.1Q Virtual LANs provides the equivalent of separate LANs over a single bridged LAN, using a single instance of the Spanning Tree Protocol. Despite multiple independent implementations employing multiple instances of the Spanning Tree Protocol, there is currently no interoperability between different vendors, nor a coherent management framework for different techniques. This standard will provide an architecture, protocols, and mappings for bridges to provide that interoperability and consistent management.

Amendment Standard - Superseded. This standard extends the architecture, protocols, and algorithms specified in IEEE Std 802.1Q, 1998 Edition, to allow data traffic belonging to different VLANs to be allocated to different spanning trees, while retaining interoperability with bridges conformant to that prior specification.