Match each Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) variant to its key characteristic.
Drag a concept onto its matching description — or click a concept then click the description.
Original standard, slow convergence
Fast convergence, backward compatible
Multiple spanning trees per VLAN group
Cisco proprietary, per-VLAN STP
Cisco proprietary, per-VLAN RSTP
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
STP (802.1D): Original standard with slow convergence (30-50 seconds)
STP (802.1D) is the original slow-converging standard; RSTP (802.1w) provides rapid convergence; MSTP (802.1s) maps multiple VLANs to fewer spanning tree instances; PVST+ runs per-VLAN STP. Common confusions include equating STP with per-VLAN and RSTP with multiple instances.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
STP (802.1D): Original standard with slow convergence (30-50 seconds)
Why this is correct
STP is the original Spanning Tree Protocol defined in IEEE 802.1D with slow convergence.
RSTP (802.1w): Rapid convergence, backward compatible with STP
Why this is correct
RSTP improves convergence time to a few seconds and is backward compatible with STP.
MSTP (802.1s): Maps multiple VLANs to a single spanning tree instance
Why this is correct
MSTP allows grouping VLANs into instances to reduce the number of spanning trees.
PVST+: Per-VLAN Spanning Tree, each VLAN has its own STP instance
Why this is correct
PVST+ is Cisco's proprietary implementation that runs a separate STP instance per VLAN.
STP (802.1D): Per-VLAN spanning tree
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect — STP is a single spanning tree for all VLANs; per-VLAN is PVST+.
RSTP (802.1w): Multiple spanning tree instances
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect — RSTP runs a single instance; multiple instances are provided by MSTP.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-401 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 350-401 exam.