Today's LAN networks require high resistance to failures to ensure availability of network services as close as possible to 100% of the time. This results in the need to find alternative methods to keep the data network stable and thus be able to guarantee the basic services of corporate applications, as well as modern unified communications. For this reason, one of the most widely used technologies to keep the instability of the data network under control due to flood effects (infinite loop that consumes both the network bandwidth and the CPU of the switching devices) by broadcast is the protocol STP (Spanning Tree Protocol), RSTP (Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol) and MSTP (Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol). Which is in layer 2 of the OSI model (data link level), based on the extended tree algorithm designed by Radia Perlman while working for DEC (original version, DEC STP) and which was later standardized by the IEEE standard. .802.1d becoming the most recommended version to work currently.

Its main function is to guarantee that the creation of loops or alternative routes to the same destination, device, or network segment is prevented. Due to the existence of these links, in many uncontrolled cases, the consequence by default is the imminent degradation of network performance in a very short time. This effect is due to the fact that there is no TTL (time to live) field in layer two frames, they are trapped indefinitely until a system administrator breaks the loop. The protocol allows devices interconnection (switches) automatically deactivate the connection links, so that the elimination of loops is guaranteed.