Cisco Certified Network Professional Practice Test 2025 – Your All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

In Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), the alternative port is designated as less desirable than the root port. The root port is the port that has the lowest cost path back to the root bridge, ensuring that all traffic is efficiently directed towards the root of the spanning tree.

An alternative port, on the other hand, is a port that can potentially be used to reach the root bridge, but it is not the primary path; it serves as a backup to the root port. While it maintains an active role in the network by keeping track of changes in topology, it is in a blocking state until needed to activate in case the root port fails. This characteristic means that an alternative port is inherently less desirable than a root port because it does not actively participate in forwarding traffic under normal conditions.

The other types of ports mentioned each fulfill different roles within RSTP. For example, a backup port represents a redundant path to the designated port on the same segment, while the designated port is the active forwarding port within a segment. Edge ports, on the other hand, connect directly to end devices and do not participate in the Spanning Tree Protocol, making them unsuitable for comparison as less desirable than the root port. Therefore, the concept of