STP Version Comparison

Industry standards (IEEE)	Cisco versions
Spanning Tree Protocol (802.1D) - The original STP, - All VLANs share one STP instance, - Therefore, cannot load balance.	Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Plus (PVST+) - Cisco's upgrade to 802.1D, - Each VLAN has its own STP instance, - Can load balance by blocking different ports in each VLAN.
Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (802.1w) - Much faster at converging/adapting to network changes than 802.1D, - All VLANs share one STP instance, - Therefore, it cannot load balance.	Rapid Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Plus (Rapid PVST+) - Cisco's upgrade to 802.1w, - Each VLAN has its own STP instance, - Can load balance by blocking different ports in each VLAN.
Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (802.1s) - Uses modified RSTP mechanics, - Can group multiple VLANs into different instances (ie. VLANS 1-5 in instance 1, VLANs 6-10 in instance 2) to perform load balancing.

Industry standards (IEEE)

Cisco versions

Spanning Tree Protocol (802.1D) - The original STP, - All VLANs share one STP instance, - Therefore, cannot load balance.

Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Plus (PVST+) - Cisco's upgrade to 802.1D, - Each VLAN has its own STP instance, - Can load balance by blocking different ports in each VLAN.

Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (802.1w) - Much faster at converging/adapting to network changes than 802.1D, - All VLANs share one STP instance, - Therefore, it cannot load balance.

Rapid Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Plus (Rapid PVST+) - Cisco's upgrade to 802.1w, - Each VLAN has its own STP instance, - Can load balance by blocking different ports in each VLAN.

Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (802.1s) - Uses modified RSTP mechanics, - Can group multiple VLANs into different instances (ie. VLANS 1-5 in instance 1, VLANs 6-10 in instance 2) to perform load balancing.

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