HP 2530-48G (J9775A) PVST cannot be enabled on more than 32 VLANs

[tinglyfox]

I have two HP 2530-48G switches with multiple VLANs.

Upon creating VLAN 33 I notice that spanning-tree becomes disabled on the vlan. When I type show run to check the config it displays that STP on newly created VLAN has been disabled.

sh run:
spanning-tree vlan 129-130 disable

If I try to enable STP on the vlan I am notified that PVST cannot be enabled on more than 32 VLANs. I remember reading about this somewhere being a hardware limitation.

Sw1 (config)# spanning-tree vlan 129 enable
PVST cannot be enabled on more than 32 VLANs.

Can someone help me understand what this means? I assume I want STP enabled per vlan so I do not loop the network. However, if I check an "STP enabled" vlan then I can see MSTP mode is running and that STP is disabled.

Sw1# show spanning-tree vlan 129

Spanning Tree Information

STP Enabled [No] : No
Mode : MSTP

Sw1# show spanning-tree vlan 128

Spanning Tree Information

STP Enabled [No] : No
Mode : MSTP

Vlan 129 and 130 has STP disabled according to show run, but all vlans look the same when i check spanning-tree status? So, even if vlan 129 has STP disabled it still runs MSTP. Am I good to add more than 32 vlans without looping the particular vlan?

Hope I make sense.

[parnassus]

Hi!

What software version is your HP ProCurve 2530 currently running on? check with show version and show flash commands.

[tinglyfox]

Hi Parnsassus and thanks for your reply. Looks like this:

Sw1(config)# show flash
Image Size (bytes) Date Version
----------------- ------------ -------- --------------
Primary Image : 10575476 11/19/14 YA.15.16.0005
Secondary Image : 10575476 11/19/14 YA.15.16.0005

Boot ROM Version : YA.15.17
Default Boot : Primary

Sw1(config)# show version
Image stamp: /ws/swbuildm/rel_orlando_qaoff/code/build/lakes(swbuildm_rel_orlando_qaoff_rel_orlando)
Nov 19 2014 15:11:53
YA.15.16.0005
330
Boot Image: Primary

[tinglyfox]

I researched PVST and MSTP a little since I do not know much about STP other than being loop protection.

And from what I can read I cannot run both protocols, so right now I am not using PVST at all but MSTP, and the notification that PVST is disabled above 32 vlans is just a friendly reminder. 

show spanning-tree ? commands doesn't really provide much information, and I am guessing this might be because I am running very old firmware.

The switches are the rebranded Aruba switches and they don't seem to be considered Procurve.

[parnassus]

Hi,

Well...configuring Spanning Tree on a KB.16.05 provides those options:

aruba(config)# spanning-tree 
 bpdu-protection-ti... Set the time for protected ports to be in down state after receiving unauthorized BPDUs.
 bpdu-throttle         Configure BPDU throttling on the device.
 clear-debug-counters  Clear spanning tree debug counters.
 config-name           Set the MST region configuration name (default is switch's MAC address).
 config-revision       Set the MST region configuration revision number (default is 0).
 enable                Enable spanning-tree.
 disable               Disable spanning-tree.
 extend                Enable the extended system ID feature.
 force-version         Set Spanning Tree protocol compatibility mode.
 forward-delay         Set time the switch waits between transitioning from listening to learning and from learning to forwarding states. Not applicable in RPVST mode.
 hello-time            Set time between messages transmission when the switch is root. Not applicable in RPVST mode.
 ignore-pvid-incons... Ignore PVID inconsistencies, allowing Rapid PVST to run on mismatched links.
 instance              Create, delete or configure an MST instance.
 legacy-mode           Set spanning-tree protocol to operate either in 802.1D legacy mode or in 802.1s native mode.
 legacy-path-cost      [Deprecated] Set 802.1D (legacy) or 802.1t (current) default pathcost values.
 log                   Enable event logging for port state transition information.
 max-hops              Set the max number of hops in a region before the MST BPDU is discarded and the information held for a port is aged (default is 20).
 maximum-age           Set maximum age of received STP information before it is discarded. Not applicable in RPVST mode.
 mode                  Specify spanning-tree mode.
 pathcost              Specify a standard to use when calculating the default pathcost.
 pending               Manipulate pending MSTP configuration.
 port                   o vlan ...
 [ethernet] PORT-LIST  Configure the port-specific parameters of the spanning tree protocol for individual ports.
 priority              Set the device STP priority (the value is in range of 0-61440 divided into steps of 4096 that are numbered from 0 to 15, default is step 8). Not applicable in RPVST mode.
 root                  Configure root for STP.
 trap                  Enable/disable STP/MSTP/RPVST traps.
 vlan                  Specify RPVST VLAN specific parameters.
 <cr>

...as you see...it's not bad.

Diagnosing Spanning Tree provides instead those options:

aruba(config)# show spanning-tree 
 bpdu-protection       Show spanning tree BPDU protection status information.
 bpdu-throttle         Displays the configured throttle value.
 config                Show spanning tree configuration information.
 debug-counters        Show spanning tree debug counters information.
 detail                Show spanning tree extended details Port, Bridge, Rx, and Tx report.
 inconsistent-ports    Show information about inconsistent ports blocked by spanning tree protection functions.
 instance              Show the spanning tree instance information.
 mst-config            Show multiple spanning tree region configuration.
 native-vlan-ieee-bpdu Show IEEE RST BPDU statistics.
 pending               Show spanning tree pending configuration.
 [ethernet] PORT-LIST  Limit the port information printed to the set of the specified ports.
 port-role-change-h... Show the last 10 role change entries on a port in a VLAN/instance.
 pvst-filter           Show spanning tree PVST filter status information.
 pvst-protection       Show spanning tree PVST protection status information.
 root-history          Show spanning tree Root changes history information.
 system-limits         Show system limits for spanning-tree
 topo-change-history   Show spanning tree topology changes history information.
 traps                 Show spanning tree trap information.
 vlan                  Show VLAN information for RPVST.
 <cr>

so it's totally possible that updating your software (indeed very old) will provide you better support to configure and diagnose Spanning Tree configurations on your HP ProCurve (or Aruba) 2530.

Go with YA.16.0x.yyyy at least (x=5, 8 or 9 and latest build yyyy, I suggest).

[tinglyfox]

I updated both switches to the newest firmware, but I am still not getting a better understanding.

What I would like to know is whether I am running PVST (Per VLAN spanning tree) or MSTP (Multiple spanning tree protocol). Because I want to make sure I am loop protected above 32 VLANs, which is the maximum allowed VLANs on PVST.

This command indicates I am running MSTP:
Sw1# show spanning-tree vlan 100

Spanning Tree Information

STP Enabled [No] : No
Mode : MSTP

However, this command indicates that PVST has been enabled on 32 VLANs:
Sw1# show spanning-tree system-limits rapid-pvst

Spanning Tree Information

STP Enabled : No
Mode : MSTP
RPVST Enabled VLANs : 1-2,4,100-128

Switch MAC Address : xxxxxxxxxxx
Count of RPVST Enabled GVRP VLANs : 0
Count of RPVST Enabled VLANs : 32
Maximum Allowed RPVST Enabled VLANs : 32
Count Of Total Virtual Ports : 224
Maximum Allowed Virtual Ports : 303

This command indicates no ports are protected by PVST, and thus PVST might be enabled but not configured:
Sw1# show spanning-tree pvst-protection

Status and Counters - PVST Port(s) BPDU Protection Information

BPDU Protection Timeout (sec) : 0
PVST Protected Ports :

Here is the list of options: