STP, like so many things, is best expressed in rhyming verse: Algorhyme I think that I shall never see a graph more lovely than a tree. A tree whose

STP, like so many things, is best expressed in rhyming verse: Algorhyme I think that I shall never see a graph more lovely than a tree. A tree whose crucial property is loop-free connectivity. A tree that must be sure to span so packet can reach every LAN. First, the root must be selected. By ID, it is elected. Least-cost paths from root are traced. In the tree, these paths are placed. A mesh is made by folks like me, then bridges find a spanning tree. Radia Perlman