Which ports would be in a forwarding state in Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)?

In the context of the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), designated ports play a crucial role in maintaining network topology and preventing loops. Designated ports are the specific ports on a network switch that are selected to forward traffic towards the root bridge for each network segment. These ports are responsible for forwarding data frames in their segment and are part of the active data path in the STP topology.

Only designated ports and root ports remain in a forwarding state, allowing them to actively send and receive data. This is vital for effective and efficient network communication, as it ensures that data can flow correctly through the network without the risk of redundancy or loops which could lead to broadcast storms or packet loss.

In contrast, backup ports, blocked ports, and disabled ports do not forward frames. Backup ports are essentially standby ports that can take over if the designated port fails, but they do not actively forward frames while the designated port is operational. Blocked ports are explicitly prevented from forwarding frames to maintain loop-free topology, and disabled ports are administratively shut down and thus non-operational.

This understanding of STP states underlines the importance of designated ports as the components actively facilitating network communication.