Hello David
This is an excellent question. When deciding which switch should be the root bridge in your STP topology, there are several factors you should consider:
- Location: Ideally, the root bridge should be located at or near the “center” of your network. Practically speaking, this means that it should be located in such a way as to ensure the shortest path to all other switches. This will help to reduce the time it takes for STP control frames to travel across the network, reducing STP convergence times.
- Processing Power and Memory: The root bridge will process more data than other switches, so it should have sufficient processing power and memory to handle this load without slowing down.
- Reliability: The root bridge is a critical component of your network, so it should be a switch that is known to be reliable and unlikely to fail.
- Network Design: The choice of the root bridge also depends on the design of your network. If you have multiple VLANs, you might need to consider multiple root bridges at various locations, depending upon where each VLAN is configured.
These are the main considerations that you should take into account in most cases.
I hope this has been helpful!
Laz