What is the total length of a MAC Address in the STP Bridge ID?

A MAC address has a total length of 48 bits, which is critical in the context of the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Bridge ID. The Bridge ID is composed of two parts: the Bridge Priority and the MAC address of the bridge itself. The Bridge Priority is 16 bits, and the MAC address contributes an additional 48 bits, resulting in a total Bridge ID length of 64 bits.

However, when focusing specifically on the MAC address component within the Bridge ID, it is indeed 48 bits long. This is significant because the MAC address uniquely identifies network devices on a local area network and plays a key role in STP for determining the root bridge and managing loop prevention in Ethernet networks.