Why the host ports are also seen in the spanning-tree output ?

Question

Why the host ports are also seen in the spanning-tree output ?
Switch1#show spann
VLAN0001
  Spanning tree enabled protocol ieee
  Root ID    Priority    32769
             Address     0000.0CA2.138B
             This bridge is the root
             Hello Time  2 sec  Max Age 20 sec  Forward Delay 15 sec
  Bridge ID  Priority    32769  (priority 32768 sys-id-ext 1)
             Address     0000.0CA2.138B
             Hello Time  2 sec  Max Age 20 sec  Forward Delay 15 sec
             Aging Time  20
Interface        Role Sts Cost      Prio.Nbr Type
Fa0/1            Desg FWD 19        128.1    P2p
Fa0/2            Desg FWD 19        128.2    P2p
Fa0/15           Desg FWD 19        128.15   P2p
interface FastEthernet0/15
description PC0 Interface
switchport mode access
spanning-tree portfast
interface FastEthernet0/16
I read somewhere that all the ports of a switch will participate in STP by default. Is there any way to remove the STP operation on host ports ?
Regards,
Chandu       

Answer 1

All ports participate in Spanning Tree by default.
Spanning tree is there to block redundant L2 paths in order to prevent loops. All ports are capable of causing a loop so you would not want to turn spanning tree off, in fact I don't think you can switch it off on a per port basis. You can switch it off on a per vlan basis.
You are already using portfast which allows host ports to transition into a forwarding state without going through the listening and learning states of STP. If you switch off STP on a port, you risk the chance of a L2 loop.
https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-5180