Brocade Fabric OS Administrators Guide (Supporting Fabric OS v7.3.0) - Manual (Page 330)

configuration, the switch where the changes were made must close its transaction for the changes to
be propagated throughout the fabric.
If you have implemented default zoning, you must set the switch you are adding into the fabric to the
same default zone mode setting as the rest of the fabric to avoid segmentation.
• Merging rules - Observe these rules when merging zones:
‐ Local and adjacent configurations: If the local and adjacent zone database configurations
are the same, they will remain unchanged after the merge.
‐ Effective configurations: If there is an effective configuration between two switches, the
effective zone configurations must match.
‐ Zone object naming: If a zoning object has the same name in both the local and adjacent
defined configurations, the object types and member lists must match. When comparing
member lists, the content and order of the members are important.
‐ Objects in adjacent configurations: If a zoning object appears in an adjacent defined
configuration, but not in the local defined configuration, the zoning object is added to the
local defined configuration. The modified zone database must fit in the nonvolatile memory
area allotted for the zone database.
‐ Local configuration modification: If a local defined configuration is modified because of a
merge, the new zone database is propagated to other the switches within the merge
request.
‐ TI zones: If there is an effective configuration between two switches and TI zones are
present on either switch, the TI zones are not automatically activated after the merge.
Check the TI zone enabled status using the zone --show command, and if the status does
not match across switches, issue the cfgEnable command.
• Merging two fabrics
Both fabrics have identical zones and configurations enabled, including the default zone mode. The
two fabrics will join to make one larger fabric with the same zone configuration across the newly
created fabric.
If the two fabrics have different zone configurations, they will not be merged. If the two fabrics cannot
join, the ISL between the switches will segment.
• Merge conflicts
When a merge conflict is present, a merge will not take place and the ISL will segment. Use the
switchShow or errDump commands to obtain additional information about possible merge
conflicts, because many non-zone-related configuration parameters can cause conflicts. Refer to
the Fabric OS Command Reference for detailed information about these commands.
If the fabrics have different zone configuration data, the system attempts to merge the two sets of
zone configuration data. If the zones cannot merge, the ISL will be segmented.
A merge is not possible if any of the following conditions exist:
‐ Configuration mismatch: Zoning is enabled in both fabrics and the zone configurations that
are enabled are different in each fabric.
‐ Type mismatch: The name of a zone object in one fabric is used for a different type of
zone object in the other fabric.
‐ Content mismatch: The definition of a zone object in one fabric is different from the
definition of the zone object with the same name in the other fabric.
‐ Zone database size: The zone database size exceeds the maximum limit of another
switch.
NOTE
If the zone set members on two switches are not listed in the same order, the configuration is
considered a mismatch, resulting in the switches being segmented from the fabric. For example, cfg1
Administering Advanced Zoning
330 Fabric OS Administrators Guide
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