Aliases, Zonesets, Zoning database – HP 8.20q Fibre Channel Switch User Manual
Page 37: Viewing zoning limits and properties
8/20q Fibre Channel Switch QuickTools switch management user guide
37
A zone can be a component of more than one zoneset. Several zonesets can be defined for a fabric, but
only one zoneset can be active at one time. The active zoneset determines the zoning of the fabric.
Membership in a zone can be defined by switch domain ID and port number, device Fibre Channel
address (FCID), or device World Wide Name (WWN).
•
WWN entries define zone membership by the World Wide Name of the attached device. With this
membership method, you can move WWN member devices to different switch ports in different zones
without having to edit the member entry as you would with a domain ID/port number member.
Furthermore, unlike FCID members, WWN zone members are not affected by changes in the fabric
that could change the Fibre Channel address of an attached device.
•
FCID entries define zone membership by the Fibre Channel address of the attached device. With this
membership method you can replace a device on the same port without having to edit the member
entry as you would with a WWN member.
•
Domain ID/Port number entries define zone membership by switch domain ID and port number. All
devices attached to the specified port become members of the zone. The specified port must be an
F_Port or an FL_Port.
Aliases
To make it easier to add a group of ports or devices to one or more zones, you can create an alias. An
alias is a named set of ports or devices that are grouped together for convenience. Unlike a zone, an alias
imposes no communication restrictions between its members. You can add an alias to one or more zones.
However, you cannot add a zone to an alias, nor can an alias be a member of another alias.
Zonesets
A zoneset is a named group of zones. A zone can be a member of more than one zoneset. Each switch in
the fabric maintains its own zoning database containing one or more zonesets. This zoning database
resides in non-volatile or permanent memory and is therefore retained after a reset. See ”
” on page 36 for information about displaying the zoning database.
Zones that are currently not in a zoneset are considered to be part of the orphan zoneset. The orphan
zoneset is not an actual zoneset, but rather a way of displaying the zones that are not currently in a
zoneset.
To apply zoning to a fabric, choose a zoneset and activate it. When you activate a zoneset, the switch
distributes that zoneset and its zones, excluding aliases, to every switch in the fabric. This zoneset is known
as the active zoneset. See ”
” on page 35 for information about displaying the
active zoneset.
Zoning database
Each switch has its own zoning database. The zoning database is made up of all aliases, zones, and
zonesets that have been created on the switch or received from other switches. The switch maintains two
copies of the inactive zoning database: one copy is maintained in temporary memory for editing
purposes; the second copy is maintained in permanent memory. Zoning database edits are made on an
individual switch basis and are not propagated to other switches in the fabric when saved.
The Merge Auto Save parameter determines whether changes to the active zoneset that a switch receives
from another switch in the fabric will be saved to permanent memory on that switch. See ”
” on page 41 for information about zoning configuration.
Viewing zoning limits and properties
Zoning limits vary depending on the firmware installed on the switch:
•
MaxZoneSets—The maximum number of zonesets that can be configured on the switch.
•
MaxZones—The maximum number of zones that can be configured on the switch, including orphan
zones.
•
MaxAliases—The maximum number of aliases that can be configured on the switch.