Dell PowerVault 56F (16P Fibre Channel Switch) - Manual (Page 17)

support.dell.com Zones, Components, and Configurations 2-3
This zone includes any devices connected to domain 2, ports 5 and 7, and the device
with a port name of
, depending on which port it is
connected to in the fabric.
NOTE: Dell recommends zoning by worldwide name.
(
A zone alias is an alphanumeric name for one or more physical fabric port numbers or
worldwide names. These aliases simplify repetitive port number entries or worldwide
names. For example, the alias Host could be used for
.
Zone aliases have the following naming requirements:
The first character must be a capital letter.
The only valid characters are letters, numbers, underscores, and dashes.
Therefore, the alias Redzone1 is valid, whereas the alias 1Redzone is invalid.
A zone configuration is a set of zones. When you select a zone configuration to be in
effect, all zones that are members of that configuration are in effect. You can disable a
zone at any time, but only one zone configuration can be in effect at any given time.
The set of zone configurations defined in a fabric is a superset of the configuration
that is currently in effect. The following three subsections provide information about
the different types of zone configurations:
A defined zone configuration is a configuration that includes all changes and defini-
tions before it is saved. It is a complete set of zone objects that you have defined in
the fabric. You can define multiple zone configurations, although only one can be in
effect at a time. A configuration’s definition can contain inconsistencies, and zones or
aliases can be referenced even if they are not defined. A defined zone configuration
can also have duplicate members.
A saved configuration is a copy of the defined configuration saved with a given name
using the cfgSave command. The saved configuration and defined configuration may
differ if you have modified any zone definitions and have not saved the configuration.
A saved configuration is saved in all switches throughout the fabric and is automati-
cally reloaded by the switch on power up. If a configuration is saved again while it is in
effect, the same configuration is reinstated with an automatic cfgEnable command
on power up.
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