Zone Enforcement; Zone Set Distribution - HP Cisco MDS 9020 - Fabric Switch Configuration Manual

Chapter 23 Configuring and Managing Zones
S e n d d o c u m e n t a t i o n c o m m e n t s t o m d s f e e d b a c k - d o c @ c i s c o . c o m
when the pWWN changes.
Be sure you understand how device alias modes work before enabling them. Refer to
"Distributing Device Alias Services"

Zone Enforcement

Zoning can be enforced in two ways: soft and hard. Each end device (N port or NL port) discovers other
devices in the fabric by querying the name server. When a device logs in to the name server, the name
server returns the list of other devices that can be accessed by the querying device. If an Nx port does
not know about the FC IDs of other devices outside its zone, it cannot access those devices.
In soft zoning, zoning restrictions are applied only during interaction between the name server and the
end device. If an end device somehow knows the FC ID of a device outside its zone, it can access that
device.
Hard zoning is enforced by the hardware on each frame sent by an Nx port. As frames enter the switch,
source-destination IDs are compared with permitted combinations to allow the frame at wirespeed. Hard
zoning is applied to all forms of zoning.
Hard zoning enforces zoning restrictions on every frame, and prevents unauthorized access.
Note
Switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family support both hard and soft zoning.

Zone Set Distribution

You can distribute full zone sets using one of two methods: one-time distribution at the EXEC mode level
or full zone set distribution at the configuration mode level.
Table 23-1
zoneset distribute vsan Command
(EXEC Mode)
Distributes the full zone set immediately.
Does not distribute the full zone set information
along with the active zone set during activation,
deactivation, or merge process.
This section describes zone set distribution and includes the following topics:
•
•
•
•
OL-16184-01, Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 3.x
zoneset distribution Command Differences
Enabling Full Zone Set Distribution, page 23-14
Enabling a One-Time Distribution, page 23-14
About Recovering from Link Isolation, page 23-14
Importing and Exporting Zone Sets, page 23-15
for details and requirements about device alias modes.
Table 23-1
zoneset distribute full vsan Command
(Configuration Mode)
Does not distribute the full zone set immediately.
Remembers to distribute the full zone set
information along with the active zone set during
activation, deactivation, and merge processes.
Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI Configuration Guide
Zone Set Distribution
Chapter 24,
lists the differences.
23-13