Cisco MDS 9000 Series Configuration Manual page 141

Configuring and Managing Zones
2. If the protocol versions are the same, then the zone policies are compared. If the zone policies differ, then
the ISL is isolated.
3. If the zone merge options are the same, then the comparison is implemented based on the merge control
setting.
1. If the setting is restrict, the active zoneset and the full zoneset should be identical. Otherwise the link
2. If the setting is allow, then the merge rules are used to perform the merge.
When an MDS is booted, it comes up with the configuration previously saved in NVRAM. If you configured
the switch after loading the configuration from NVRAM, there is a difference between the bootup and running
configuration until the running configuration is saved to the startup configuration. This can be likened to
having a file on the local hard drive of your PC. The file is saved and static, but if you open the file and edit,
there exists a difference between the changed file and the file that still exists on saved storage. Only when
you save the changes, does the saved entity look represent the changes made to the file.
When zoning information is learned from a zone merge, this learned information is not part of the running
configuration. Only when the zone copy active-zoneset full-zoneset vsan X command is issued, the learned
information becomes incorporated into the running configuration. This is key because when a zone merge is
initiated by a new EISL link or activating a zoneset, the zoneset part is ignored by the other switch and the
member zone information is considered topical.
Caution The zone copy command will delete all fcalias configuration.
Example
For example, you have two standalone MDS switches, already in place and each with their own configured
zone and zoneset information. Switch 1 has an active zoneset known as set A, and Switch 2 has an active
zoneset known as set B. Within set A on Switch 1 is zone 1, and on Switch 2, set B has member zone 2. When
an ISL link is created between these two switches, each sends their zoneset including their zone information
to the other switch. On a merge, the switch will select zoneset name with the higher ASCII value and then
merge their zone member. After the merge, both switches will have a zoneset name set B with zone member
zone 1 and zone 2.
Everything should be still working for all of the devices in zone 1 and zone 2. To add a new zone, you have
to create a new zone, add the new zone to the zoneset, and then activate the zoneset.
Step-by-step, the switches are booted up and have no zoning information. You need to create the zones on
the switches and add them to the zonesets.
Basic mode: When zones are in basic mode, refer to the sample command outputs below.
1. Create zone and zoneset. Activate on Switch 1.
Switch1# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
Switch1#(config)# vsan database
Switch1#(config-vsan-db)# vsan 100
Switch1#(config-vsan-db)# exit
Switch1#(config)# zone name zone1 vsan 100
Switch1#(config-zone)# member pwwn 11:11:11:11:11:11:11:1a
is isolated.
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Fabric Configuration Guide, Release 8.x
Merge Process
119