Distributing Device Alias Services; Understanding Device Aliases; Device Alias Modes - Cisco MDS 9000 Series Configuration Manual

Distributing Device Alias Services

All the switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family support Distributed Device Alias Services (device alias) on
a per-virtual storage area network (VSAN) basis and on a fabric-wide basis. Device alias distribution allows
you to move host bus adapters (HBAs) between VSANs without manually re-entering alias names.
This chapter includes the following sections:
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Understanding Device Aliases

While the port WWN (pWWN) of a device has to be specified to configure different features (zoning, QoS,
and port security) in a Cisco MDS 9000 Family switch, you must assign the correct device name each time
you configure these features. An incorrect device name may cause unexpected results. You can avoid this if
you define a user-friendly name for a pWWN and use this name in all of the configuration commands, as
required. These user-friendly names are referred to as device aliases in this chapter.

Device Alias Modes

A device alias supports two modes, basic mode and enhanced mode.
• When a device alias runs in the basic mode, all the applications function in a manner that is similar to
• When a device alias runs in the enhanced mode, all the applications accept the device alias configuration
Understanding Device Aliases, on page 155
Device Alias Modes, on page 155
Device Alias Databases, on page 161
About Legacy Zone Alias Configuration Conversion, on page 167
Database Merge Guidelines, on page 169
Device Alias Configuration Verification, on page 169
Default Settings , on page 171
Resolving Device Alias Merge Failures, on page 172
the applications on the 3.0 switches. When you configure the basic mode using device aliases, the
application immediately expands to pWWNs. This operation continues until the mode is changed to
enhanced.
in the native format. The applications store the device alias name in the configuration and distribute it
in the device alias format instead of expanding to pWWN. The applications track the device alias database
changes and take the necessary actions to enforce the changes.
C H A P T E R
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Fabric Configuration Guide, Release 8.x
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