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Planning Considerations for Fibre Channel Topologies
3
McDATA Products in a SAN Environment - Planning Manual
3-24
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Zoning - For multiswitch fabrics, zoning is configured on a
fabric-wide basis. Changes to the zoning configuration apply to
all directors and switches in the fabric. To ensure the zoning
configuration is maintained, certain rules are enforced when two
or more elements are connected through ISLs to form a fabric or
when two or more fabrics are joined. For additional information,
refer to
Configuring
After directors and fabric switches are defined and cabled, they
automatically join to form a single fabric through a user-transparent
process. However, the user should be aware of the following fabric
concepts, configuration characteristics, and operational
characteristics:
•
Principal switch selection - Setting this value determines the
principal switch for the multiswitch fabric. Select either Principal
(highest priority), Default, or Never Principal (lowest priority) from
the Switch Priority drop-down list.
If all fabric elements are set to Principal or Default, the director or
fabric switch with the highest priority and the lowest WWN
becomes the principal switch. Following are some examples of
principal switch selection when fabric elements have these
settings.
— If you have three fabric elements and set all to Default, the
director or switch with the lowest WWN becomes the
principal switch.
— If you have three fabric elements and set two to Principal and
one to Default, the element with the Principal setting that has
the lowest WWN becomes the principal switch.
— If you have three fabric elements and set two to Default and
one to Never Principal, the element with the Default setting and
the lowest WWN becomes the principal switch.
Note that at least one director or switch in a multiswitch fabric
needs to be set as Principal or Default. If all the fabric elements are
set to Never Principal, all ISLs will segment. If all but one element
is set to Never Principal and the element that was Principal goes
offline, then all of the other ISLs will segment.
NOTE: It is recommended to configure the switch priority as Default.
Zones.
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