Controlling Access Across A Fabric - McDATA 316095-B21 - StorageWorks Edge Switch 2/24 User Manual

Understanding Zoning
4
Controlling Access
Across a Fabric
EFCM Basic User Manual
4-2
Zoning features enable you to establish zoning across a fabric of
devices attached to switches and directors by partitioning these
devices into groups called zones. A zone is composed of devices that
can access each other through port-to-port connections. Devices in
the same zone can recognize and communicate with each other;
devices in different zones cannot.
System administrators create zones to increase security measures and
prevent data loss or corruption by controlling access between devices
(such as servers and data storage units), or between separate user
groups (such as engineering or human resources). Zoning allows an
administrator to:
• Establish barriers between devices that use different operating
systems. For example, it is often critical to separate servers and
storage devices with different operating systems because
accidental transfer of information from one to another can delete
or corrupt data. Zoning prevents this by grouping devices that
use the same operating systems into zones.
• Create logical subsets of closed user groups. Administrators can
authorize access rights to specific zones for specific user groups,
thereby protecting confidential data from unauthorized access.
• Create groups of devices that are separate from devices in the rest
of a fabric. Zoning allows certain processes (such as maintenance
or testing) to be performed on devices in one group without
interrupting devices in other groups.
• Allow temporary access between devices for specific purposes.
Administrators can remove zoning restrictions temporarily (for
example, to perform nightly data backup), then restore zoning
restrictions to perform normal processes.