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

Fabric Zoning

Controlling Access Across a Fabric

The fabric zoning feature enables you to partition devices attached to managed
Fibre Channel products into groups called zones. A zone contains devices that can
access one another through port-to-port connections. Devices in the same zone
can recognize and communicate with one another; 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:
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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 accidental
transfer of information 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 return to
normal processes.
High Availability Fabric Manager User Guide