Soft Zones; Broadcast Zone; Zone Enforcement - HP AA979A - StorageWorks SAN Switch 2/8V User Manual

Using Zoning
Hard zones are position-dependent; that is, a device is identified by the physical
port to which it is connected. Switch hardware ensures that there is no data
transfer between unauthorized zone members. Devices can, however, transfer data
between ports within the same zone. Consequently, hard zoning provides the
greatest security possible. Use it where security must be rigidly enforced.

Soft Zones

In a soft zone, at least one zone member is specified by WWN. A device is
included in a zone if either the node WWN or port WWN specified matches an
entry in the name server table.
When a device logs in, it queries the name server for devices within the fabric. If
zoning is in effect, only the devices in the same zones are returned. Other devices
are hidden from the name server query reply. When a WWN is specified, all ports
on the specified device are included in the zone.
Soft zones are name server-dependent and therefore provide more
flexibility—new devices can be attached without regard to physical location. The
switch, however, does not control data transfer, so there is no guarantee against
data transfer from unauthorized members. Use soft zoning where flexibility is
important and security can be ensured by the cooperating hosts.

Broadcast Zone

Only one broadcast zone can exist within a fabric. It is named broadcast and it is
used to specify those nodes that are to receive broadcast traffic. The broadcast
zone is hardware enforced; the switch controls data transfer to a port.

Zone Enforcement

When zoning is disabled, the fabric is in non-zoning state and devices can access
other devices in the fabric. When zoning is enabled, zoning is enforced
throughout the fabric and devices can communicate only within their zones.
A switch can maintain any number of zone configurations. Only one zone
configuration, however, can be enabled (or enforced) at a time. Because multiple
configurations reside in the switch, you can change from one configuration to
another as events dictate. For example, you can set up a prespecified zone
configuration to be enabled at certain times of the day; or, in the event of a
disaster, you can quickly enable a defined configuration to implement your
disaster policy.
18 HP StorageWorks Zoning Version 2.6.1 User Guide