C H A P T E R 31 Distributing Device Alias Services; Device Alias Requirements; Zone Aliases Versus Device Aliases; Device Alias Databases - HP Cisco MDS 9216 - Fabric Switch Configuration Manual

Device Alias Databases

S e n d d o c u m e n t a t i o n c o m m e n t s t o m d s f e e d b a c k - d o c @ c i s c o . c o m

Device Alias Requirements

Device aliases have the following requirements:
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Zone Aliases Versus Device Aliases

Table 31-1
alias configuration.
Table 31-1 Comparison Between Zone Aliases and Device Aliases
Zone-Based Aliases
Aliases are limited to the specified VSAN.
Zone aliases are part of the zoning configuration. The
alias mapping cannot be used to configure other features.
You can use any zone member type to specify the end
devices.
Configuration is contained within the Zone Server
database and is not available to other features.
Device Alias Databases
The device alias feature uses two databases to accept and implement device alias configurations.
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If you modify the device alias configuration, you need to commit or discard the changes as the fabric
remains locked during this period.
This section includes the following sections:
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Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI Configuration Guide
31-2
You can only assign device aliases to pWWNs.
The mapping between the pWWN and the device alias to which it is mapped must have a one-to-one
relationship. A pWWN can be mapped to only one device alias and vice versa.
A device alias name is restricted to 64 alphanumeric characters and may include one or more of the
following characters:
– a to z and A to Z
– 1 to 9
– - (hyphen) and _ (underscore)
$ (dollar sign) and ^ (up caret)
–
compares the configuration differences between zone-based alias configuration and device
Effective database—The database currently used by the fabric.
Pending database—Your subsequent device alias configuration changes are stored in the pending
database.
About Device Alias Distribution, page 31-3
Committing Changes, page 31-5
Device Aliases
You can define device aliases without specifying the VSAN
number. You can also use the same definition in one or more
VSANs without any restrictions.
Device aliases can be used with any feature that uses the pWWN.
Only pWWNs are supported along with new device aliases like IP
addresses.
Device aliases are not restricted to zoning. Device alias
configuration is available to the FCNS, zone, fcping, traceroute,
and IVR applications.
Chapter 31 Distributing Device Alias Services
OL-16184-01, Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 3.x