Brocade Fabric OS Administrator's Guide Supporting Fabric OS v6.3.0 (53-1001336-02, November 2009)

Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide 253
53-1001336-02
Security and zoning
11
• Merge conflicts
When a merge conflict is present, a merge will not take place and the ISL will segment. Use the
switchShow or errDump commands to obtain additional information about possible merge
conflicts, because many non-zone related configuration parameters can cause conflicts. See
the Fabric OS Command Reference for detailed information about these commands.
If the fabrics have different zone configuration data, the system attempts to merge the two
sets of zone configuration data. If the zones cannot merge, the ISL will be segmented.
A merge is not possible if any of the following conditions exist:
- Configuration mismatch: Zoning is enabled in both fabrics and the zone configurations
that are enabled are different in each fabric.
- Type mismatch: The name of a zone object in one fabric is used for a different type of zone
object in the other fabric.
- Content mismatch: The definition of a zone object in one fabric is different from the
definition of zone object with the same name in the other fabric.
- Zone Database Size: If the zone database size exceeds the maximum limit of another
switch.
NOTE
If the zoneset members on two switches are not listed in the same order, the configuration is
considered a mismatch, resulting in the switches being segmented from the fabric. For
example:
cfg1 = z1; z2 is different from cfg1 = z2; z1, even though members of the
configuration are the same. If zoneset members on two switches have the same names
defined in the configuration, make sure zoneset members are listed in the same order.
Fabric segmentation and zoning
If the connections between two fabrics are no longer available, the fabric segments into two
separate fabrics. Each new fabric retains the same zone configuration.
If the connections between two fabrics are replaced and no changes have been made to the zone
configuration in either of the two fabrics, then the two fabrics merge back into one single fabric. If
any changes that cause a conflict have been made to either zone configuration, then the fabrics
might segment.
Security and zoning
Zones provide controlled access to fabric segments and establish barriers between operating
environments. They isolate systems with different uses, protecting individual systems in a
heterogeneous environment; for example, when zoning is in secure mode, no merge operations
occur.
Brocade Advanced Zoning is configured on the primary Fabric Configuration Server (FCS). The
primary FCS switch makes zoning changes and other security-related changes. The primary FCS
switch also distributes zoning to all other switches in the secure fabric. All existing interfaces can
be used to administer zoning (depending on the policies; see the Secure Fabric OS Administrator’s
Guide for information about security policies).