HP StorageWorks Fabric Interoperability: Merging Fabrics Based on M-series and B-series Fibre Channel Switches Application Notes (AA-RUQQL-TE, November 2009)

Zoning restrictions

Zone activation allows you to create new zone configurations or modify enabled zone configurations,

which can then be activated as the enabled zone configuration from B-series switches in McDATA

Fabric mode only or from M-series switches. You can save these configurations to the defined database

on the local B-series switch. Zone activation allows fabric-wide and standalone activation of zone

configuration.

Before creating or configuring a zone, consider the following requirements:

• A fabric license must be installed on each B-series switch.

• Observe the following zoning limits:

• Maximum of 2,047 zones (plus 1 for the default zone)

• Maximum of 4,096 members per zone

• Maximum of 4,096 unique zone members per zone set

• Maximum zone-set-definition size of 0x32000

• No support is provided in the FCR Backbone.

• Only zoning by port WWN is allowed. You must use the port WWN of the device (for example,

10:00:00:00:c9:28:c7:c6).

• Zone members specified by node WWN are ignored.

• When reconfiguring a B-series switch or director, wait until the fabric routes are completely set

up before entering zoning commands that must propagate to other switches. Use the fabricShow

command to verify that all fabric routes are set up and all switch IP addresses and names are

present. (The fabricShow command only shows the WWN and domain ID for switches from

other manufacturers.)

• On an M-series switch, when no zoning configuration is in effect and default zoning is disabled,

all ports are isolated and traffic is not permitted. This is unlike B-series behavior with Brocade

Native mode enabled (and all data traffic is enabled). If the M-series default zone is disabled and

there is no active configuration, then no device can communicate with any other device in the

fabric if zoning has also been disabled on B-series switches in the merged fabric. For more inform-

ation, see the Fabric OS Administrator Guide for the version of Fabric OS you are running.

• Allows you to define zones in the effective configuration or the defined database.

• The cfgenable and cfgdisable commands activate the effective zone configuration.

• B-series switches connected to M-series switches receive the effective configuration when a zone

merge occurs. (The M-series has an effective zone configuration only and discards the defined

zone configuration when it sends merge information to the B-series switch.) However, a zone update

sends the defined and effective configuration to all switches in the fabric.

• Legacy M-series switches do not support the defined database or merge propagation.

• The cfgsize command checks the maximum available size and the size of the current zoning

configuration. If you are approaching the maximum, you can save a partially completed zoning

configuration and reissue the cfgsize command to determine the remaining space.

• Supports fabric-wide activation of zone configurations.

• The zone database is managed on the DCFM or EFCM Management Server.

• The cfgsaveactivetodefined command moves the effective zone configuration to the defined

database.

• The cfgsave command saves the defined database on the local switch. Defined database distri-

bution is not supported.

• Use the cfgmcdtmode command to activate and deactivate M-series default and safe zoning

features.