HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Services Platform Administrator Guide (5697-0934, May 2011)

3 Zoning
Zoning is a critical part of the configuration process for HP SVSP since it can directly impact the
capacity, stability, and performance of the overall system. Failure to implement a correct zoning
configuration can lead to a nonfunctioning configuration or one that operates in a reduced state
with respect to capacity, performance, and high availability.
Zoning overview
Any given device port on the SAN can communicate with every other device port when zoning is
disabled. Zoning provides a standard access control mechanism for fabrics. When a zoning
configuration is implemented, a device port can only see the other device ports with which it shares
a zone. Administrators should refer to the manuals of their switch manufacturers. The following
sections describe in detail what zones need to be created, but does not go into detail on how this
is accomplished.
There are two types of zoning enforcement mechanisms:
• Soft zoning. A node is assigned to a zone according to its Fibre Channel World Wide Name
(WWN), and the switch places designated WWNs in a zone without regard to which ports
they are connected.
◦ A name server restricts visibility
◦ Always available with zoning is enabled
◦ No reduction in performance
• Hard zoning. A device is assigned to a zone by reference to a port. Anything connected to
the port is then in that zone.
◦ Available when certain rule checking criteria are met through hardware logic checking
◦ Provides additional security over soft zoning
◦ Prevents illegal access from unwanted sources
◦ No reduction in performance with hard-port level zoning
Soft zoning is easier to manage in an environment where the configuration is constantly changing.
HP recommends that you use soft zoning for HP SVSP zoning configurations, although an
administrator may choose hardware zoning if it is more familiar.
The key point to remember when zoning is that all devices in the same zone will be able to see
one another on the SAN. Limiting these types of unwanted interactions between devices is the
basis of the general guidelines for zoning in a given SAN.
When implementing an HP SVSP zoning configuration, the following practices can help make the
process as straightforward as possible and minimize errors:
• Draw a diagram of the zoning configuration prior to implementing the zoning. Having a visual
representation of the configuration helps to identify interactions between different devices in
the SAN and can later be useful in debugging any issues, such as performance bottlenecks
or unwanted access to a certain device.
• Use zoning objects, often called aliases, on the switch as zone members. Zoning objects allow
you to create logical representations on the switch of physical devices and ports in the SAN.
These objects can be modified or removed as the physical topology changes and are easier
to manage.
• Follow a logical naming convention for zoning objects and zones that is readable and can
be understood by anyone with knowledge of the HP SVSP. For example, a zoning object
name (for example, VSM1_H1_5a14) could tell someone the device, the HBA on the device,
and what port number on the device, that the object represents. Similarly, a zone name could
Zoning overview 31