Technical data

Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide 13-1
Publication Number: 53-0000518-09
Chapter
13
Administering Advanced Zoning
This chapter provides procedures for using the Brocade Advanced Zoning feature.
Zoning Terminology
The following terms are used in the Advanced Zoning procedures:
• zone
A zone is a region within the fabric where a specified group of fabric-connected devices (called
zone members) have access to one another. When zoning is enabled, objects not explicitly defined
in a zone are isolated, and members in the zoned fabric do not have access to them.
• zone configuration
A group of one or more zones is called a zone configuration.
• defined zone configuration
The complete set of all zone members defined in a fabric is called the defined zone configuration.
• effective zone configuration
Zoning procedures change zone objects in the defined configuration. When you enable a
configuration with the cfgEnable command, it becomes the effective zone configuration. The
effective zone configuration is restored after a switch reboot.
• saved zone configuration
A copy of the defined zone configuration (plus the name of the effective zone configuration) can be
saved with the cfgSave command. The resulting saved zone configuration is restored after a switch
reboot. If you make changes to the defined zone configuration but do not save them, there will be
differences between the defined zone configuration and the saved zone configuration.
To use zoning, you must install Brocade Advanced Zoning licenses on all the switches in the fabric
before attempting to bring a switch into the fabric. If a Zoning license is removed, you must make sure
it is reinstalled properly on the affected switch before attempting the cfgEnable zoning operation.
Failure to follow these steps can cause inconsistency of the zoning configuration on the affected
switches should a zoning operation be attempted from a remote switch in the fabric. On the affected
switches, an error message indicates that the Zoning license is missing.
You can use zones to logically consolidate equipment for efficiency or to facilitate time-sensitive
functions; for example, to create a temporary zone to back up nonmember devices.