Technical data

Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide 13-25
Publication Number: 53-0000518-09
Managing Zoning Configurations in a Fabric
13
Adding a New Switch or Fabric
When a new switch is added to the fabric, it automatically takes on the zone configuration information
from the fabric. Use the cfgActvShow command to verify that the zoning information is the same on
each switch in the fabric
If you are adding a switch that is already configured for zoning, use the cfgClear and cfgSave
commands (or use cfgClear and cfgDisable if there is an effective configuration) before connecting it
to the zoned fabric.
Adding a new fabric that has no zone configuration information to an existing fabric is very similar to
adding a new switch. All switches in the new fabric inherit the zoning configuration data. If a zone
configuration is in effect, then the same configuration becomes the enabled configuration. The
cfgActvShow command will display the same information on all switches in the newly formed fabric.
Before the new fabric can merge successfully, it must pass the following criteria:
• Before merging zones
To facilitate merging, check the following before merging switches or fabrics.
- Zoning licenses—All switches must have a Zoning license enabled.
- Native operating mode—All switches must be in the native operating mode.
- Brocade Secure Fabric OS—If one switch has Brocade Secure Fabric OS enabled, all
switches in the fabric must have Brocade Secure Fabric OS. Refer to the Secure Fabric OS
Manual for more information.
• Merging and segmentation
The fabric is checked for segmentation during power-up or when a switch is disabled or enabled, or
when a new switch is added.
The database is the zone configuration database. This is the data displayed as the “defined
configuration” in the cfgShow command. It is stored in nonvolatile memory by the cfgSave
command. This database is a replicated database, which means that all switches in the fabric will
have copy of this database. When a change is made to the defined configuration, the switch where
the changes were made must close its transaction for the change to get propagated throughout the
fabric.
• Merging rules
Observe these rules when merging zones:
Local and adjacent configurations If the local and adjacent zone database configurations are
the same, they will remain unchanged after the merge.
Effective configurations If there is an effective configuration between two
switches, the zone configuration in effect match.
Zone object naming If a zoning object has the same name in both the local and
adjacent defined configurations, the object types and
member lists must match. When comparing member lists,
the content and order of the members are important.