Technical data

B-4 Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide
Publication Number: 53-0000518-09
Configuration Restrictions
B
• Between Brocade switches, you can connect more than one ISL when in interoperability mode.
Zoning Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to zoning in interoperable fabrics:
• When interoperability mode is in effect, the space available for the zoning database is about half the
usual size. The maximum zoning database size in interoperability mode is 1:1.8 of the native mode
zoning database size
• Only zoning by port WWN is allowed; you must use the port WWN of the device, such as
10:00:00:00:c9:28:c7:c6.
• Zone members specified by node WWN are ignored.
• Zone configurations that use either physical port numbers or port IDs are not supported in
interoperability mode. Zoning using port numbers uses the actual physical port numbers on the
switch; for example slot 1, port 5.
• When a zoning configuration is not in effect, by default all ports are isolated and traffic is not
permitted. This is unlike Brocade behavior where Interoperability mode is off (and all data traffic
is enabled).
• SilkWorm 200E, 3016, 3200, 3250, 3800, 3850, 3900, 4012, 4100, 12000, 24000, and 48000
models provide hardware enforcement of the port WWN zones only for devices attached to their
ports. Devices attached to end-ports on non-Brocade switches or Brocade 2000-series switches are
enforced by Name Server (soft) zoning only.
• Web Tools can be used for zone configuration as long as Brocade switches are connected directly to
each other. If Web Tools is used to set up zoning, then it must be used as the only zone management
method.
• Brocade switches connected to a McDATA switch receive the effective configuration when a zone
merge occurs. (McDATA only has an effective zone configuration and discards the defined zone
configuration when it sends merge information to the Brocade switch.) However, a zone update
sends both the defined and the effective configuration to all switches.
• When a SilkWorm switch or director is reconfiguring, 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.)
• The maximum number of items that can be stored in the zoning configuration database depends on
the switches in the fabric, whether or not interoperability mode is enabled, and the number of bytes
required for each item.
You can use the cfgSize command to check both the maximum available size and the currently
saved size. If you believe you are approaching the maximum, you can save a partially completed
zoning configuration and use the cfgSize command to determine the remaining space
Zone Name Restrictions
The name field must contain the ASCII characters that actually specify the name, not including any
required fill bytes. Names must follow these rules: