Users Guide

342 Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide
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Zoning overview
12
Zoning enforcement
Zoning enforcement describes a set of predefined rules that the switch uses to determine where to
send incoming data. Fabric OS uses hardware-enforced zoning. Hardware-enforced zoning means
that each frame is checked by hardware (the ASIC) before it is delivered to a zone member and is
discarded if there is a zone mismatch. When hardware-enforced zoning is active, the Fabric OS
switch monitors the communications and blocks any frames that do not comply with the effective
zone configuration. The switch performs this blocking at the transmit side of the port on which the
destination device is located.
There are two methods of hardware enforcement:
• Frame-based hardware enforcement: All frames are checked by the hardware.
• Session-based hardware enforcement: The only frames checked by hardware are the ELS
frames (such as PLOGI and RNID) used to establish a session.
The hardware-enforcement method used depends on how the zones are configured.
A zone can contain all WWN members, or all D,I members, or a combination of WWN and D,I
members.
Frame-based hardware enforcement is in effect if all members of a zone are identified the same
way, either using WWNs or D,I notation, but not both. If the zone includes aliases, then the aliases
must also be defined the same way as the zone.
Session-based hardware enforcement is in effect if the zone has a mix of WWN and D,I members.
If a port is in multiple zones, and is defined by WWN in one zone and by D,I in another, then
session-based hardware enforcement is in effect.
Identifying the enforced zone type
Use the following procedure to identify zones and zone types:
1. Connect to the switch and log in using an account with admin permissions.
2. Enter the portZoneShow command.
Considerations for zoning architecture
Table 63 lists considerations for zoning architecture.
TABLE 63 Considerations for zoning architecture
Item Description
Type of zoning
enforcement: frame-
or session-based
If security is a priority, frame-based hardware enforcement is recommended. The best way
to do this is to use WWN identification exclusively for all zoning configurations.
Use of aliases The use of aliases is optional with zoning. Using aliases requires structure when defining
zones. Aliases aid administrators of zoned fabrics in understanding the structure and
context.