Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch CLI Software Configuration Guide, NX-OS 4.0(1a)N1 (OL-16597-01, January 2009)

CHAPTER
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39-1
Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch CLI Software Configuration Guide
OL-16597-01
39
Distributing Device Alias Services
Switches in the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series support Distributed Device Alias Services (device aliases) on
a fabric-wide basis.
This chapter includes the following sections:
• Information About Device Aliases, page 39-1
• Device Alias Databases, page 39-2
• About Legacy Zone Alias Configuration, page 39-8
• Database Merge Guidelines, page 39-8
• Verifying Device Alias Configuration, page 39-9
• Default Settings, page 39-10
Information About Device Aliases
When the port WWN (pWWN) of a device must be specified to configure features (for example, zoning,
DPVM, or port security) in a Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switch, you must assign the correct device name
each time you configure these features. An inaccurate device name may cause unexpected results. You
can circumvent this problem if you define a user-friendly name for a pWWN and use this name in all the
configuration commands as required. These user-friendly names are referred to as device aliases.
This section includes the following topics:
• Device Alias Features, page 39-1
• Device Alias Requirements, page 39-2
• Zone Aliases Versus Device Aliases, page 39-2
Device Alias Features
Device aliases have the following features:
• The device alias information is independent of the VSAN configuration.
• The device alias configuration and distribution is independent of the zone server and the zone server
database.
• You can import legacy zone alias configurations without losing data.