958-000276-007, March 2005)

Please contact your local HP technical resource to confirm compatibility with d evices

in your SAN before upgrading to this firmware version.

For more information on upgrading software versions, refer to the HP StorageWorks

HA-Fabric Manager User Guide. Thefeaturesofthissoftwareversionaredetailedin

the a ccompanying manuals listed in section Otherdirectordocumentation.

Zone FlexPar feature

Because zoning is managed on a fabric-wide basis, all switches and directors in the

fabric must maintain the same zoning configuration. This configuration is maintained

automatically through the Fibre Channel protocol.

To keep this information current , RSCN messages are sent through the fabric to inform

attached devices when zoning changes occur, when devices become available, or

when devices become unavailable. In the case where devices become available or

unavailable, RSCNs are sent only to the devices in the same zone. Zoning changes,

however, trigger RSCNs to be sent to all of the devices in the fabric. As fabrics grow

larger and larger, the quantity of RSCNs from zoning changes can create congestion

and disrupt devices, causing them to pause normal activity to determine the status

of the other devices. This can occur even if the new device is not zoned to talk to

the other devices in the fabric.

WiththeZoneFlexParfeatureenabled,RSCNmessagesforazoningchangeare

handled like RSCNs for availability/unavailability changes. Specifically, RSCNs are

restricted to only those devices sharing at least one common zone with the device that

changed. This way, only devices that are impacted by the change in connectivit y

receive RSCNs.

The Zone FlexPar feature is available in both Open Fabric 1.0 and Homogeneous

Fabric 1.0 Interop modes, as well as in environments with loop-attached devices. In

Homogeneous Fabric 1.0 mode, the default zone is treated like any other zone, and

RSCNs are sent only to the affected d evices if the default zone is enabled or disabled.

A PFE key is not required for the Zone FlexPar feature, and it can be enabled or

disabled through CLI for a specific switch. When upgrading to firmware 07.00.00

or installing a new switch with firmware 07.00.00 the feature is enabled by default,

allowing it to work immediately. If the Zone FlexPar feature is not enabled on all

switches in the fabric, the restricted RSCN distribution only applies for devices attached

to switches with the feature enabled.

Enhanced SANtegrity Security Suite

SANtegrity Security Suite enhanced features include authentication support for device

are included as a standard par t of the SANtegrity Security Suite in firmware 07.00.00.