33
CHAPTER 6 Zoning
Overview
Note: Devices on communi-
cation-disabled ports may
appear in the SNS table
even though zoning is
enabled and active.
You can divide root switches into multiple virtual zones (or work groups), similar to
Virtual Local Area Networking (VLAN). (Note: When a switch is running Stealth
or Stealth-3 Mode, all of its zones share one virtual loop—that is, one set of 126
AL_PAs.) Depending on model and firmware, Vixel switches in Fabric Mode and
Fabric (Public/Private) Mode use either WWN-based or port-based zoning. (Stealth
Modes all use port-based zoning.) You can use zoning to:
• Separate test or maintenance areas from production areas.
• Separate different operating system environments.
• Temporarily block or grant access during backup and other tasks.
• Consolidate equipment logically.
• Designate closed user groups for increased security.
For example, human resources may not want other departments to be able to access
sensitive data on certain hosts. On a switch that uses WWN-based zoning, this data
can be secured by omitting the World-Wide Names (WWNs) of these hosts from all
company-wide zones. On a switch that uses port-based zoning, the hosts containing
sensitive information could be secluded on a switch port (such as port 2) and the
communication between this port and others could then be disabled.
Port-based zoning options are set in the Configure Switch dialog box. WWN-based
zoning options are set through the switch’s Web Manager interface or Command
Line Interface (CLI).
Vixel devices can be zoned dynamically to optimize SAN performance for different
tasks, such as backup.
To configure switch zoning:
• Web Manager—Click Zoning from the available options.
• CLI Root Menu—Type: config zone
Overview 33
Vixel WWN Zoning Instructions 34
Understanding How WWN Zoning Works 34
Configuring & Activating a Zone Set 37
Joining Zoned Fabrics 40
Reference 41
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