# SANbox2-64 Zoning

SANbox2-64 zoning functions identically to SANbox2 zoning, except that a VPF zone cannot extend beyond the ports of a single I/O blade.

A zone is a named group of ports or devices that can communicate with each other. Zoning is available for all FC-SW-2 switches in the fabric. Zoning enables you to divide the ports and devices of the fabric into zones for more efficient and secure communication among functionally grouped nodes. Managing zones involves creating a zone and adding and removing member port/devices. Zone members can communicate only with members of the same zone. Zones can overlap; that is, a port or device can be a member of more than one zone. Membership in a zone can be defined by port number, device Fibre Channel address, or device world wide name (WWN).

Note: All zones that are not members of a zone set belong to the orphan zone set. The orphan zone set is saved on SANbox2-64 switches, but not on SANbox with E_Port switches.

Zoning Concepts

* Orphan zones and aliases are allowed.

* You cannot edit an active zone set.

* The three types of zones are Soft, VPF (hard zone), and ACL (hard zone).

* The entire zoning database can be saved to either temporary or permanent memory.

* The zoning limits for a fabric are:

- Maximum number of zonesets is 256

- Maximum number of zones per zone set is 256

- Maximum number of zones is 256

- Maximum number of aliases is 256

- Maximum number of zoneset members in the zoning database is 1000

- Maximum number of members per zone is 2000

- Maximum number of members per aliases is 2000

- Maximum total number of (supported) members is 2000

Zone Types

Three types of zones are supported. The following zone types define increasing restrictive levels of communication:

1. Soft zoning

2. Access Control List (ACL) - hard zoning

3. Virtual Private Fabric (VPF) - hard zoning

Soft Zoning

Soft zoning divides the fabric for purposes of controlling discovery. Members of the same soft zone automatically discover and communicate freely with all other members of the same zone. The soft zone boundary is not secure; traffic across soft zones can occur if addressed correctly. Soft zones that include members from multiple switches need not include the ports of the inter-switch links. Soft zone boundaries yield to ACL and VPF zone boundaries. Soft zones can overlap; that is, a port can be a member of more than one soft zone. Zone membership can be defined by Fibre Channel address, port ID and domain ID, or worldwide name or a combination. Soft zoning supports all port modes.

Hard Zoning

Access Control List (ACL) hard zoning divides the fabric for purposes of controlling discovery and inbound traffic. ACL zoning is a type of hard zoning that is hardware enforced. This type of zoning is useful for controlling access to certain devices without totally isolating them from the fabric. Members can communicate with each other and transmit outside the ACL zone, but cannot receive inbound traffic from outside the zone. The ACL zone boundary is secure against inbound traffic. ACL zones can overlap; that is, a port can be a member of more than one ACL zone. ACL zones that include members from multiple switches need not include the ports of the inter-switch links. ACL zone boundaries supersede soft zone boundaries, but yield to VPF zone boundaries. Membership can be defined only by port ID and domain ID. ACL zoning supports all port modes except TL_Ports.

Virtual Private Fabric (VPF) hard zoning divides the fabric for purposes of controlling discovery and both inbound and outbound traffic. This type of zoning is useful for providing security and reserving paths between devices to guarantee bandwidth. VPF zoning is a type of hard zoning that is hardware enforced. Members can only transmit to and receive from members of the same VPF zone. The VPF zone boundary is secure against both inbound and outbound traffic. VPF zones that include members from multiple switches must include the ports of the inter-switch links. VPF zones cannot overlap; that is, a port can be a member of only one VPF zone. VPF zone boundaries supersede both soft and ACL zone boundaries. Membership can be defined only by port ID and domain ID. VPF zoning supports all port modes.

Note: Domain ID conflicts can result in automatic reassignment of switch domain IDs. These reassignments are not reflected in zones that use domain ID and port number pairs or Fibre Channel addresses to define their membership. Be sure to reconfigure zones that are affected by a domain ID change. To prevent zoning definitions from becoming invalid when the membership is defined by domain ID/port number or Fibre Channel address, you must lock domain IDs.

Aliases

To make it easier to add a group of ports or devices to one or more zones, you can create an alias. An alias is a named set of ports or devices that are grouped together for convenience. Unlike zones, aliases impose no communication restrictions between its members. You can add an alias to one or more zones. However, you cannot add a zone to an alias, nor can an alias be a member of another alias.

Zoning Database

Each switch has its own zoning database. The zoning database is made up of all aliases, zones, and zone sets that have been created on the switch or received from other switches. The switch maintains two copies of the zoning database: one copy is maintained in temporary memory for editing purposes; the second copy is maintained in permanent memory. When you modify aliases, zones, and zone sets, these changes are made to the temporary zoning database. If you reset the switch or lose power to the switch before saving the permanent zoning database, the changes will be lost.

The FC-SW-2 Auto Save and Default Visibility zoning configuration parameters affect how the zoning database is managed throughout the fabric. The FC-SW-2 Auto Save parameter determines whether changes to the active zone set that a switch receives from other switches in the fabric will be saved to permanent memory on that switch. The Default Visibility parameter permits or prohibits communication between switches when there is no active zone set.