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46 HP StorageWorks 2/8q Fibre Channel Switch Management User Guide
Two types of zones are supported. The following zone types define increasingly restrictive
levels of communication.
■ Soft zones
■ Hard zones (ACL zoning)
Soft Zones
Soft zoning divides the fabric for purposes of controlling discovery. Devices within 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 zone boundaries yield to ACL zone boundaries. Soft zones can overlap; that is,
a device can participate in more than one soft zone. Zone membership can be defined by Fibre
Channel address, domain ID and port number, World Wide Name, or a combination. Soft
zoning supports all port types.
Hard Zoning (ACL Zoning)
Access Control List (ACL) 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. Devices 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 zone boundaries supersede soft zone boundaries. Membership can be
defined only by domain ID and port number. ACL zoning supports all port types.
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.
Zone sets
A zone set is a named group of zones. A zone can be a member of more than one zone set. All
zones that are not members of a zone set belong to the orphan zone set. The orphan zone set is
saved on the switch. Each switch in the fabric maintains its own zoning database containing
one or more zone sets. This zoning database resides in non-volatile or permanent memory and
is therefore retained after a reset. See “Configured Zonesets data windows” on page 65 for
information about displaying the zoning database.
To apply zoning to a fabric, choose a zone set and activate it. When you activate a zone set, the
switch distributes that zone set and its zones, excluding aliases, to every switch in the fabric.
This zone set is known as the active zone set. See “Active Zoneset data window” on page 44
for information about displaying the active zone set.
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 inactive zoning database: one copy is maintained in temporary
memory for editing purposes; the second copy is maintained in permanent memory. Zoning
database edits are made on an individual switch basis and are not propagated to other switches
in the fabric when saved.