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3 – Managing Fabrics
Zoning a Fabric
3-16 59022-03 D
3.4.4
Merging Fabrics and Zoning
If you join two fabrics, the active zone sets from the two fabrics attempt to merge.
The fabrics may consist of a single switch or many switches already connected
together. The switches in the two fabrics attempt to create a new active zone set
containing the union of each fabric’s active zone set. The propagation of zoning
information only affects the active zone set, not the configured zone sets, unless
the Merge Mode is set to "Brocade Proprietary". Refer to ”Merge Mode” on
page 3-14.
3.4.4.1
Zone Merge Failure
If a zone merge is unsuccessful, the inter-switch links between the fabrics will
isolate due to a zone merge failure, which will generate an alarm log entry. The
reason for the E_Port isolation can also be determined by viewing the port
information. Refer to ”Port Information Data Window” on page 4-5 and the ”Show
Command” on page A-39 (Port keyword).
A zone merge will fail under the following conditions:
■ The Merge Mode in the two fabrics is different. All switches in the combined
fabric must have the same merge mode.
■ The two active zone sets have member zones with identical names that
differ in content or type. For example, consider Fabric A and Fabric B each
with a zone in its active zone set named “ZS1”. Fabric A "ZS1" contains a
member specified by Domain ID 1 and Port 1; Fabric B “ZS1” contains a
member specified by Domain ID 1 and Port 2. In this case, the merge will fail
and the inter-switch links between the fabrics will isolate.
3.4.4.2
Zone Merge Failure Recovery
When a zone merge failure occurs, the conflict that caused the failure must be
resolved. If the failure was due to differing Merge Modes, change the Merge Mode
on the switches in one of the fabrics to match the other fabric. Refer to ”Using the
Zoning Config Window” on page 3-15 for information about changing the Merge
Mode. To permit the fabrics to join, reset the ports that were isolated. Refer to
”Resetting a Port” on page 5-13.
1. You can correct a failure due to a zone conflict by deactivating one of the
active zone sets or editing the conflicting zones so that their membership is
the same. You can deactivate the active zone set on one switch if the active
zone set on the other switch accurately defines your zoning needs. If not,
you must edit the zone memberships, and reactivate the zone sets. Refer to
”Managing Zones” on page 3-22 for information about adding and removing
zone members. To permit the fabrics to join, reset the ports that were
isolated. Refer to ”Resetting a Port” on page 5-13.