Compaq AA-RHBYA-TE 135267-001, User Manual

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Zoning 6-13
Multi-Switch Fabrics
There are two databases used by Zoning:
■ The zone configuration data
■ The N_Port login data.
Zone Configuration Data
This data is shown as the defined configuration by the cfgShow command, and
is stored in flash by the cfgSave command. This data is a replicated database,
all Fabric Switches have a complete copy. Whenever you make a
configuration change, the Switch where the change is made forwards the
change to all Fabric Switches using vendor unique interSwitch protocol.
N_Port Login Data
N_Port Login Data is stored locally on each Switch, and is used to translate
World Wide Names into physical port numbers when world wide names are
used in zone definitions. The zone checking procedure runs entirely on the
local Switch when a match can be made by physical port number alone, but
when physical port number is not sufficient, the local Switch has to query the
remote Switch to get login data. This data is then cached on the local Switch
until a State Change Notification renders it stale.
Adding a New Switch
A new Switch is a Switch that has not previously been connected to a Fabric
with Zoning configured, and has had no zone configuration data entered into
it. If a Switch has been connected to a zoned Fabric, or has had zone
configuration data previously entered, see below. A Switch that has been
configured for Zoning may be returned to this new Switch state by using the
cfgClear command before connecting it to the Fabric.
When a new Switch is connected to a Fabric, all zone configuration data is
immediately copied from the Fabric into the new Switch. If a zone
configuration is enabled in the Fabric, then the same configuration becomes
enabled in the new Switch. After this operation, the cfgShow command
displays the same output on all Switches in the Fabric, including the new
Switch.