HP AARTDZHTE/958000284008 manual Zone FlexPar feature

If you are using the 1U rack-mount HAFM appliance to manage the director or edge switch, the minimum HAFM version required is 07.02.00-9, which is the minimum version installed. This HAFM software is contained on the HP StorageWorks ha-fabric manager documentation and software CD (Part Number 516-000024-720).

The previous minimum versions of HAFM allow you to manage directors or edge switches running 07.01.02-4 firmware, but to be able to use all the new features and enhancements, you need to upgrade HAFM to 08.06.00, which runs only on the 1U rack-mount HAFM appliance.

As an alternative, you can perform the firmware upgrade directly to the director or edge switch using their EWS.

Please contact your local HP technical resource if you need to obtain a new HAFM version.

Please contact your local HP technical resource to confirm compatibility with devices in your SAN before upgrading to this firmware version.

For more information on upgrading software versions, refer to the HP StorageWorks HA-Fabric Manager User Guide. The features of this software version are detailed in the accompanying manuals listed in section Other edge switch documentation.

Zone FlexPar feature

Because zoning is managed on a fabric-wide basis, all switches and directors in the fabric must maintain the same zoning configuration. This configuration is maintained automatically through the Fibre Channel protocol.

To keep this information current, RSCN messages are sent through the fabric to inform attached devices when zoning changes occur, when devices become available, or when devices become unavailable. In the case where devices become available or unavailable, RSCNs are sent only to the devices in the same zone. Zoning changes, however, trigger RSCNs to be sent to all of the devices in the fabric. As fabrics grow larger and larger, the quantity of RSCNs from zoning changes can create congestion and disrupt devices, causing them to pause normal activity to determine the status of the other devices. This can occur even if the new device is not zoned to talk to the other devices in the fabric.

With the Zone FlexPar feature enabled, RSCN messages for a zoning change are handled like RSCNs for availability/unavailability changes. Specifically, RSCNs are restricted to only those devices sharing at least one common zone with the device that changed. This way, only devices that are impacted by the change in connectivity receive RSCNs.

Edge Switch release notes 13