262 Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide
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Zoning configuration management
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The database is the zone configuration database. (This is the data displayed as the “defined
configuration” in the cfgShow command.) It is stored in nonvolatile memory by the cfgSave
command. This database is a replicated database, which means that all switches in the fabric
will have a copy of this database. When a change is made to the defined configuration, the
switch where the changes were made must close its transaction for the change to be
propagated throughout the fabric.
If you have implemented default zoning you must set the switch you are adding into the fabric
to the same default zone mode setting as the rest of the fabric to avoid segmentation.
•Merging rules
Observe these rules when merging zones:
-Local and adjacent configurations: If the local and adjacent zone database configurations
are the same, they will remain unchanged after the merge.
-Effective configurations: If there is an effective configuration between two switches, the
effective zone configurations must match.
-Zone object naming: If a zoning object has the same name in both the local and adjacent
defined configurations, the object types and member lists must match. When comparing
member lists, the content and order of the members are important.
-Objects in adjacent configurations: If a zoning object appears in an adjacent defined
configuration, but not in the local defined configuration, the zoning object is added to the
local defined configuration. The modified zone database must fit in the nonvolatile
memory area allotted for the zone database.
-Local configuration modification: If a local defined configuration is modified because of a
merge, the new zone database is propagated to other the switches within the merge
request.
•Merging two fabrics
Both fabrics have identical zones and configurations enabled, including the default zone
mode. The two fabrics will join to make one larger fabric with the same zone configuration
across the newly created fabric.
If the two fabrics have different zoning configurations, they will not be merged. If the two
fabrics cannot join, the ISL between the switches will segment.
•Merge conflicts
When a merge conflict is present, a merge will not take place and the ISL will segment. Use the
switchShow or errDump commands to obtain additional information about possible merge
conflicts, because many non-zone related configuration parameters can cause conflicts. See
the Fabric OS Command Reference for detailed information about these commands.
If the fabrics have different zone configuration data, the system attempts to merge the two
sets of zone configuration data. If the zones cannot merge, the ISL will be segmented.