Zoning

[sokolova]

what is zoing? difference between hard and soft zone..

[AVV]

Hi,


Zoning is the precess to present the LUNs from storage to a server so that no other nodes other than the specified may get into the LUNs.

Zoning will keep the storage LUNs specified to each hosts. It does through the WWN of the HBA.

[Jupinder Bedi]

zoning is a method of arranging Fibre Channel devices into logical groups over the physical configuration of the fabric.

SAN zoning may be utilized to implement compartmentalization of data for security purposes.

Each device in a SAN may be placed into multiple zones.




Hard zoning is zoning which is implemented in hardware. Soft zoning is zoning which is implemented in software.

Hard zoning physically blocks access to a zone from any device outside of the zone.

Soft zoning uses filtering implemented in fibre channel switches to prevent ports from being seen from outside of their assigned zones. The security vulnerability in soft zoning is that the ports are still accessible if the user in another zone correctly guesses the fibre channel address.

[Michael Steele_2]

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/tip/1,289483,sid5_gci1085923,00.html

Hard Zone - HW - Ports
Soft Zone - SW - WWN - HostNames

[Uwe Zessin]

> Soft Zone - SW - WWN - HostNames

Modern switches can do hardware-enforced zoning with WWNs, too.

[krusty]

Just a quick note on the hard vs soft zoning - see this thread for detailed clarification on hard vs soft zoning. Problem is names stuck from Gen 1 (1Gb equipment).

Quick Summary:
Hard = ASIC based = Port = WWN zoning (2Gb and later switches)
Soft = Name Server based = mixed (WWN and port in the same zone)

See SAN Design Guide for proof.

Sincerely,

Curt

[Steven Clementi]

"Zoning is the precess to present the LUNs from storage to a server so that no other nodes other than the specified may get into the LUNs.

Zoning will keep the storage LUNs specified to each hosts. It does through the WWN of the HBA."

Sorry to pick on you with this...I totally understand what you mean (I think), but this comment is seriously flawed...

Zoning has NOTHING to do with LUN Presentation.


Zoning is simply a way for you to configure your SAN so that your Servers can NOT see "Traffic" from other servers that are accessing the same Storage or Tape device.

For instance:

You have a windows host and a linux host and a solaris host. The Windows server is a file server and needs access to the Storage (and maybe the tape for direct backups. The Linux host is your Data Protector Cell Server (you main backup server). The Solaris host is just sitting out on the SAN looking pretty.

Typical zoning would be:

zone1: windows host, storage array
zone2: windows host, tape library
zone3: linux host, solaris host, tape library

This guarantees that your linux host can not access your Storage array in ANY way, shape or form. Lets add a fourth zone in there...

zone4: linux host, storage array

...for say the use of the storage array for a Backup to Disk location for DP.

Now, lets say your Solaris host was having some fibre channel HBA problems and causing a lot of errors to happen on your Switch. Potentially, you linux server could be effected, could possibly crash or have some other situations while trying to access the tape library.

If the solaris host was in a zone by itself (with the tape library) and NOT with the linux host... the linux host could go on it's merry way without even knowing that there were problems with SunOS and would probably never experience any issues with the tape library.


Next example:

2 linux server in 1 zone... server 1 can see errors and scsi bus resets on the SAn from the other server. Server 1 is not having ANY problems though. However, since the server can "see" the errors and resets and such, it may make a log entry. Now you have 2 servers with logs filling up instead of 1, potentially causing you additional issues.


As for Presenting LUNS... this is done strictly on your Storage Device. Even with properly configured zoning, you can still present a LUN to the wrong server... assuming that server can also access the storage array.


Steven

[Michael Steele_2]

Zoning has NOTHING to do with LUN Presentation.

Even with properly configured zoning, you can still present a LUN to the wrong server...

Seems contradictory to me.

I'd work on your arguement for a little while longer.

[Uwe Zessin]

Steven and Michael, you're just using different terminology.

I've first heard the term 'zone your LUNs' when I entered the VMware world some years back. NEVER heard it all the years before and it sent little shocks down my neck, because the term does not 'feel' right to me.

Let's face it - we see this problem (different or ambiguous names for the same object/technology) even in the vendor's documentation where a 'virtual disk' or a 'logical disk' is called a LUN or where a 'LUN address' is sometimes called a 'LUN ID' or 'LUN number' or where a WW[PN]N is called a WWID and so on...

[krusty]

Kinda went down a rat hole in this thread, huh?

Well, my $.02 is:

We have hosts, SAN, and storage. Hosts are presented storage thru the SAN. SAN's have zoning. Arrays can limit who can see the LUNs with LUN masking (or Selective Storage Presentation, Secure Manger, or whatever your storage vendor calls there LUN masking software).

Point is: SAN have zones (hard or soft)
Array use LUN masking to limit who can have access to the LUN (or VDisk, etc)

At least that's the way it works in my world ;^)

Curt