Question about Zoning on Brocade 2/16El and MSA1000

[Peter_R]

Zone using WWN to separate the Windows test server from the Novell cluster. Currently LUN masking is configured using SSP.(selective storage presentation). The environment is fully redundant. ( 2 HBA per server, 2 Brocade Sw, 2 MSA1000 Ctl )
The test server are SVR1, SVR2, SVR3. Intention is to 1st create a Zone for the test servers and make sure it works OK.
On Sw1: zone Config
HBA1/SVR1
HBA1/SVR2
HBA1/SVR3
On Sw 2: zone config
HBA2/SVR1
HBA2/SVR2
HBA2/SVR3
I used the WWN for the Emulex HBA .
Problem: When I enable the configuration on the Sw, the Novell cluster crashes, and Volumes go off line or in Comotose state.
Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong?
Thanks
Peter

[Uwe Zessin]

Peter,
it sounds like you are only creating zones for the Windows servers. At the second you active this configuration, the Novell servers are cut off from the storage. ANY port that is not a member of a zone will no longer be able to talk to any other port.

Are you acticating the zoning on both fabrics at the same time? If not, the Novell servers should fail over to the zone-less fabric.

[Peter_R]

Thanks for the reply Uwe, the Novell server did failover to the Zone-less fabric. What I am hearing is that I must Implement Zoning for all the servers connected to the Sw1.(If I do not want to failover). Is there no way to create a test Zone on Sw1 for those Test servers only?
rgs
Peter

[Uwe Zessin]

Peter,
you really need to create a complete zoning configuration.

[Stephen Kebbell]

Hi Peter,

did you add the WWN for the MSA controller to each zone?

You cannot just create one test zone. As soon as zoning is activated, any devices that are not in a zone cannot be accessed.

Regards,
Stephen

[SAKET_5]

Peter,

I am intrigued as to why you did not have single initiator zones right from the beginning! Check out any SAN Best Practices document and you will find the many benefits of adhering to a properly defined zoning convention. I will not even waste my time over figuring out whats going on with failover with the zone less fabric (to my mind a "zone less fabric" is just not right, so why bother?).

I will vote for a development of a complete zoning convention and then implementation of the same in both fabrics. Savings on unnecessary RSCNs flying across all zone less members can not be a good thing - zone the members via use of a consistent zoning convention in both the SAN Fabrics!

[Peter_R]

Thank you all for replies.
Stephen: I did add the MSA WWN, then removed it. However I know that it must be included in the Zones. I guess that my thinking was that Zones were akin to VLANS, in ethernet network, where if you create a VLAN for some devices, then the other would belong to the default VLAN. I now know thats not how it is with Zones.
Saket: I inherited a SAN evironment, that I have been "cleaning-up" and yes I am in the process of implementing SAN best proctices.

Peter