HP 316095-B21 FW 08.01.00 McDATA EFCM Basic User Manual (620-000240-000, Novem - Page 88

Understanding Zoning 4 Controlling Access Across a Fabric Zoning features enable you to establish zoning across a fabric of devices attached to switches and directors by partitioning these devices into groups called zones. A zone is composed of devices that can access each other through port-to-port connections. Devices in the same zone can recognize and communicate with each other; devices in different zones cannot. System administrators create zones to increase security measures and prevent data loss or corruption by controlling access between devices (such as servers and data storage units), or between separate user groups (such as engineering or human resources). Zoning allows an administrator to: • Establish barriers between devices that use different operating systems. For example, it is often critical to separate servers and storage devices with different operating systems because accidental transfer of information from one to another can delete or corrupt data. Zoning prevents this by grouping devices that use the same operating systems into zones. • Create logical subsets of closed user groups. Administrators can authorize access rights to specific zones for specific user groups, thereby protecting confidential data from unauthorized access. • Create groups of devices that are separate from devices in the rest of a fabric. Zoning allows certain processes (such as maintenance or testing) to be performed on devices in one group without interrupting devices in other groups. • Allow temporary access between devices for specific purposes. Administrators can remove zoning restrictions temporarily (for example, to perform nightly data backup), then restore zoning restrictions to perform normal processes. 4-2 EFCM Basic User Manual