HP Cisco Nexus 5000 Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch CLI Software Configuration - Page 508

Information About VSANs Chapter 37 Configuring and Managing VSANs Send feedback to [email protected] • Traffic isolation-Traffic is contained within VSAN boundaries and devices reside only in one VSAN ensuring absolute separation between user groups, if desired. • Scalability-VSANs are overlaid on top of a single physical fabric. The ability to create several logical VSAN layers increases the scalability of the SAN. • Per VSAN fabric services-Replication of fabric services on a per VSAN basis provides increased scalability and availability. • Redundancy-Several VSANs created on the same physical SAN ensure redundancy. If one VSAN fails, redundant protection (to another VSAN in the same physical SAN) is configured using a backup path between the host and the device. • Ease of configuration-Users can be added, moved, or changed between VSANs without changing the physical structure of a SAN. Moving a device from one VSAN to another only requires configuration at the port level, not at a physical level. Up to 256 VSANs can be configured in a switch. Of these, one is a default VSAN (VSAN 1), and another is an isolated VSAN (VSAN 4094). User-specified VSAN IDs range from 2 to 4093. VSANs Versus Zones Zones are always contained within a VSAN. You can define multiple zones in a VSAN. Because two VSANs are equivalent to two unconnected SANs, zone A on VSAN 1 is different and separate from zone A in VSAN 2. Table 37-1 lists the differences between VSANs and zones. Table 37-1 VSAN and Zone Comparison VSAN Characteristic Zone Characteristic VSANs equal SANs with routing, naming, and zoning protocols. Routing, naming, and zoning protocols are not available on a per-zone basis. VSANs limit unicast, multicast, and broadcast traffic. Zones limit unicast traffic. Membership is typically defined using the VSAN ID to F ports. Membership is typically defined by the pWWN. An HBA or a storage device can belong only to a single VSAN An HBA or storage device can belong to multiple zones. (the VSAN associated with the F port). VSANs enforce membership at each E port, source port, and destination port. Zones enforce membership only at the source and destination ports. VSANs are defined for larger environments (storage service providers). Zones are defined for a set of initiators and targets not visible outside the zone. VSANs encompass the entire fabric. Zones are configured at the fabric edge. Figure 37-3 shows the possible relationships between VSANs and zones. In VSAN 2, three zones are defined: zone A, zone B, and zone C. Zone C overlaps both zone A and zone B as permitted by Fibre Channel standards. In VSAN 7, two zones are defined: zone A and zone D. No zone crosses the VSAN boundary. Zone A defined in VSAN 2 is different and separate from zone A defined in VSAN 7. 37-4 Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switch CLI Software Configuration Guide OL-16597-01