HP StorageWorks 2/24 FW 07.00.00/HAFM SW 08.06.00 McDATA Products in a SAN Env - Page 232

Physical Planning Considerations 5 Benefits of Zoning Configuring Zones Zones are configured through the SAN management application (SANavigator 4.2 or EFCM 8.6) by authorizing or restricting access to name server or route table information (depending on the firmware release level) associated with device N_Ports that attach to director or switch fabric ports (F_Ports). System administrators create zones to increase network security measures, differentiate between operating systems, 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: • 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. • 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. • 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. • 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. Zoning is configured through the SAN management application by authorizing or restricting access to name server or route table information associated with device N_Ports that attach to director or switch F_Ports or fabric loop ports (FL_Ports). A device N_Port or node loop port (NL_Port) can belong to multiple zones. Zoning is configured by: • The eight-byte (64-digit) WWN assigned to the HBA or Fibre Channel interface installed in the device connected to the director or fabric switch. 5-26 McDATA Products in a SAN Environment - Planning Manual