Why port zoning is more important
This is a Q&A from SAN School Lesson 3.
Click here for more SAN School lessons.

Zoning -- why is port zoning more secure? You said that there are two types of zoning, WWN and port and that port zoning is more secure.

    Requires Free Membership to View

    Login

    When you register for SearchStorage.com, you’ll also receive targeted emails from my team of award-winning editorial writers. Our goal is to keep you informed on the hottest topics, the latest news and the biggest challenges you face as a storage professional today.

    Rich Castagna, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchStorage.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchStorage.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

I learned most of the things I know about zoning by playing with the older Brocade 2800 switches. Newer switches offer better security when zoning using WWN or physical ports. On the Brocade 2800, WWN zoning is accomplished in software, and port zoning is done at the hardware ASIC level. When using hard or "port" zoning, frames not destined to the zoned ports are barred by the hardware from those ports. Soft zoning or "WWN" zoning uses only software (the name server) to enforce the zones (this is changing with newer switches) and frames are not barred from being transmitted between nodes that are not in the same zone.

Chris

Editor's note: Do you agree with this expert's response? If you have more to share, post it in one of our .bphAaR2qhqA^0@/searchstorage>discussion forums.

This was first published in March 2004