How to configure zoning on MDS Cisco SAN Switch

Let’s start this post by a confession, as I'm a Cisco enthusiast I’ll be slightly biased towards Cisco products be it an Ethernet Switch, SAN switch or Multiprotocol Gateway, I always have and will always be in favor of their products far and above their competitor offerings even Brocade's. Although over here in Malaysia, Brocade is arguably the most dominant player or the default choice among majority of companies, my personal favorite will always be Cisco MDS series. It might be a daunting task or overwhelming for a person who doesn’t have any experience in configuring Cisco Ethernet Switch to dive straight into MDS as it has hierarchical level or privilege to execute command unlike Brocade's, Cisco IOS has proven to be easier and flexible to be configured with - well at least from my point of view! Let’s dive straight into the configuration portion using CLI:

Assuming that the IP address for the Management Port is already configured, let's try to telnet to the SAN switch by executing:

# telnet 10.127.38.150

Configure the switch name by:

#switchname dev_mds9120_swA

Verify the name changes made:

# show switchname

Moving on to sub-configuration mode and let’s configure all ports connected to hosts and array to auto-negotiating speed:

# config

#interface fc1/2,fc1/3,fc1/15,fc1/6

#switchport speed auto

# no shutdown

#exit

What I'm doing is essentially configuring all the interface in this case interface fc1/2 , fc1/3, fc1/15 and fc1/6 to auto-negotiate the speed and enable the interface by issuing no shutdown. You can refer which port is connected to which hosts or array by issuing show fcns database, show interface brief or by looking at the topology in Fabric Manager.

Let’s go to interface fc 1/10 and fc1/11 to configure ISL:

#interface fc1/10,fc1/11

#switchport trunk allowed

#no shutdown

#exit

We will then configure Domain ID of 1 on the default VSAN (1):

#fcdomain domain 1 static vsan 1

#exit

Verify the Domain ID is correct:

#show fcdomain vsan 1

Don't forget to save the running config to NVRAM:

#copy running-config startup-config

Show the name server database and copy the content to text file to avoid any typo:

#show fcns database

Zone the Unix server to the array in this case the Solaris 10 server to Symmetrix array, by creating a zone:

#config

#zone name Sol10_hba1_Symm_1 vsan 33

#member pwwn 210000e08b90e795

#member pwwn 50060160082006e2

#end

What I'm doing is creating a zone for a single port HBA on the Solaris server and for the first storage array port on the Symmetrix. Repeat the steps above until all zone is created for every initiator and every target and verify the config:

#show zone vsan 33

Create a zoneset with a suitable name. A zoneset is a collection of all zones in the SAN fabric:

#config

#zoneset name Unix_Symm_MDS9120 vsan 33

Add zones to the zoneset:

#member Sol10_hba1_Symm_1

Repeat the step above for all zone members in the zoneset and verify the zoneset is in accordance to your plan before activation:

#end

#show zoneset vsan 33

#config

#zoneset activate name Unix_Symm_MDS9120 vsan 33

#exit

Verify your config and save it:

#show zoneset active vsan 33

#copy running-config startup-config

#exit

That's all for today peeps, easy right? In a later edition we will look at the nitty-gritty of configuring an Inter-switch link. Maybe we will than look at configuring either Clariion, Symmetrix, USP, EVA or MSA storage using CLI before we can complete our make believe SAN. I'm familiar with NTAP and certain IBM storage as well but I'll leave that to the expert, let's focus on either EMC, HDS or HP array as that's what I'm comfortable working with. Please refer to any good article on how to decipher and translate Symmetrix or HDS USP WWN to disk adapter or disk director from the net.

Any questions?

Regards,

MARK