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CH A P T E R 14
Troubleshooting Zones and Zone Sets

This chapter describes how to identify and resolve problems that might occur while implementing zones
and zone sets on switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family. It includes the following sections:
• Overview, page 14-1
• Troubleshooting Checklist, page 14-1
• Zone and Zone Set Issues, page 14-4
• Zone Merge Failure, page 14-13
• Enhanced Zoning Issues, page 14-21

Overview
Zoning enables access control between storage devices and user groups. Creating zones increases
network security and prevents data loss or corruption.
Zone sets consist of one or more zones in a VSAN. A zone set can be activated or deactivated as a single
entity across all switches in the fabric, but only one zone set can be activated at any time in a VSAN.
Zones can be members of more than one zone set. A zone consists of multiple zone members. Members
in a zone can access each other; members in different zones cannot access each other.

Troubleshooting Checklist
The following criteria must be met for zoning to function properly:

Checklist Check off

Verify that you have an active zone set.
Verify that you have the correct hosts and storage devices in the same zone.
Verify that the zone is part of the active zone set.
Verify that the default zone policy is permit if you are not using zoning.
Verify that you have only pWWN-based zoning if you have a Cisco MDS 9020 fabric
switch in your fabric.

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For zone configuration problems, use the following helpful tools:

• Cisco Fabric Analyzer. (See the “Cisco Fabric Analyzer” section on page B-25.)
• Cisco Fabric Manager and CLI system messages. (See the System Messages, page 1-10.)
• Log messages (See the “Troubleshooting with Logs” section on page 1-13.)

Troubleshooting Zone Configuration Issues with Fabric Manager

Much of the information accessible through Fabric Manager can also be accessed using the CLI. (See
the “Troubleshooting Zone Configuration Issues with the CLI” section on page 14-2.)
To verify which devices belong to the active zone set on a specific VSAN using Fabric Manager, follow
these steps:

Step 1 Choose Tools > Edit Full Zone Database. You see the Select VSAN dialog box.
Step 2 Select a VSAN and click OK. You see the Edit Local Full Zone Database dialog box for the selected
VSAN.
Step 3 Click Zones in the left pane. The right pane lists the members for each zone.

Note The active zone set appears in bold. If there is no zone set in bold, you have not activated a zone set for
this VSAN.

Troubleshooting Zone Configuration Issues with the CLI

Much of the information accessed and summarized using Fabric Manager can also be found using CLI
show commands. (See Table 14-1.)
Table 14-1 Zone Troubleshooting Commands in the CLI

Command Command Description

show zone analysis [active] vsan vsan-id Displays zone database information for a specific VSAN
show zone name zonename Displays members of a specific zone.
show device-alias database Displays any device aliases configured.
show fcalias vsan-id Displays if and how FC aliases are configured.
show zone member pWWN-id, fcalias-id, Displays all zones to which a member belongs using the
or pWWN-id FC ID, the FC alias, or the pWWN.
show zone statistics Displays the number of control frames exchanged with
other switches.
show zone internal vsan-id Displays the internal state of the zone server for a
specific VSAN.
show zoneset zonesetname Displays information about the named zone set.

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Table 14-1 Zone Troubleshooting Commands in the CLI (continued)

Command Command Description

show zoneset active Displays information about the active zone set.
show zone tech-support Gathers relevant zoning information that may be
requested by your customer support representative when
troubleshooting zoning issues.

Note To issue commands with the internal keyword, you must have a network-admin group account.

To better manage the zones and zone sets on your switch, you can display zone and zone set information
using the show zone analysis command. (See Example 14-1 through Example 14-3.)

Example 14-1 Full Zoning Analysis

switch# show zone analysis vsan 1

Zoning database analysis vsan 1
Full zoning database
Last updated at: 15:57:10 IST Feb 20 2006
Last updated by: Local [ CLI ]
Num zonesets: 1
Num zones: 1
Num aliases: 0
Num attribute groups: 0
Formattted size: 36 bytes / 2048 Kb

Unassigned Zones: 1
zone name z1 vsan 1

Example 14-2 Active Zoning Database Analysis

switch# show zone analysis active vsan 1

Zoning database analysis vsan 1
Active zoneset: zs1 [*]
Activated at: 08:03:35 UTC Nov 17 2005
Activated by: Local [ GS ]
Default zone policy: Deny
Number of devices zoned in vsan: 0/2 (Unzoned: 2)
Number of zone members resolved: 0/2 (Unresolved: 2)
Num zones: 1
Number of IVR zones: 0
Number of IPS zones: 0
Formattted size: 38 bytes / 2048 Kb

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Example 14-3 Zone Set Analysis

switch# show zone analysis zoneset zs1 vsan 1

Zoning database analysis vsan 1
Zoneset analysis: zs1
Num zonesets: 1
Num zones: 0
Num aliases: 0
Num attribute groups: 0
Formattted size: 20 bytes / 2048 Kb

See the Cisco MDS 9000 Family Command Reference for the description of the information displayed
in the command output.
The debug zone change CLI command followed by the zone name in question can help you get started
debugging zones for protocol errors, events, and packets.

Note To enable debugging for zones, use the debug zone command in EXEC mode. To disable a debug
command, use the no form of the command or use the no debug all command to turn off all debugging.

For protocol errors, use:

debug zone change errors vsan-id
For protocol events, use:
debug zone change events vsan-id
For protocol packets, use:
debug zone change packets vsan-id

Other useful debug commands include:

debug zone {all |
change {errors | events | packets} |
database {detail | errors | events} |
gs errors {errors | events | packets} |
lun-zoning {errors | events | packets} |
merge {errors | events | packets} |
mts notifications |
pss {errors | events} ||
read-only-zoning {errors | events | packets} |
tcam errors {errors | events | packets} |
transit {errors | events}} [vsan vsan-id]

Zone and Zone Set Issues

The section covers the following zone and zone set issues:
• Host Cannot Communicate with Storage, page 14-5
• Troubleshooting Zone Set Activation, page 14-8
• Troubleshooting Full Zone Database Synchronization Across Switches, page 14-11
• Mismatched Default Zone Policy, page 14-12
• Recovering from Link Isolation, page 14-15
• Mismatched Active Zone Sets Within the Same VSAN, page 14-17

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Host Cannot Communicate with Storage

A host cannot see a storage device for the following reasons:
• The default zone policy does not allow the devices to communicate.
• Storage devices and host interfaces do not belong to the same zone or the zone is not part of the
active zone set.

Symptom Host cannot communicate with storage.

Table 14-2 Host Cannot Communicate with Storage

Symptom Possible Cause Solution

Host cannot Host and storage are not in the same See the “Resolving Host Not Communicating with Storage
communicate with zone. Issue Using Fabric Manager” section on page 14-5 or the
storage. Zone is not in active zone set. “Resolving Host Not Communicating with Storage Using
the CLI” section on page 14-6.
No active zone set and default zone
policy is deny.
The xE port connecting to the remote See the “E Port Is Isolated in a VSAN” section on
switch is isolated. page 11-5.
Host and storage are not in the same Verify the VSAN membership. See the “Verifying VSAN
VSAN. Membership Using Fabric Manager” section on page 11-4
or the “Verifying VSAN Membership Using the CLI”
section on page 11-4.

Resolving Host Not Communicating with Storage Issue Using Fabric Manager
To verify that the host is not communicating with storage using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Verify that the host and storage device are in the same VSAN. See the “Verifying VSAN Membership
Using Fabric Manager” section on page 11-4.
Step 2 Configure zoning, if necessary, by choose Fabricxx > VSANxx > Default Zone and selecting the
Policies tab to determine if the default zone policy is set to deny.
The default zone policy of permit means all nodes can see all other nodes. Deny means all nodes are
isolated when not explicitly placed in a zone.
Step 3 Optionally, select permit from the Default Zone Behavior drop-down menu to set the default zone policy
to permit if you are not using zoning. Got to Step 8.
Step 4 Choose Zone > Edit Local Full Zone Database and select the VSAN you are interested in. Click on the
zones folder and verify that the host and storage are both members of the same zone. If they are not in
the same zone, see the “Resolving Host and Storage Not in the Same Zone Using Fabric Manager”
section on page 14-6.
Step 5 Choose Zone > Edit Local Full Zone Database and select the VSAN you are interested in. Click on the
active zone folder and determine if the zone in Step 5 and the host and disk appear in the active zone set.
If the zone is not in the active zone set, see the “Resolving Zone is Not in Active Zone Set Using Fabric
Manager” section on page 14-6.

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Step 6 If there is no active zone set, right-click the zone set you want to activate in the Edit Local Full Zone
Database dialog box and select Activate to activate the zone set.
Step 7 Verify that the host and storage can now communicate.

Resolving Host and Storage Not in the Same Zone Using Fabric Manager

To move the host and storage device into the same zone using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Zone > Edit Local Full Zone Database and select the VSAN you are interested in. Click on the
zones folder and find the zones that the host and storage are members of.
Step 2 Click on the zone that contains the host or storage that you want to move. Right-click on the row that
represents this zone member and select Delete from the pop-up menu to remove this end device from the
zone.
Step 3 Click on the zone that you want to move the end device to. Click and drag the row that represents the
end device in the bottom table and add it to the zone in the top table.
Step 4 Verify that you have an active zone set for this VSAN by selecting the zone set name that appears in bold.
If you do not have an active zone set, right-click on the zone set you want to activate in the Edit Local
Full Zone Database dialog box and select Activate to activate the zone set.
Step 5 Expand the active zone set folder to verify that the zone in Step 3 is in the active zone set. If it is not, see
the “Resolving Zone is Not in Active Zone Set Using Fabric Manager” section on page 14-6.
Step 6 Click Activate... to activate the modified zone set.
Step 7 Verify that the host and storage can now communicate.

Resolving Zone is Not in Active Zone Set Using Fabric Manager

To add a zone to the active zone set using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Zone > Edit Local Full Zone Database and select the VSAN you are interested in. Right-click
on the active zone set, which is in bold, and select Insert.
Step 2 Click on the zone that you want to add to this zone set and click Add.
Step 3 Click Activate... to activate the modified zone set.
Step 4 Verify that the host and storage can now communicate.

Resolving Host Not Communicating with Storage Using the CLI

To verify that the host is not communicating with storage using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Verify that the host and storage device are in the same VSAN. See the “Verifying VSAN Membership
Using the CLI” section on page 11-4.
Step 2 Configure zoning, if necessary, by using the show zone status vsan-id command to determine if the
default zone policy is set to deny.

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switch# show zone status vsan 1

VSAN: 1 default-zone: deny distribute: active only Interop: default
mode: basic merge-control: allow session: none
hard-zoning: enabled
Default zone:
qos: low broadcast: disabled ronly: disabled
Full Zoning Database :
Zonesets:0 Zones:0 Aliases: 0
Active Zoning Database :
Name: Database Not Available
Status:

The default zone policy of permit means all nodes can see all other nodes. Deny means all nodes are
isolated when not explicitly placed in a zone.
Step 3 Optionally, use the zone default-zone permit command to set the default zone policy to permit if you
are not using zoning. Go to Step 7.
Step 4 Use the show zone member command for host and storage device to verify that they are both in the same
zone. If they are not in the same zone, see the “Resolving Host and Storage Not in the Same Zone Using
Fabric Manager” section on page 14-6.
Step 5 Use the show zoneset active command to determine if the zone in Step 4 and the host and disk appear
in the active zone set.
v_188# show zoneset active vsan 2
zoneset name ZoneSet3 vsan 2
zone name Zone5 vsan 2
pwwn 10:00:00:00:77:99:7a:1b [Hostalias]
pwwn 21:21:21:21:21:21:21:21 [Diskalias]

Step 6 If the zone is not in the active zone set, see the “Resolving Zone is Not in Active Zone Set Using Fabric
Manager” section on page 14-6.
Step 7 If there is no active zone set, use the zoneset activate command to activate the zone set.
switch(config)# zoneset activate ZoneSet1 vsan 2.

Step 8 Verify that the host and storage can now communicate.

Resolving Host and Storage Not in the Same Zone Using the CLI

To move the host and storage device into the same zone using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use the zone name zonename vsan-id command to create a zone in the VSAN if necessary, and add the
host or storage into this zone.
ca-9506(config)# zone name NewZoneName vsan 2
ca-9506(config-zone)# member pwwn 22:35:00:0c:85:e9:d2:c2
ca-9506(config-zone)# member pwwn 10:00:00:00:c9:32:8b:a8

Note The pWWNs for zone members can be obtained from the device or by issuing the show flogi
database vsan-id command.

Step 2 Use the show zone command to verify that host and storage are now in the same zone.
switchA# show zone
zone name NewZoneName vsan 2

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pwwn 22:35:00:0c:85:e9:d2:c2
pwwn 10:00:00:00:c9:32:8b:a8

zone name Zone2 vsan 4

pwwn 10:00:00:e0:02:21:df:ef
pwwn 20:00:00:e0:69:a1:b9:fc

zone name zone-cc vsan 5

pwwn 50:06:0e:80:03:50:5c:01
pwwn 20:00:00:e0:69:41:a0:12
pwwn 20:00:00:e0:69:41:98:93

Step 3 Use the show zoneset active command to verify that you have an active zone set. If you do not have an
active zone set, use the zoneset activate command to activate the zone set.
Step 4 Use the show zoneset active command to verify that the zone in Step 2 is in the active zone set. If it is
not, use the zoneset name command to enter the zone set configuration submode, and use the member
command to add the zone to the active zone set.
switch(config)# zoneset name zoneset1 vsan 2
ca-9506(config-zoneset)# member NewZoneName

Step 5 Use the zoneset activate command to activate the zone set.
switch(config)# zoneset activate ZoneSet1 vsan 2

Step 6 Verify that the host and storage can now communicate.

Resolving Zone is Not in Active Zone Set Using the CLI

To add a zone to the active zone set using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use the show zoneset active command to verify that you have an active zone set. If you do not have an
active zone set, use the zoneset activate command to activate the zone set.
Step 2 Use the show zoneset active command to verify that the zone in Step 1 is not in the active zone set.
Step 3 Use the zoneset name command to enter the zone set configuration submode, and use the member
command to add the zone to the active zone set.
switch(config)# zoneset name zoneset1 vsan 2
ca-9506(config-zoneset)# member NewZoneName

Step 4 Use the zoneset activate command to activate the zone set.
switch(config)# zoneset activate ZoneSet1 vsan 2

Step 5 Verify that the host and storage can now communicate.

Troubleshooting Zone Set Activation

When you activate a zone set, a copy of the zone set from the full zone set is used to enforce zoning, and
is called the active zone set. A zone that is part of an active zone set is called an active zone. Two main
problems can occur with activating a zone set:
• No zone set is active.

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• Zone set activation fails.

Zone activation can fail if a new switch joins the fabric. When a new switch joins the fabric, it acquires
the existing zone sets. Also, large zone sets may experience timeout errors in Cisco MDS SAN-OS
Release 1.3(4a) and earlier.
When a zone set activation fails, you may see the following system messages:

Error Message ZONE-2-ZS_CHANGE_ACTIVATION_FAILED: Activation failed.

Explanation The zone server cannot activate the zone set.

Recommended Action Use the zoneset activate CLI command or similar Fabric Manager procedure
to activate the zone set.

Error Message ZONE-2-ZS_CHANGE_ACTIVATION_FAILED_RESN: Activation failed : reason

[chars].

Explanation The zone server cannot activate because of reason shown in the error message.

Recommended Action No action is required.

If this message has the reason “FC2 sequence size exceeded”, then the zone database size has been
exceeded. You must simplify the zone configuration, or, if full zone set distribution is enabled, then
disable full zone set distribution and activate the zone set.

Error Message ZONE-2-ZS_CHANGE_ACTIVATION_FAILED_RESN_DOM: Activation failed :

reason [chars] domain [dec].

Explanation The zone server cannot activate because of reason shown in the error message on the
domain.

Recommended Action No action is required.

Troubleshooting Zone Activation Using Fabric Manager

To verify the active zone set and active zones using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Zone > Edit Local Full Zone Database and select the VSAN you are interested in. Click on the
active zone set, which is in bold.
Step 2 Verify that the needed zones are active. If a zone is missing from the active zone set, see the “Resolving
Zone is Not in Active Zone Set Using Fabric Manager” section on page 14-6.
Step 3 Click Activate... to activate the zone set.
Step 4 If you are still experiencing zone set activation failure, use the show zone internal change
event-history vsan <vsan-id> CLI command to determine the source of zone set activation problem.

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Troubleshooting Zone Activation Using the CLI

To verify the active zone set and active zones using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use the show zone analysis active vsan vsan-id command to analyze the active zone set database. Verify
that the formatted size does not exceed the 2048 KB limit shown. If it exceeds the limit, you must remove
some zones or devices within a zone.
switch# show zone analysis active vsan 1
Zoning database analysis vsan 1
Active zoneset: zs1 [*]
Activated at: 08:03:35 UTC Nov 17 2005
Activated by: Local [ GS ]
Default zone policy: Deny
Number of devices zoned in vsan: 0/2 (Unzoned: 2)
Number of zone members resolved: 0/2 (Unresolved: 2)
Num zones: 1
Number of IVR zones: 0
Number of IPS zones: 0
Formattted size: 38 bytes / 2048 Kb

Step 2 Use the show zone analysis vsan vsan-id command to analyze the full zone set database. Verify that the
formatted size does not exceed the 2048 KB limit shown. If it exceeds the limit, you must remove some
zones or devices within a zone.
switch# show zone analysis vsan 1
Zoning database analysis vsan 1
Full zoning database
Last updated at: 15:57:10 IST Feb 20 2006
Last updated by: Local [ CLI ]
Num zonesets: 1
Num zones: 1
Num aliases: 0
Num attribute groups: 0
Formattted size: 36 bytes / 2048 Kb

Unassigned Zones: 1
zone name z1 vsan 1

Step 3 Use the show zoneset active vsan-id command to display the active zones.
switchA# show zoneset active vsan 2
zoneset name ZoneSet1 vsan 2
zone name NewZoneName vsan 2
* pwwn 22:35:00:0c:85:e9:d2:c2
* pwwn 10:00:00:00:c9:32:8b:a8

Step 4 Verify that the needed zones are active.

Step 5 Optionally, use the zoneset name ActiveZonesetName vsan-id command and the member NewZone
command to add the zone to the active zone set in the VSAN.
switch(config)# zoneset name ZoneSet1 vsan 2
switch(config-zoneset)# member NewZoneAdded

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Step 6 Use the zoneset activate command to activate the zone set.
switch(config)# zoneset activate ZoneSet1 vsan 2

Step 7 If you are still experiencing zone set activation failure, use the show zone internal change
event-history vsan <vsan-id> command to determine the source of the zone set activation problem.

Troubleshooting Full Zone Database Synchronization Across Switches

All switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family distribute active zone sets when new E port links come up
or when a new zone set is activated in a VSAN. The zone set distribution takes effect while sending
merge requests to the adjacent switch or while activating a zone set.

Resolving Out of Sync Full Zone Database Using Fabric Manager

To verify if the full zone database is in sync across switches using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Fabricxx > VSANxx > zonesetname and select the Policies tab.
Step 2 Verify that the Propagation field is set to FullZoneSet. If it is not, select FullZoneSet from the
drop-down menu.
Step 3 Click Apply Changes to save these changes.

Resolving an Out of Sync Full Zone Database Using the CLI

To verify if the full zone database is in sync across switches using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use the show zone status command to verify if the distribute flag is on.
switch# config t show zone status
VSAN: 1 default-zone: deny distribute: active only Interop: default
mode: basic merge-control: allow session: none
hard-zoning: enabled
Default zone:
qos: low broadcast: disabled ronly: disabled
Full Zoning Database :
Zonesets:3 Zones:7 Aliases: 9
Active Zoning Database :
Name: ZoneSet1 Zonesets:1 Zones:2
Status:
This example shows that only the active zone set is distributed.
Step 2 Verify that the distribute flag is on.

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Mismatched Default Zone Policy

If you are using basic zoning, you must verify that the default zone policy is the same for all switches in
the VSAN. If the default zone policy varies, then you may experience zoning problems. If all switches
in the VSAN have Cisco SAN-OS Release 2.0(1b) or later, you can use enhanced zoning. Enhanced
zoning synchronizes your zone configuration across all switches in the VSAN, eliminating the
possibility of mismatched default zone policies.

Resolving Mismatched Default Zone Policies Using Fabric Manager

To resolve mismatched default zone policies using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Fabricxx > VSANxx > zonesetname and select the Policies tab.
Step 2 View the Default Zone Behavior field for each switch in the VSAN to determine which switches have
mismatched default zone policies.
Step 3 Click Apply Changes to save these changes.
Step 4 If you are using basic zoning, Select the same value from the Default Zone Behavior drop-down menu
for each switch in the VSAN to set the same default zone policy.
Step 5 If you are using enhanced zoning, follow these steps:
a. Choose Fabricxx > VSANxx and view the Release field to verify that all switches are capable of
working in the enhanced mode.
All switches must have Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 2.0(1b) or later. If one or more switches are
not capable of working in enhanced mode, then your request to move to enhanced mode is rejected.
b. Choose Fabricxx > VSANxx > zonesetname and select the Policies tab and set Default Zone
Behavior field to set the default zone policy.
c. Click Apply Changes to save these changes.
d. Select the Enhanced tab and select enhanced from the Action drop-down menu.
e. Click Apply Changes to save these changes.
By doing so, you automatically start a session, acquire a fabric wide lock, distribute the active and
full zoning database using the enhanced zoning data structures, distribute zoning policies, and then
release the lock. All switches in the VSAN then move to the enhanced zoning mode.

Note After moving from basic zoning to enhanced zoning (or vice versa), we recommend that you save the
running configuration.

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Resolving Mismatched Default Zone Policies Using the CLI

To resolve mismatched default zone policies using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Issue the show zone status command.

v_188# show zone status
VSAN: 1 default-zone: deny distribute: active only Interop: default
mode: basic merge-control: allow session: none <------------------
hard-zoning: enabled
Default zone:
qos: low broadcast: disabled ronly: disabled
Full Zoning Database :
Zonesets:5 Zones:18 Aliases: 11
Active Zoning Database :
Name: ZoneSet1 Zonesets:1 Zones:2
Status:

This example shows the default zone policy is deny, and the zone mode is basic.
Step 2 If you are using basic zoning, follow these steps:
a. Repeat Step 1 for all switches in the VSAN to verify that they have the same zone mode. Use the
zone mode basic command to change any switches that are not in basic mode.
b. Use the zone default-zone command on each switch in the VSAN to set the same default zone
policy.
Step 3 If you are using enhanced zoning, follow these steps:
a. Use the show version command on all switches in the VSAN to verify that all switches are capable
of working in the enhanced mode.
All switches must have Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 2.0(1b) or later. If one or more switches are
not capable of working in enhanced mode, then your request to move to enhanced mode is rejected.
b. Use the zone default-zone command to set the default zone policy.
c. Use the zone mode enhanced vsan-id command to set the operation mode to enhanced zoning
mode.
By doing so, you will automatically start a session, acquire a fabric wide lock, distribute the active
and full zoning database using the enhanced zoning data structures, distribute zoning policies, and
then release the lock. All switches in the VSAN then move to the enhanced zoning mode.
switch(config)# zone mode enhanced vsan 3000

Note After moving from basic zoning to enhanced zoning (or vice versa), we recommend that you use
the copy running-config startup-config command to save the running configuration.

Zone Merge Failure

A zone merge request may fail because of the following configuration issues:
• Too many zone sets
• Too many aliases

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• Too many attribute groups

• Too many zones
• Too many LUN members
• Too many zone members
Use the show zone internal merge event-history CLI command to determine the cause of the zone
merge failure.
You may see one or more of the following system messages after a zone merge failure:

Error Message ZONE-2-ZS_MERGE_ADJ_NO_RESPONSE: Adjacent switch not responding,

Isolating Interface [chars] (VSAN [dec]).

Explanation Interface on the VSAN was isolated because the adjacent switch is not responding to
zone server requests.

Recommended Action Flap the interface.

Introduced Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 1.2(2a).

Error Message ZONE-2-ZS_MERGE_FAILED: Zone merge failure, Isolating interface

[chars].

Explanation Interface isolated because of a zone merge failure.

Recommended Action Compare active zoneset with the adjacent switch or enter the zone merge
interface CLI command or similar Fabric Manager/Device Manager command.
Introduced Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 1.2(2a).

Error Message ZONE-2-ZS_MERGE_FULL_DATABASE_MISMATCH: Zone merge full database

mismatch on interface [chars].

Explanation Full zoning databases are inconsistent between two switches connected by interface .
Databases are not merged.

Recommended Action Compare full zoning database with the adjacent switch. Correct the difference
and flap the link.
Introduced Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 1.3(1).

Error Message ZONE-2-ZS_MERGE_FULL_DATABASE_MISMATCH: Zone merge full database

mismatch on interface [chars].

Explanation Full zoning databases are inconsistent between two switches connected by the
interface. Databases are not merged.

Recommended Action Compare full zoning database with the adjacent switch, correct the difference
and flap the link.
Introduced Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 1.2(2a).

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Error Message ZONE-2-ZS_MERGE_UNKNOWN_FORMAT: Unknown format, isolating interface

[chars].

Explanation Interface isolated because of an unknown format in the merge request.

Recommended Action Set the interoperability mode to the same value on both switches.
Introduced Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 2.0(1b).

Note Zoning information exists on a per VSAN basis. Therefore, for a TE port, it may be necessary to verify
that the zoning information does not conflict with any allowed VSAN.

Recovering from Link Isolation

When two switches in a fabric are merged using a TE or E port, the port may become isolated when the
active zone set databases are different between the two switches or fabrics. When a TE port or an E port
become isolated, you can recover that port from its isolated state using one of three options:
• Import the neighboring switch's active zone set database and replace the current active zone set.
• Export the current database to the neighboring switch.
• Manually resolve the conflict by editing the full zone set, activating the corrected zone set, and then
bringing up the link.
If after verifying the Fibre Channel name server , you still experience FSPF problems (such as
discovering remote switches and their attached resources), the fabric may have zone configuration
problems. Examples of zone configuration problems are mismatched active zone sets and misconfigured
zones within the active zone set.

Resolving a Link Isolation Because of a Failed Zone Merge Using Fabric Manager
Using the Zone Merge Analysis tool in Fabric Manager, the compatibility of two active zone sets in two
switches can be checked before actually merging the two zone sets. Refer to the Cisco MDS 9000 Fabric
Manager Configuration Guide for more information.
To perform a zone merge analysis using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Zone > Merge Analysis from the Zone menu.
You see the Zone Merge Analysis dialog box.
Step 2 Select the first switch to be analyzed from the Check Switch 1 drop-down list.
Step 3 Select the second switch to be analyzed from the And Switch 2 drop-down list.
Step 4 Enter the VSAN ID where the zone set merge failure occurred in the For Active Zoneset Merge Problems
in VSAN Id field.
Step 5 Click Analyze to analyze the zone merge. Click Clear to clear the analysis data from the Zone Merge
Analysis dialog box.

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Resolving a Link Isolation Because of a Failed Zone Merge Using the CLI
The following CLI commands are used to resolve a failed zone merge:
• zoneset import vsan-id
• zoneset export vsan-id
To resolve a link isolation because of a failed zone merge using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use the show interface command to confirm that the port is isolated because of a zone merge failure.
switch# show interface fc2/14
fc2/14 is down (Isolation due to zone merge failure)
Hardware is Fibre Channel, WWN is 20:4e:00:05:30:00:63:9e
vsan is 1
Beacon is turned off
40 frames input, 1056 bytes, 0 discards
0 runts, 0 jabber, 0 too long, 0 too short
0 input errors, 0 CRC, 3 invalid transmission words
0 address id, 0 delimiter
0 EOF abort, 0 fragmented, 0 unknown class
79 frames output, 1234 bytes, 16777216 discards
Received 23 OLS, 14 LRR, 13 NOS, 39 loop inits
Transmitted 50 OLS, 16 LRR, 21 NOS, 25 loop inits

An E port is segmented (isolation due to zone merge failure) if the following conditions are true:
• The active zone sets on the two switches differ from each other in terms of zone membership
(provided there are zones at either side with identical names).
• The active zone set on both switches contain a zone with the same name but with different zone
members.
Step 2 Verify the zoning information, using the following commands on each switch:
• show zone vsan vsan-id
• show zoneset vsan vsan-id
Step 3 You can use two different approaches to resolve a zone merge failure by overwriting the zoning
configuration of one switch with the other switch’s configuration. This can be done with either of the
following commands:
• zoneset import interface interface-number vsan vsan-id
• zoneset export interface interface-number vsan vsan-id
The import option of the command overwrites the local switch’s active zone set with that of the remote
switch. The export option overwrites the remote switch’s active zone set with the local switch’s active
zone set.

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Step 4 If the zoning databases between the two switches are overwritten, you cannot use the import option. To
work around this, you can manually change the content of the zone database on either of the switches,
and then issue a shutdown/no shutdown command sequence on the isolated port.
Step 5 If the isolation is specific to one VSAN and not on an E port, the correct way to issue the cycle up/down,
is to remove the VSAN from the list of allowed VSANs on that trunk port, and reinsert it.

Note Do not simply issue a shutdown/no shutdown command sequence on the port. This would
affect all the VSANs crossing the EISL instead of just the VSAN experiencing the isolation
problem.

Mismatched Active Zone Sets Within the Same VSAN

When merging switch fabrics, you must ensure that the zones in both active zone sets have unique names,
or that any zones with the same name have exactly the same members. If either of these conditions is
violated the E port connecting the two fabrics will appear in an isolated state.
For example, two switches may have the same zone set name, and the same zone names, but different
zone members. As a result, the VSAN is isolated on the TE port that connects the two switches.
This issue can be resolved by doing one of the following:
• Modify the zone members on both zone sets to match and eliminate the conflict.
• Deactivate the zone set on one of the switches and restart the zone merge process.
• Explicitly import or export a zone set between the switches to synchronize them.

Resolving Mismatched Active Zone Sets Within the Same VSAN Using Fabric Manager
Mismatched active zone sets within the same VSAN result in that VSAN being segmented in Fabric
Manager. To verify a mismatched active zone set within the same VSAN using Fabric Manager, follow
these steps:

Step 1 Choose Zone > Edit Local Full Zone Database and select the segmented VSAN you are interested in.
Click on the active zone set, which is in bold, to view the list of zones and zone members for this active
zone set.
Step 2 Repeat Step 1 for the other segmented VSAN.
A mismatched active zone set may include zones with the same name but different members, or a missing
zone within the zone set.

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Step 3 Do one of the following to resolve the isolation problem:

• Change the membership of one of the zones to match the other zone of the same name. See the
“Resolving Host and Storage Not in the Same Zone Using Fabric Manager” section on page 14-6.
• Discard one of the zone sets completely by deactivating it using the no zoneset activate command.
If a VSAN does not have an active zone set, it automatically takes the active zone set of the other
merging switch. See the “Deactivating a Zone Set and Restarting the Zone Merge Process Using
Fabric Manager” section on page 14-20.
• Choose Zone > Copy Full Zone Database to overwrite the active zone set on one switch. This
method is destructive to one of the active zone sets.

Resolving Mismatched Active Zone Sets Within the Same VSAN Using the CLI
To verify a mismatched active zone set within the same VSAN using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use the show zoneset active vsan-id command to display the active zone set configuration of the first
switch.
Switch1# show zoneset active vsan 99
zoneset name ZoneSet1 vsan 99
zone name VZ1 vsan 99
* fcid 0x7800e2 [pwwn 22:00:00:20:37:04:ea:2b]
* fcid 0x7800d9 [pwwn 22:00:00:20:37:04:f8:a1]

Step 2 Use the show zoneset active vsan-id command to display the active zone set configuration of the second
switch:
Switch2# show zoneset active vsan 99
zoneset name ZoneSet1 vsan 99
zone name VZ1 vsan 99
pwwn 22:00:00:20:37:04:f8:a1
pwwn 22:00:00:20:37:0e:65:44

Even though the zones have the same name, their respective members are different.
Step 3 Issue the show interface command to view information about the TE port and the interface.
Switch2# show interface fc1/8
fc1/8 is trunking
Hardware is Fibre Channel
Port WWN is 20:08:00:05:30:00:5f:1e
Peer port WWN is 20:05:00:05:30:00:86:9e
Admin port mode is E, trunk mode is auto
Port mode is TE
Port vsan is 1
Speed is 2 Gbps
Receive B2B Credit is 255
Receive data field size is 2112
Beacon is turned off
Trunk vsans (admin allowed and active) (1,99)
Trunk vsans (up) (1)
Trunk vsans (isolated) (99)
Trunk vsans (initializing) ()
5 minutes input rate 120 bits/sec, 15 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec
5 minutes output rate 88 bits/sec, 11 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec
10845 frames input, 620268 bytes, 0 discards
0 CRC, 0 unknown class
0 too long, 0 too short

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10842 frames output, 487544 bytes, 0 discards

3 input OLS, 4 LRR, 3 NOS, 0 loop inits
18 output OLS, 2 LRR, 14 NOS, 0 loop inits

From this output, you can see that VSAN 99 is isolated.

Step 4 Use the show port internal interface interface number CLI command to get information about why the
interface is isolated.

Note To issue commands with the internal keyword, you must have an account that is a member of
the network-admin group.

switch# show port internal info interface fc1/8

fc1/8 - if_index: 0x0109C000, phy_port_index: 0x3c

Admin Config - state(up), mode(TE), speed(auto), trunk(on)
beacon(off), snmp trap(on), tem(false)
rx bb_credit(default), rx bb_credit multiplier(default)
rxbufsize(2112), encap(default), user_cfg_flag(0x3)
description()
Hw Capabilities: 0xb
trunk vsans (up) (1)
.
.
.
trunk vsans (isolated) (99)
TE port per vsan information
fc2/29, Vsan 1 - state(up), state reason(None), fcid(0x690202)
port init flag(0x38000), current state [TE_FSM_ST_E_PORT_UP]
fc2/29, Vsan 99 - state(down), state reason(Isolation due to zone merge failure),
fcid(0x000000)
port init flag(0x0), current state [TE_FSM_ST_ISOLATED_VSAN_MISMATCH]

From this output, you can see the VSAN is isolated because of o a zone merge failure.
Step 5 Do one of the following to resolve the isolation problem:
• Change the membership of one of the zones to match the other zone of the same name. See the
“Resolving Host and Storage Not in the Same Zone Using Fabric Manager” section on page 14-6.
• Discard one of the zone sets completely by deactivating it using the no zoneset activate command.
If a VSAN does not have an active zone set, it automatically takes the active zone set of the other
merging switch. See the “Deactivating a Zone Set and Restarting the Zone Merge Process Using the
CLI” section on page 14-20.
• Overwrite the active zone set on one switch using the import or export commands. This method is
destructive to one of the active zone sets.
– zoneset import interface interface-number vsan vsan-id
– zoneset export interface interface-number vsan vsan-id
Step 6 Use the show interface fcx/y trunk vsan-id command to verify that VSAN 99 is no longer isolated:
Switch1# show interface fc1/5 trunk vsan 99
fc1/5 is trunking
Vsan 99 is up, FCID is 0x780102

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Deactivating a Zone Set and Restarting the Zone Merge Process Using Fabric Manager
To deactivate a zone set and restart the zone merge process using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Zone > Deactivate Zone Set to deactivate the zone set configuration.

Caution This will disrupt traffic and cause the MDS 9000 switch to lose connectivity with the network.

Step 2 Choose Interfaces > FC Physical and select down from the Status Admin drop-down menu to shut
down the connection to the zone to be merged. You may see the following system messages:
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_CHANNEL_ADMIN_DOWN: Interface fc1/14 is down
(Channel admin down)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_CHANNEL_ADMIN_DOWN: Interface fc1/15 is down
(Channel admin down)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_CHANNEL_ADMIN_DOWN: Interface fc1/16 is down
(Channel admin down)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_PORT_CHANNEL_MEMBERS_DOWN: Interface
port-channel 1 is down (No operational members)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_ADMIN_DOWN: Interface port-channel 1 is down
(Administratively down)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT_CHANNEL-5-FOP_CHANGED: port-channel 1: first operational
port changed from fc1/16 to none

Step 3 Choose Interfaces > FC Physical and select up from the Status Admin drop-down menu to enable the
connection to the zone to be merged. You may see the following system messages:
Nov 19 10:28:11 switch4 %LOG_PORT_CHANNEL-5-FOP_CHAN
GED: port-channel 1: first operational port changed from none to fc1/15
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_UP: Interface port-channel 1 is up in mode TE
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/14, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/15, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/16, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/14, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/15, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/16, vsan 1 is up

Step 4 Choose Zone > Edit Local Full Zone Database to verify the active zone set configuration.
After deactivating the zone set onthe first switch and performing a shutdown followed by a no shutdown
on the ISL that connects it to the second switch, the zone merge is processed again. Because the first
switch has no active zone set, it learns the active zone set from the second switch during the zone merge
process.

Deactivating a Zone Set and Restarting the Zone Merge Process Using the CLI
To deactivate a zone set and restart the zone merge process using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use the no zoneset activate name zoneset-name vsan-id command to deactivate the zone set
configuration from the switch:

Caution This will disrupt traffic and cause the MDS 9000 switch to lose connectivity with the network.

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switch4(config)# no zoneset activate name excal2 vsan 1

Zoneset Deactivation initiated. check zone status

Step 2 Use the show zoneset active command to confirm that the zone set has been removed.
Step 3 Use the shut down command to shut down the connection to the zone to be merged.
switch4(config)# interface port-channel 1
switch4(config-if)# shutdown
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_CHANNEL_ADMIN_DOWN: Interface fc1/14 is down
(Channel admin down)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_CHANNEL_ADMIN_DOWN: Interface fc1/15 is down
(Channel admin down)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_CHANNEL_ADMIN_DOWN: Interface fc1/16 is down
(Channel admin down)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_PORT_CHANNEL_MEMBERS_DOWN: Interface
port-channel 1 is down (No operational members)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_DOWN_ADMIN_DOWN: Interface port-channel 1 is down
(Administratively down)
Nov 19 10:26:10 switch4 %LOG_PORT_CHANNEL-5-FOP_CHANGED: port-channel 1: first operational
port changed from fc1/16 to none

Step 4 Use the no shutdown command to reactivate the connection to the zone to be merged:
switch4(config-if)# no shutdown
Nov 19 10:28:11 switch4 %LOG_PORT_CHANNEL-5-FOP_CHAN
GED: port-channel 1: first operational port changed from none to fc1/15
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_UP: Interface port-channel 1 is up in mode TE
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/14, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/15, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/16, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/14, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/15, vsan 1 is up
Nov 19 10:28:21 switch4 %LOG_PORT-5-IF_TRUNK_UP: Interface fc1/16, vsan 1 is up

Step 5 Use the show zoneset active vsan-id commands to exit configuration mode and check the active zone
sets.
switch4# show zoneset active
zoneset name wall vsan 1
zone name excal1 vsan 1
* fcid 0x620200
fcid 0x6200ca
zone name $default_zone$ vsan 1
* fcid 0x6e00da
* fcid 0x6e00d9
* fcid 0x6e00d6
* fcid 0x6e0100

After deactivating the zone set on switch 4 and performing a shutdown followed by a no shutdown on
the ISL that connects it to switch 3, the zone merge is processed again. Because switch 3 has no active
zone set, it learns the active zone set from switch 4 during the zone merge process.

Enhanced Zoning Issues

Enhanced zoning uses a session locking facility like CFS to prevent simultaneous zoning configuration
changes by two users on the same or separate switches. When a user starts to make a zoning change on
one switch for a VSAN, that switch will lock the fabric to prevent others from making zoning changes.
The user must issue a commit to make the changes active and release the fabric wide lock.

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Problems can occur when the lock is acquired, but not released. In this situation, you cannot configure
zoning on that VSAN. If you are using the CLI, you see error messages when you attempt to enter the
zoning configuration mode.
Troubleshooting CLI commands to use for enhanced zoning issues:
• show zone internal change event-history
• show zone status vsan
• show zone pending-diff
• show zone pending vsan

Symptom Cannot configure zoning.

Table 14-3 Cannot Configure Zoning

Symptom Possible Causes Solutions

Cannot configure Another user on the same switch is holding See the“Resolving Enhanced Zoning Lock Issues with
zoning. the enhanced zoning configuration lock. If Fabric Manager” section on page 14-23 or the “Resolving
you are using the CLI, you see a message Enhanced Zoning Lock Issues with the CLI” section on
stating that another session is active. page 14-23.
Another user on a different switch is
holding the enhanced zoning configuration
lock. If you are using the CLI, you see a
message stating that the lock is currently
busy.

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Resolving Enhanced Zoning Lock Issues with Fabric Manager

To resolve a lock failure using Fabric Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Fabricxx > VSANxx and select the zone set that you want to configure.
Step 2 Select the Enhanced tab from the Information pane and view the Config DB Locked By column to
determine which switch and which user holds the enhanced zoning lock for this VSAN.
Step 3 Check the Config DB Discard Changes check box and click Apply Changes to clear the enhanced
zoning lock.

Note Verify that no valid configuration change is in progress before you clear a lock.

Resolving Enhanced Zoning Lock Issues with the CLI

To resolve a lock issue using the CLI, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use the show zone status vsan command to determine the lock holder. If the lock holder is on this
switch, the command output shows the user. If the lock holder is on a remote switch, the command output
shows the domain ID of the remote switch.
switch#show zone status vsan 16

VSAN: 16 default-zone: deny distribute: active only Interop: default

mode: enhanced merge-control: allow session: cli [admin] <---- user admin has lock
hard-zoning: enabled

Step 2 Use the no zone commit vsan command on the switch that holds the lock to release the lock if you are
the holder of the lock.
Step 3 Use the no zone commit vsan <vsan id> force command on the switch that holds the lock to release the
lock if another user holds the lock.

Note Verify that no valid configuration change is in progress before you clear a lock.

Step 4 If problems persist, use the clear zone lock command to remove the lock from the switch. This should
only be done on the switch that holds the lock.

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