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# About SANs

SANs are Fibre Channel (FC) or Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) storage area networks that connect servers to storage systems. The possible states for SANs are:

Discovered | A SAN that is not associated with a network. SANs are automatically discovered when a SAN manager is added to HPE OneView.
Managed | A SAN that is associated with one or more networks in HPE OneView. Only managed SANs can be configured to be automatically zoned by HPE OneView.

Direct-attach SANs

HPE OneView creates a direct-attach SAN (flat SAN) automatically when you configure an enclosure with a logical interconnect that contains a direct-attach uplink set. HPE OneView names the direct-attach SAN using the format `<interconnect><uplink set>`. The SAN that HPE OneView creates is a Fibre Channel (FC) direct-attach SAN that is not zoned, and cannot be edited.

| NOTE: HPE OneView creates a SAN for each interconnect module that is connected to a direct-attach Fibre Channel network.

## About SAN zoning

#### Zoning policy

A SAN zone enables communication between devices connected to the SAN. SAN zoning policies determine how zoning should be configured on a SAN. SAN zoning policies define whether or not zoning is automated as well as the naming format of zones and aliases. In HPE OneView, you can specify the name format of the zones and aliases that will be created when you associate a storage volume to a server profile via a volume attachment. By specifying zone name and alias formats using text strings and server profile objects, you can create names that are meaningful and conform with your naming conventions.

| NOTE: HPE OneView performs zoning only when you add a connection to a server profile and attach a SAN storage volume to it. When you do this, HPE OneView will determine if the current zoning allows connectivity. If current zoning does not allow connectivity, HPE OneView will create the necessary zoning based on the specified zoning policy.

Automate zoning

Automated zoning enables HPE OneView to automatically create, edit, and delete zones on a zoned SAN when you attach storage volumes to servers through a volume attachment in a server profile.

Yes | Zoning is automated. HPE OneView takes full control of the zone naming and contents based on the zoning policy for the SAN. Use automated zoning when you want HPE OneView to configure new zones for volume attachments to server profiles. Existing zones are not modified unless the SAN storage attributes defined in a server profile change.
No | Zoning is not modified by HPE OneView. You must manually manage zoning.

### About zones and aliases

##### Zone name format

You can specify the name format for a zone by selecting variables in the order of your choice. You can also add text strings to the zone name.

##### Alias name format

- An alias enables you to define zone members and give meaningful names to an endpoint WWPN or group of endpoint WWPNs.

- You can specify the format of alias names that are created for initiators, targets, and target groups.

- Alias names are referenced by zones in place of WWPNs to improve readability of zones.

- HPE OneView modifies zone and alias names when creating or modifying storage volume attachments to server profiles to maintain a format that is valid for the SAN manager to which they belong. The following table describes the naming guidelines and the modifications HPE OneView performs to create valid names.

Zone and alias name format variables

server profile | The server profile name as configured under Server Profiles in HPE OneView. The server profile name is often the same as the name of the physical server as a best practice.
server initiator WWPN | The Fibre Channel World Wide Name of the port on the host bus adapter or converged network adapter on the server hardware.
server profile connection | The server profile connection name, or index number if unnamed.
storage system | The name of the storage system.
storage system port | The name of the port on the storage system.
storage system port group | The name of the port group to which the storage system port belongs. In HPE OneView storage ports can be assigned to groups to separate and load balance them during provisioning.
storage system port label | The user-defined label of the storage system port.

### Zone and alias naming guidelines and modifications

Zone and alias names must follow certain guidelines, and HPE OneView will modify zone and alias names defined in the zoning policy to ensure they adhere to those guidelines. The following table describes the naming guidelines and the modifications HPE OneView makes to zone and alias names so that they meet the guidelines.

Guideline | Action taken by HPE OneView
--- | ---
Name cannot contain illegal characters (determined by the SAN manager) | Removes illegal characters from name.
Name must be unique | Modifies the name to make it unique if it is not unique. The name is appended with `_#` where `#` is a number, starting at `1`.
Name begins with an illegal initial character (determined by the SAN manager) | Prepends `A_` on invalid alias names, and `Z_` on invalid zone names.
Name cannot be blank | Creates a unique name using a unique variable for the SAN. For example, a blank server profile connection variable would be replaced with the connection id variable.
Name cannot exceed a certain character length | Truncates the name starting with tokens in the name, and then the whole name if it is still too long.

### Conditions for reuse of existing SAN zones and aliases

Whether or not a new or existing zone or alias is used depends on the format of the existing name. The following table describes how HPE OneView handles different existing name formats.

Existing zone/alias name | Action taken by HPE OneView
--- | ---
Exact zone name with exact membership | Existing zone used
Different zone name with exact membership | New zone created (existing zone deleted)
Exact zone name but zone has additional members | New zone created (existing zone is not modified)
Alias names have exact membership and are only used in zones leveraged by HPE OneView | Existing alias used
Alias names have exact membership and are used in zones beyond what HPE OneView will leverage | New alias created

| NOTE: The re-use of a zone is determined using WWPN membership. If aliases are leveraged in an existing zone, HPE OneView analyzes the WWPN membership of the alias to determine if the correct WWPNs are present to enable re-use. Zone names and aliases are not created until the zone is created as part of adding SAN storage to a server profile. Zoning operations are not performed when you specify zone and alias naming policies.

### Effects of changes made to zones with existing volume associations

When you make changes to a zone that has existing volume associations on a server profile, HPE OneView takes the following actions.

Change to zone | Action taken by HPE OneView
--- | ---
Alias is turned on | Adds alias to current zone
Alias name is changed | No action
Zone name is changed | No action
Zone type is changed (with 1 or 2 existing storage systems) | No action
Zone type is changed (and then a second storage system is added) | Creates new zone for the second storage system
Path is removed or added | Deletes the zone and rebuilds it with updated information

### About Unexpected Zoning Reports

You can generate a diagnostic report of zoning issues found in zones for server profile initiators that are under management. Expected zoning is based on the zoning policies that have been specified in HPE OneView.

Extra endpoints | Endpoints not managed by HPE OneView that appear in zones associated with managed initiators or managed endpoints. Remove extra endpoints that are not needed Place extra initiators in separate zones Add extra endpoints (that are connections to storage volumes that should be managed by HPE OneView) to the associated server profile
Duplicate endpoints | Expected endpoints managed by HPE OneView in association with a managed initiator where the endpoint appears more than once. All instances of the endpoint are listed. Remove duplicate endpoint so that only single access remains
Missing endpoints | Endpoints managed by HPE OneView that are expected to be zoned to a managed initiator, but are not. Typically, a missing endpoint is accompanied by an alert on any resource expecting the endpoint to be zoned. The alert includes instructions for resolving the issue. You can also manually correct the issue.
Expected endpoints | Endpoints that are under management that are expected to be zoned to a managed initiator, but are not. Typically, a missing endpoint is accompanied by an alert on any resource expecting the endpoint to be zoned. The alert includes instructions for resolving the issue. You can also manually correct the issue using the SAN manager management software.

#### More information

About storage pools
About volumes
About volume templates
SAN Managers

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