Resolving Merge Failure And Device Alias Mode Mismatch; Device Alias Features - Cisco MDS 9000 Series Configuration Manual

Distributing Device Alias Services
Note Release 3.0 switches run in basic mode.
At the application level, a merger takes place between the applications and the fabric. For example, zone
merge occurs when the E port is up, and the IVR,PSM/DPVM merge occurs due to CFS. This merge is
completely independent of the device alias merge.
If an application running on an enhanced fabric has a native device alias configuration, the application must
fail the merge even if the other fabric is can support the native device alias-based configuration, but is running
in the basic mode. You will need to resolve the issue. After the device alias merge issue is resolved, each
application must be fixed accordingly.
The following issue occurs when there is a device alias database mismatch in the switches that are a part of
the same fabric:
The device alias associated to a pWWN is present in the port security/DPVM database even if the respective
device alias member is not present in the switch. The device alias associated to a pWWN is missing in the
port security/DPVM database even if the respective device alias member is present in the switch.

Resolving Merge Failure and Device Alias Mode Mismatch

If two fabrics are running in different modes and the device alias merge fails between the fabrics, the conflict
can be resolved by selecting one mode or the other. If you choose the enhanced mode, ensure that all the
switches are running at least the Release 3.1 version. Otherwise, the enhanced mode cannot be turned on. If
you choose the basic mode, the applications running on the enhanced fabric have to comply with the device
alias merge.
The device alias merge fails because of mode mismatch, but the application merge succeeds if it does not
have any native device alias configurations.
If a native device alias configuration is attempted on an application from a Release 3.1 switch, the commit
must be rejected because of device alias mode mismatch on some of the applications.
Note
The applications should not accept any native device alias configuration over SNMP if the device alias is
running in the basic mode on that particular switch.
Note Confcheck will be added when the enhanced mode is turned on and removed when it is turned off. Applications
should add confcheck if they have a device alias configuration in the native format, and remove it after the
configuration is removed.

Device Alias Features

Device aliases have the following features:
• Device alias information is independent of your VSAN configuration.
• Device alias configuration and distribution is independent of the zone server and the zone server database.
• You can import legacy zone alias configurations without losing data.
Resolving Merge Failure and Device Alias Mode Mismatch
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