C H A P T E R 31 Distributing Device Alias Services; Changing Mode Settings; Device Alias Mode Distribution; Merging Device Alias - Cisco AP775A - Nexus Converged Network Switch 5010 Configuration Manual

About Device Alias Modes
S e n d d o c u m e n t a t i o n c o m m e n t s t o m d s f e e d b a c k - d o c @ c i s c o . c o m

Changing Mode Settings

When the device alias mode is changed from basic to enhanced mode, the applications are informed
about the change. The applications start accepting the device alias based configuration in the native
format.
Note Because the device alias was previously running in the basic mode, the applications do not have any prior
native device alias configuration.
The applications check for an exisiting device alias cofiguration in the native format. If the device alias
is in the native format, the applications reject the request and device alias mode cannot be changed to
basic.
All native device alias configurations (both on local and remote switches) must be explicitly removed,
or all device alias members must be replaced with the corresponding pWWN before changing the mode
back to basic.
The process can be automated using the force option. Use the no device-alias mode enhanced force
command to enable applications to automatically replace all device alias members with the
corresponding pWWNs. If a device alias member does not have a corresponding pWWN mapping in the
device alias database, the configuration will be removed.

Device Alias Mode Distribution

If the device alias distribution is turned on, it is distributed to the other switches in the network whenever
there is a change in the mode. You cannot change the mode from basic to enhanced unless all the
switches are upgraded to Release 3.1. The device alias enhancements will not apply unless the entire
fabric is upgraded to Release 3.1.
When all the switches are upgraded to Release 3.1, you cannot automatically convert to enhanced mode.
Note
You do not need to change to enhanced mode, you can continue working in the basic mode.

Merging Device Alias

If two fabrics are running different device alias modes and are joined together, the device alias merge
will fail. There is no automatic conversion of one mode to the other during the merge process. You will
need to resolve the issue.
Release 3.0 switches run in basic mode.
Note
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 the application running on an enhanced fabric has a native device alias configuration, the application
must fail the merge. The application has to fail the merge though the other fabric is capable of supporting
the native device alias based configuration, but running in the basic mode. You will need to resolve the
issue. Once the device alias merge issue is resolved, each application must be fixed accordingly.
Cisco MDS 9000 Family Fabric Manager Configuration Guide
31-2
Chapter 31 Distributing Device Alias Services
OL-17256-03, Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 4.x