Fibre Channel zoning

In storage networking, Fibre Channel zoning is the partitioning of aFibre Channel fabric into smaller subsets to restrict interference, add security, and to simplify management. While aSAN makes available several virtual disks (LUNs), each system connected to the SAN should only be allowed access to a controlled subset of the LUNs. Zoning applies only to the switched fabric topology (FC-SW), it does not exist in simpler Fibre Channel topologies.

Zoning is sometimes confused with LUN masking, because it serves the same goals. LUN masking, however, works on Fibre Channel level 4 (i.e. onSCSI level), while zoning works on level 2. This allows zoning to be implemented on switches, whereas LUN masking is performed on endpoint devices -host adapters ordisk array controllers.

Zoning is also different from VSANs, in that each port can be a member of multiple zones, but only one VSAN. VSAN (similarly to VLAN) is in fact a separate network (separate sub-fabric), with its own fabric services^{[clarification needed]} (including its own separate zoning).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibre_Channel_zoning