Tag Archives: Nickname

Revision 657 – Cisco Show Zone

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Added the ability to parse nicknames from a Cisco Show Zone. In short: blindly parse a “show zone” output, and if the text stream isn’t overly butchered, nicknames will be detected and imported to the VICT space for writing using -n file.csv or --nicknameout=file.csv

in fibrechannel-parsers version 0.3.39, a parser was added for the result of a cisco show zone:

zone name SANASVR001_FabA vsan 100
  fcalias name Oracle_123466 vsan 100
    pwwn 10:00:00:00:c9:12:34:66

  fcalias name HDS0123457_CL7F vsan 100
    pwwn 50:06:0e:80:12:34:56:78

This differs from a show device-alias database or a show fcalias in that the zone entries are present, and may contain vsan verbs. Implemented as a stream, it should be a bit more robust and accepting than a pure-scripted variant, so that content provided by (oh, my favorite!) a user cutting a session out to log and submitting that (because it’s just as good… nah, with the ANSI markers and color formatting, it’s better!). This isn’t a substitution for ignoring the very detail when (not) reading directions, but it should give us a fighting chance.

The addition is available in the same array of parsers, so it works without any new user-config. For example, list like the parsing of cisco device-alias database as a simple text stream (from FTP, HTTP, or FILE:// URLs), a simple --nickname= or -N will work:

java -jar vict.jar --nickname=file:///file/name.txt

(or the convenience fallback)
java -jar vict.jar --nickname=/file/name.txt

(or in short-form options)
java -jar vict.jar -N name.txt

(or in Windows)
VICT.BAT -N name.txt

The matching actions in the main toolkit using the fibrechannel-parsers project involves a test case to ensure the code is resident and functioning; by that method, whatever version of fibrechannel-parsers is found during the build will offer at minimum a functioning version of this extension.

Revision 652 – Just a Few More Debug Statements

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Built using fibrechannel-parsers v0.3.49 which adds a few debugger options to ZoneParsers — the quick summary on that is when things go sideways, I might be able to get a clue more quickly rather than “pulling teeth” to get screen caps (understanding that our users tend to be in closed-off VLANs and such).

Builds against JDK-1.6 to JDK-1.8.

A certain Texan asked for an alternative query, and even though that thread went a little quiet, a different query statement gets run against a BNA server when using the bna:// or bnapsql:// protocols in a “-N” or “–nickname=” statement to VICT when the java option -Ddebug.carleton=true is used.

Revision 648 – alishow/zoneshow Parser Safely Ignores HardZoning, Multiple cfg:

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Hard-zoning records are no longer an issue in the alishow parser.

The external fibrechannel-parsers (fcparser.jar) recently safely ignored multiple cfg: sections, but was still hanging up on hard zoning records.

hard-zoning records — basically “the zone includes blade X, port Y” — not even recommended by Brocade, is occasionally seen in “in the wild”, typically in environments merged into the current one through corporate merger/acquisition of an older SAN. Few support the additional effort and logistical challenge of maintaining hard-zoning of any significant size. It’s those “attritioning out” systems that administrators are nicely letting be until they roll off their life-cycle into recycle.

For now, those hard zoning records would stop the parser immediately. Now, the parser ignores them, still reads the zoning record if available, and carries on.

Revision 640 – Filter or Replace Nicknames

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In this revision, the FAE tools gain the ability to filter or replace automatically-provided nicknames in the imported nicknames. This includes:

  • Nicknames that look like FCIDs (which are automatically provided for devices logged into F-ports)
  • Nicknames that look like WWPNs (which are typically ISLs: something attached, but no FLOGI)
  • Nicknames ending in “(ISL)” which tend to be completed ISLs (discover both sides)

Filter (-f) removes these nicknames, allowing a cleaned-up nickname file to be imported without accidentally setting generated nicknames to be user-provided (hence “sticky”).

Replace (-S, for Suggested) swaps with Suggested Nicknames (SNICKs) — nicknames based on well known patterns of WWPNs by deliberate manufacturer habit or design.

Nicknames that do not look like predictable/default nicknames are not affected: this is intended for cleaning up a Portal Service export that includes all sorts of additional information.

Revision 638 – Suggested Nicknames for Pure Storage WWN Patterns

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Expanded the option “-w” from Suggested Nicknames for Known WWN Patterns to vict.jar such that vict.jar -w 52:4a:93:7d:74:f1:14:00 offers “Pure-d74f114-CT0.FC0” or “Pure-d74f114:0:0” in brief, giving (weak) nicknames to Pure Storage Flash-based storage targets.

Note that since WWN patterns are moved to the external WWNDesc project, this is merely test code to ensure that the parallel work in the external project is functioning as required today and henceforth.

This nickname pattern is based on what I’ve seen deployed, and has no clear direction or description from Pure Storage. Pure is actually shipping QLogic HBAs as storage target FA ports, like many other vendors, however they have the decency and class to re-brand the OUI as their own OUI, making them easier to identify. THANKS, Pure! You make our lives a bit easier by taking that extra step.

Revision 617 – Dump Existing Nicknames moved from VIFT; initial DCFM extraction

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After some discussion, the query used for “–dump-config=nickname.csv” in VIFT was improved and added back into VICT. This allows a simple export of the existing Nicknames for use in the “-R” option to revision 615 so that a customer who wants to generate a Nickname Diff can do so using:

  1. java -jar vict.jar -D nickname.csv
  2. java -jar vict.jar -N bna://server/ -D nickname.csv -n diff-nicknames.csv

This ensures that diff-nicknames.csv includes only the NEW nicknames for import.

Additionally, notice how –nickname=bna://server/ is used; this is an abbreviation for bnapsql:// for which cmcne:// also applies:

java -jar vict.jar -N bna://server/ -N cmcne://otherserver/ -D nickname.csv -n diff-nicknames.csv

If you’re leveraging the PHC-based Suggested nicknames, you can still use the VICT as a copying entity:

  1. java -jar vict.jar -D nickname.csv
  2. java -jar phc.jar -A\some\path\bob
  3. java -jar vict.jar -N bna://server/ -N \some\path\bob-Nicknames.csv -D nickname.csv -n diff-nicknames.csv

There’s some initial work for vict.jar -N dcfm:// but the schema is still up-in-the-air.

Now go keep those nicknames updated!