Which storage feature ensures a host can access only its assigned LUNs on a storage array?

Which storage feature ensures a host can access only its assigned LUNs on a storage array?

• A. Zoning
• B. LUN masking
• C. Supernetting
• D. VLAN tagging

Answer: (B)

LUN masking is the mechanism that controls which LUNs a host can see and access on a storage array. It configures the array so that only specific LUNs are exposed to a given host (or host group) based on initiator identifiers like WWNs or IQNs. Any LUN not masked for that host is not presented, so I/O requests for those LUNs are effectively blocked. This provides data isolation and ensures a host can interact only with its assigned storage. Zoning limits which devices can communicate across the Fibre Channel fabric, but it doesn’t limit which LUNs are visible once a path is established. Supernetting is an IP networking concept and isn’t used to control storage LUN visibility. VLAN tagging also concerns network segmentation and does not govern which LUNs a host can access on the storage array.

LUN masking is the mechanism that controls which LUNs a host can see and access on a storage array. It configures the array so that only specific LUNs are exposed to a given host (or host group) based on initiator identifiers like WWNs or IQNs. Any LUN not masked for that host is not presented, so I/O requests for those LUNs are effectively blocked. This provides data isolation and ensures a host can interact only with its assigned storage.

Zoning limits which devices can communicate across the Fibre Channel fabric, but it doesn’t limit which LUNs are visible once a path is established. Supernetting is an IP networking concept and isn’t used to control storage LUN visibility. VLAN tagging also concerns network segmentation and does not govern which LUNs a host can access on the storage array.