Cisco MDS: Device Alias Commit Failure - "Zone Server is currently busy"
Category: Storage Networking (Fibre Channel/SAN)
Applies To: Cisco MDS Switches (MDS 9000 Series)
Problem:
Device alias commit operation fails with the error "Zone Server is currently busy handling other requests. Please retry the command after some time." This prevents device alias changes.
Symptoms:
When attempting to commit device alias changes, the show device-alias session status command indicates a "Fail" result with the following reason:
show device-alias status
Fabric Distribution : Enabled
Database:- Device Aliases 77 Mode: Enhanced
Checksum: 0xf9xxx59b52xxxx42e87dcf043xxxxxx
Locked By:- User "CLI/SNMPv3:admin" SWWN 20:00:00:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
show device-alias session status
Last Action Time Stamp : Fri May 16 12:29:56 2025
Last Action : Commit
Last Action Result : Fail
Last Action Failure Reason : device-alias(0x40bc0059)- Zone Server is currently busy handling other requests. Please retry the command after some time.Cause:
This issue typically occurs when the Common Fibre Channel Services (CFS) application for device-alias is locked by a previous session or user, preventing new operations from proceeding. The show cfs lock command will show the application currently holding the lock.
show cfs lock
Application: device-alias
Scope : Physical-fc
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Switch WWN IP Address User Name User Type
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20:00:00:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx xx.xx.xx.xx admin CLI/SNMP v3
[Cisco_LabSw]
Total number of entries = 1.In the example above, the device-alias application is locked by user "admin" from the switch Cisco_LabSw.
Resolution:
To resolve this issue, you need to clear the hung or locked device alias session.
show device-alias pending-diff
- Purpose: This command displays the differences between the pending device alias configuration and the currently active (effective) device alias configuration.
- Explanation: When you make changes to device aliases (e.g., adding a new alias, modifying an existing one, or deleting one), these changes are first stored in a "pending" database. They don't become active in the fabric until you commit them. show device-alias pending-diff lets you review exactly what changes are waiting to be committed, showing additions (usually prefixed with a plus +), deletions (prefixed with a minus -), and modifications. This is crucial for reviewing your changes before making them live.
show device-alias pending
- Purpose: This command displays the entire contents of the pending device alias database.
- Explanation: Unlike pending-diff which shows only the changes, show device-alias pending will list all device aliases that are currently in the "pending" state, whether they are new, modified, or simply part of the configuration that is about to be committed. This gives you a complete view of what the device alias database will look like once the commit operation is successful.
show device-alias session status
- Purpose: This command provides information about the current or last device alias session, including its status and any errors.
- Explanation: When you begin modifying device aliases, a session is implicitly started. This command shows:
Enter configuration mode:
Clear the device alias session:
Cisco_LabSw(config)# clear device-alias session
Note: This command will clear any pending device alias changes in the current session.
Verify Device Alias Status: After clearing the session, check the device alias status to ensure the lock is released and you can now initiate new changes.
Cisco_LabSw# show device-alias status
Verify CFS Lock Status (Optional, but Recommended): Confirm that the device-alias application lock has been cleared.
Cisco_LabSw# show cfs lock
Ideally, there should be no entry for device-alias after a successful clear.
