2.3.2 Port naming and distribution In the field, fabric naming conventions vary. However, it is common to find fabrics that are  named, for example,  PROD_SAN_1  and  PROD_SAN_2 , or  PROD_SAN_A  and  PROD_SAN_B . This type of  naming convention is used to simplify the management and troubleshooting, after their  denomination followed by  1  and  2  or  A  and  B , which specifies that the devices connected to  those fabrics contains the redundant paths of the same servers and SAN devices.  To simplify the SAN connection identification and troubleshooting, keep all odd ports on the  odd fabrics, or “A” fabrics and the even ports on  the even fabric or “B” fabrics, as shown in  Figure 2-10. As a preferred practice, assign specific uses to specific FlashSystem 9100 ports. This  technique helps optimize the port utilization by aligning the internal allocation of hardware  CPU cores and software I/O threads to those ports. Figure 2-11 shows the specific port use guidelines for the FlashSystem 9100. Figure 2-11 Port masking configuration on FlashSystem 9100 Figure 2-10 FlashSystem 9100 port distribution Chapter 2. Storage area network  23