Configuring hosts running the Windows Server operating system for SAN Boot

To use the SAN Volume Controller as a boot device for a host running the Windows® 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008 operating system, you must configure the host.

SAN boot is not supported on all operating systems. See the following Web site for the latest support information:

www.ibm.com/storage/support/2145

Use the following steps to configure the operating system:

  1. Configure the SAN Volume Controller so that only the boot virtual disk (VDisk) is mapped to the host.
  2. Configure the Fibre Channel SAN so that the host can see only one SAN Volume Controller node port. This means that there is only one path from the host to its boot disk.
  3. Configure and enable the HBA BIOS.
  4. Install the operating system, using the normal procedure, selecting the VDisk as the partition on which to install.
  5. After the operating system and the subsystem device driver (SDD), the subsystem device driver device specific module (SDDDSM), or Microsoft® Multipath I/O driver is installed, zoning should be modified to allow multiple paths.
    Restriction: For SDD, there can be no multipathing during the boot sequence, until after SDD is loaded.
  6. Set redundant boot devices in the BIOS to allow the host to boot when its original boot path has failed.
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