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40 Instructions to Configure BFi for Broadcom NIC
Pre-Installation Requirements
NOTE: It is strongly recommended that you configure redundant paths to the target
from all hosts that are configured with boot from iSCSI. The following instructions
incorporate Multi-path I/O (MPIO) configuration. Misconfigured networks or
networks under heavy load may interfere with critical communication between the
host and the associated boot LUN on the target, causing the system to hang or
display a bluescreen. To work-around this issue, configure multiple paths between
the host and target. For best practices, configure a redundant iSCSI network on a
separate subnets and monitor the network performance. For more information , see
the whitepaper Creating Multipath Connections to Dell iSCSI Storage Arrays
available on the Dell Techcenter website at www.dell.com/TechCenter.
Before configuring your system for BFi, read this document completely, complete
the "Configuration Worksheet" on page 77 and ensure that you have the following:
• A PowerEdge system with the latest PowerEdge BIOS version found on the
Dell Support website at
support.dell.com
• Local hard drive for initial operating system installation
• Either local FAT32 partition or network share to store initial boot image
• Broadcom NetXtreme Network adapter drivers and firmware from the Dell
support website at
support.dell.com
. For the supported versions of drivers
and firmware, see the
Dell PowerVault MD3000i Support Matrix
located on
the Dell Support website at
support.dell.com
.
• Broadcom NetExtreme and NetExtreme II User’s Guide located on the
Broadcom LOM media or on the Dell Support website at
support.dell.com.
• Microsoft® iSCSI Software Initiator with boot support version as
mentioned in the
Dell PowerVault MD3000i Support Matrix
located on the
Dell Support website at
support.dell.com
.
• Media of the supported Microsoft Windows
®
operating system or a copy
of the
Sysprep
utility.
• Any disk imaging software such as Symantec™ Ghost.
NOTE: If deploying a base image to multiple systems, ensure that all systems that
use the operating system base image are of the same hardware configuration.
NOTE: For the latest supported firmware and driver versions, see the Dell
PowerVault MD3000i Systems Support Matrix located on the Dell Support website
at support.dell.com.