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7–Configuring FCoE in a Windows Environment
Boot from SAN
FE0254601-00 A 7-17
Confirm the following:
The adapter port has exclusive access to this LUN.
The LUN host type matches the operating system that is to be installed on
this LUN.
Each server must have its own dedicated boot LUN. Two servers cannot share the
same boot LUN.
Boot-from-SAN Configuration
Boot-from-SAN requires the configuration of the QLogic 8100 Series Adapter, the
FCoE switch, and the storage array. How you connect these SAN components is
determined by the level of redundancy you require. There are minor differences
when configuring the QLogic 8100 Series Adapter for boot-from-SAN between
servers that support BIOS and those that support UEFI.
The following subsections describe how to configure the QLogic 8100 Series
Adapter and SAN components for boot-from-SAN. The following summarizes the
configuration process:
1. Set the boot order to disable boot-from-local-disk, or disconnect the internal
hard drives.
2. Configure a single path to the storage array when installing Microsoft
Windows. For multiple adapter port configurations (for redundancy), connect
only one adapter port to the SAN during installation. The same guidance
applies to the storage controller ports.
3. Enable the adapter port BIOS.
4. Specify a boot LUN using the QLogic CNA Fast!UTIL BIOS configuration
utility.
5. Boot from the optical drive. Install media/PXE boot, and then install the
operating system.
6. During the operating system installation process, select the boot LUN as the
device on which to install the operating system.
7. Enable multipath (MPIO) configuration on the server after installing the
operating system.
Boot-from-SAN Topologies
One of the benefits of SAN adoption, and in turn, boot-from-SAN, is high
availability, which is not easily achieved in a local boot scenario. Before configuring
boot-from-SAN, you must understand and finalize the level of fault tolerance and
high availability required for boot-from-SAN installations. The following sections
describe two boot-from-SAN topologies: single-path configuration (least fault
tolerant) and multipath configuration (most fault tolerant).