Dell Brocade Adapters Installation And Reference Manual

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Dell Brocade Adapters Installation And Reference Manual Manual pdf 155 page image

Brocade Adapters Installation and Reference Manual 12753-1002144-01Boot over SAN 4NOTEFor details on using BCU commands, refer to instructions for ethboot in the Brocade Command Utilityappendix of the Brocade Adapters Administrator’s Guide.Boot over SANThe “Boot Over SAN” feature allows a host to boot its operating system from a boot device directlyattached to the host system or located somewhere on the SAN instead of the host’s local disk.Specifically, this “boot device” is a logical unit number (LUN) located on a storage device. LUNs canbe specifically targeted to boot hosts running Windows, Linux, or VMware, or Solaris. For moreinformation on how the Brocade Boot BIOS functions to implement this feature, refer to “BrocadeBIOS support for boot over SAN” on page 128.Booting from a remote SAN location provides the obvious advantage of recovering quickly from ahost or adapter malfunction. With the adapter boot BIOS enabled for booting over SAN andconfigured with boot device locations and boot sequences, replacing an old host with a new oneinvolves installing the adapter from the old host into the new one with the same configuration, thenbooting the new host. The host’s operating system automatically boots from the remote SAN bootdevice.Although fast recovery from a malfunction is a big advantage, following are considerations for thehost and adapter, depending on the replacement situation:• Even though you install a similar host, the new host may require unique System BIOS optionsand other settings, or internal IDE drives may need to be disconnected or disabled to boot overSAN.• If replacing the Brocade adapter in a host with a similar Brocade adapter, you will need toreconfigure the adapter and storage to boot from the appropriate remote boot device. Youmust also update access on storage device ports to reflect the adapter PWWN. Finally, youmust update the single-initiator target zone created for the adapter port and storage deviceport with the new adapter PWWN.• If replacing a host with a different model, you may be prompted to install the adapter driver forthe existing adapter.Booting servers from SAN-attached storage can significantly streamline server administration andfacilitate server deployment. Instead of manually configuring each individual server, boot imageson SAN-attached storage can be cloned and assigned to groups of servers at the same time. Thisnot only simplifies initial configuration, but makes ongoing software updates and maintenancemuch easier to administer. When boot images are centrally managed on the SAN, server security,integrity, and ability to recover data are also enhanced.Following are additional benefits of boot over SAN:• Eliminating the requirement for local hard drives.• Centralized storage management and administration of client workstations.• Disaster recovery.• More control and efficiency for software distribution.• Increased host reliability since operating system boots from highly available storage devices.• Improved security.