White Papers

10 BP1043 | Configuring Windows Server 2008 R2 for iSCSI SAN Boot with EqualLogic Storage
2.1 Before you begin
Before you start the configuration process, you should complete the following steps:
1. Use a configuration tracking worksheet similar to the example provided in Appendix A.
a. Note the IP address, IQN*, subnet mask, and other details about the Network adapter.
Note: The IQN name may also be known as the “initiator name” in the network adapter configuration.
See Section 6 for more information.
b. Note the EqualLogic group details and volume details as needed.
2. All best practices related to storage, network switches, and servers should be followed. Refer to
the following documents for more information:
a. Rapid EqualLogic Configuration Portal provides general guidelines for configuring an
EqualLogic SAN network at
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/storage/w/wiki/3615.rapid-equallogic-
configuration-portal-by-sis.aspx
b. Switch Configuration Guides provide information for configuring network switches at
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/storage/w/wiki/4250.switch-configuration-guides-
by-sis.aspx
3. Update your Dell EqualLogic Storage Array with the latest drivers and firmware versions. You can
find more information at the Dell EqualLogic website at www.equallogic.com/support
.
2.2 Additional considerations
The Microsoft MSDN article “ Microsoft iSCSI Boot Step-by-Step Guide,” available at
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee619733(v=ws.10).aspx
gives details about boot from SAN
for Windows 2008 R2 environments.
Note the following additional considerations:
1. It is not recommended to configure a gateway for an iSCSI boot adapter if the iSCSI target is in the
same subnet as the initiator. For more details, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article KB960104
on support.microsoft.com at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960104
.
2. NIC teaming is not supported for iSCSI boot.
3. iSCSI boot is not supported with IPv6 networks for the network adapters used in this paper.