HP 3PAR Solaris Implementation Guide

11 Booting from the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage
This chapter describes the procedures that are required to boot the Solaris OS from the SAN.
Preparing a Bootable Solaris Image for Fibre Channel
There are two methods for installing the Solaris boot image on a Fibre Channel storage device
attached externally using Solaris HBAs and drivers, as described in the following sections.
Dump and Restore Method
With the “dump and restore” method, a temporary install image is created that includes
activation/installation of SSTM on an internal host server disk. A suitable virtual volume is then
created on the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage and is exported for discovery by the Solaris host. After
appropriately labeling the virtual volume, the temporary install image is copied from the internal
host server disk to the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage and, after some required edits, the internal disk
can be removed and the Solaris OS can be booted from the SAN.
You should perform the discovery and registry of an HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage virtual volume on
a host that has been booted from an internal disk drive and then follow the instructions provided
by Solaris to move the boot image to the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage volume for subsequent
booting.
For detailed instructions for performing the “dump and restore” method, see either of the following
websites:
Oracle
Solaris SAN Configuration and Multipathing Guide
Net Install Method
The “net install” method uses a diskless host server that is connected to an FC-attached external
storage device. The OS is installed directly onto the external storage device by means of a Solaris
OS installation.
Solaris recommends that each HBA used for booting from an external Fibre Channel storage device
should be loaded with the most current FCODE/BCODE available. The FCODE is used early in
the boot sequence to access the device. The HBAs are flashed by installing the FCODE/BCODE
while the cards are in a running Solaris host, using the procedures, software, and FCODE obtained
from the HBA vendor.
All HBAs should be flashed with the latest FCODE levels before attempting the procedures outlined
in this document.
Installing the Solaris OS Image onto a VLUN
HBAs need to be configured for LUN booting. Consult the HBA vendor website for documentation
about how to configure HBAs. Examples of what needs to be configured:
• Install the latest boot code and firmware on to the HBAs using the vendor's installation utilities
• For a SPARC platform, configure the PROM device paths
• For a x86 platform, configure the HBAs in the BIOS utility tool and set the boot device order
To install the Solaris OS image onto a VLUN for subsequent booting, follow these steps:
1. Connect the host server to the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage either in a direct connect or fabric
configuration.
2. Create an appropriately sized virtual LUN on the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage for the host
server's OS installation (see “Configuring the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage Running HP 3PAR
OS 3.1.x or OS 2.3.x” (page 8)).
Preparing a Bootable Solaris Image for Fibre Channel 63