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Patch Windows Server OS and install MPIO
13 Dell EMC SC Series: Microsoft Multipath I/O Best Practices | CML1004
3 Patch Windows Server OS and install MPIO
Prepare the host server for MPIO by following the steps in this section.
3.1 Apply OS patches and updates
Leverage Microsoft Updates to fully patch the Windows Server OS.
Verify that Microsoft Updates do not downgrade the Windows Server drivers for any MPIO cards already
installed in the host server.
3.2 Install MPIO
Install the Multipath I/O feature on the Windows Server host and reboot. For OS-specific guidance, see
sections 3.2.1 and 3.2.2.
3.2.1 Windows Server 2008 R2
On Windows Server 2008 R2, the MPIO feature is installed using the Server Manager GUI or from the
command line. To install MPIO using the CLI, open a command prompt with elevated (administrator)
privileges and enter the following:
Servermanagercmd -install "Multipath-IO"
For Windows Server Core, open a command prompt and enter the following (commands are case sensitive):
DISM /online /enable-feature:MultipathIo
Reboot the server.
3.2.2 Windows Server 2012 or later
The MPIO feature is installed on Windows Server 2012 or later using the Server Manager GUI or through the
MPIO module in Microsoft PowerShell
®
.
On Windows Server 2012 and newer Core installations, use PowerShell to install MPIO. The PowerShell
command is as follows:
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature –Online –FeatureName MultiPathIO
Reboot the server.
3.3 Enable support for iSCSI and SAS devices
After installing the MPIO feature and rebooting, if configuring MPIO for iSCSI or SAS, launch the MPIO
configuration utility and under the Discover Multi-Paths tab, select Add Support for iSCSI devices or SAS
devices as appropriate and click Add.