HP StorageWorks Booting Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based Systems from a Storage Area Network Application Notes

Introduction
Traditionally, HP ProLiant servers boot operating systems from internal SCSI and IDE storage devices.
With the support of external booting with StorageWorks Fibre Channel HBAs and RAID arrays, customers
can
optionally eliminate server-based internal boot devices. Booting from an external device decreases
downtime through faster server replacement in the event of a ser ver failure.
Why boot from a SAN?
Booting from the SAN provides:
• Redundant storage paths
• Disaster recovery
• Improved security
• Minimized server maintenance
• Reduced impact on production servers
• Reduced backup time
Additional information
For d etailed information about HBAs, switches, storage arrays, and storage software, go to the following
HP
web si
tes:
Table 1
Topic
HP web si
te
HBAs and switches
h
ttp://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/sa ninfrastructure.html
Storage array systems
h
ttp://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/arraysystems.html
Multipa
thing software
http://
h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/software.html
Integrity servers
h
ttp://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/platforms/storage.html
Storage arrays
This document describes single server, cluster, and multipath-based configurations using:
• EVA —multiple bus failover mode or s ingle path
• MSA
• XP
Requir
ed
hardware and software
Table
2
lists the hardware and soft ware required to boot from a SAN.
2