9.5 HP P4000 DSM for MPIO Deployment Guide (AX696-96111, September 2011)

If currently using the HP DSM for MPIO, then upgrade to the latest version.
Recommended uses for HP DSM for MPIO:
• For maximum possible performance for specified configurations.
• With Multi-Site SAN storage clusters, the HP DSM for MPIO with site preference is recommended,
particularly if the inter-site link is significantly slower than local access. This configuration will
ensure that reads are performed with a local replica when one is available. This is particularly
useful for Microsoft clusters where a Microsoft cluster node is on each side of the inter-site link.
Configurations where the HP DSM for MPIO is not recommended:
• For any volumes that are accessed by ESX and Windows initiators (as might be done for VMware
Consolidated backup) do not use the HP DSM for MPIO.
• Large Hyper-V clusters (either large storage cluster or many server NICs).
• Large storage clusters with simultaneous access to many volumes using the HP DSM for MPIO
may encounter the Microsoft limit of 255 iSCSI sessions. In this case, use Microsoft MPIO, which
uses fewer sessions. To determine whether the Microsoft MPIO iSCSI session limit might apply,
multiply the expected number of volumes by the number of storage systems plus the number of
server NICs.
NOTE: If the storage configuration is not recommended for HP DSM for MPIO, then uninstall the HP
DSM for MPIO during the upgrade to V9.x and use the Microsoft DSM.
Installing the HP DSM for MPIO
Supported versions of Microsoft Windows Server
The HP DSM for MPIO supports the following versions of Microsoft Windows Server.
• Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
• Windows Server 2003 SP1
• Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2008 with
Service Pack 2
• Windows Server 2008 Server Core
• Windows Server 2008 R2
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core
NOTE: To help avoid issues with active/passive MPIO configurations (both the HP DSM for MPIO
and Microsoft DSM) and disk timeout errors when the iSCSI initiator detect a failure and reconnects,
you may want to change the EnableNOPOut registry setting to 1 as described in the Microsoft iSCSI
Initiator Driver Timers section of the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator Version 2.X Users Guide.
Prerequisites
Windows Server 2003
• 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003
• The latest Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
• Microsoft DSM installed
4 Installing the HP DSM for MPIO