Installation guide

Boot-from-SAN configuration restrictions
157
Miscellaneous Planning and Procedures
Boot-from-SAN configuration restrictions
Refer to the EMC Support Matrix for any specific boot-from-SAN
restrictions. This guide no longer contains restriction information,
and the information in the EMC Support Matrix supersedes any
restriction references found in previous adapter installation guides.
Further information on booting Microsoft Windows from external
storage can be found in the EMC Host Connectivity Guide for Windows.
Benefits of booting from the storage array
Benefits of storage-based booting include:
◆ Faster replacement/addition of server capacity, enabled by
separation of the boot image from the server.
◆ Lower investment in internal server-based RAID cards with
limited capability.
◆ Leveraged investment in the storage network through the high
availability, data integrity, and storage management of an
external RAID storage system.
◆ Leveraged commodity high-density server technology and
centralized storage offered by diskless servers using
SAN-attached storage systems.
Booting from the EMC storage array works effectively with certain
SAN-based environments, including multiserver redundant
applications, Web farms, and terminal server applications where an
n+1 server environment protects customers against different types of
failures.
Some applications may not be optimized for storage array-based
booting. EMC strongly recommends customers fully investigate their
application and data availability requirements and consult with an
EMC account team to determine the configuration that best meets
their needs.