Migrating existing SAN boot images

If you have a host that runs the Microsoft Windows Server operating system and existing SAN boot images that are controlled by storage controllers, you can migrate these images to image-mode volumes that are controlled by the system.

To migrate your existing SAN boot images, complete the following steps:
  1. Shut down the host.
  2. Complete the following configuration changes on the storage controller:
    1. Remove all the image-to-host mappings from the storage controller.
    2. Map the existing SAN boot image and any other disks to the system.
  3. Zone one port of each host bus adapter (HBA) to one of the system ports that is associated with the I/O group for the target image-mode volume.
  4. Complete the following configuration changes on the system:
    1. Create an image-mode volume for the managed disk (MDisk) that contains the SAN boot image.
      Use the MDisk unique identifier to specify the correct MDisk.
    2. Create a host object and assign it to the HBA port that you zoned to the system port in step 3.
    3. Map the image mode volume to the host.
      For example, you might map the boot disk to the host with SCSI LUN ID 0.
    4. Map the swap disk to the host, if required.
      For example, you might map the swap disk to the host with SCSI LUN ID 1.
  5. Change the boot address of the host by completing the following steps:
    1. Restart the host and open the BIOS utility of the host during the booting process.
    2. Set the BIOS settings on the host to find the boot image at the worldwide port name (WWPN) of the node that is zoned to the HBA port.
  6. Boot the host in single-path mode.
  7. Uninstall any multipathing driver that is not supported for system hosts that run the applicable Windows Server operating system.
  8. Install a supported multipathing driver.
  9. Restart the host in single-path mode to ensure that the supported multipath driver was properly installed.
  10. Zone each HBA port to one port on each system node.
  11. Add HBA ports to the host object that you created in step 4.b.
  12. Configure the HBA settings on the host by using the following steps:
    1. Restart the host and open the host's BIOS utility during the booting process.
    2. Ensure that all HBA ports are boot-enabled and can see both nodes in the I/O group that contains the SAN boot image. Configure the HBA ports for redundant paths.
    3. Exit the BIOS utility and finish booting the host.
  13. Map any additional volume to the host as required.
Parent topic: Configuring the Windows Server operating system