Note: Booting a Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 partition from an external storage device is not supported.
If you wish to boot your partition from an external storage device over fibre channel, you need to obtain the external storage WWPN (target name) and LUN number (target number) from your storage administrator so that you can fill in the required target information after selecting the external storage option during commissioning. For more information on commissioning, see Commissioning a Partition Image.
If the partition you wish to boot from an external storage device over fibre channel is a Windows partition, be sure there is only a single storage processor path to the external storage device before commissioning the partition. If necessary, request your storage administrator disconnect paths to LUNs that will not be designated as the boot LUN for the partition. After you complete installation of the Windows operating system on the partition, your storage administrator can reattach any desired additional LUNs.
To configure the external storage device, your storage administrator may need the WWPN values of the HBA ports of your partitionable enterprise partition platform (PEPP) that will be used as the boot paths for the partition you wish to boot from the external storage device. For more information, see World Wide Port Name (WWPN) of HBA Ports.
During commissioning, when you choose to boot a partition image from external storage device over fibre channel, you have the following options for entering parameters for the boot LUN:
Configure using Partition Image Console
This option allows you to use the boot LUN selection utility available through the partition image console to configure detailed parameters for the target boot LUN. For more information on accessing a partition desktop, see Accessing the Partition Image Console (Partition Desktop); for more information on using the boot selection utility, see Configuring Detailed Parameters for Target Boot LUN.
Configure Target Boot LUN Now
This option allows you to use the Fabric Manager to configure basic parameters for the target boot LUN.
If user interaction is required during booting to the external storage device, the Fabric Manager user interface displays an alert. Access the partition desktop to monitor the status and view any messages. For more information on accessing a partition desktop, see Accessing the Partition Image Console (Partition Desktop); for more information on situations that require user interaction, see Resolving Situations Requiring User Interaction.
To configure a secondary boot path for an existing partition on an external storage device, see Configuring Secondary Boot Path for an Existing Partition on External Storage.
To configure a backup partition, see Configuring a Backup Partition.
Notes:
For ease of initial installation and configuration of the operating system on a new partition, Unisys recommends initially commissioning a partition with a single boot path and a single storage processor path to the external storage device.
On the rare occasion, the Fabric Manager may incorrectly report that the commissioning process failed—for example, when a Linux partition is re-commissioned in a recovery situation to boot an existing boot LUN on the external storage. Verify whether the commissioning process completed successfully by logging onto the partition desktop to review and observe any information displayed on the desktop.