Review the following information on boot device paths:
- Verify that the boot device path is set up correctly; otherwise, the system may not start up.
- When the Oracle FS Path Manager (FSPM) software is not used, there must be only a single path through the SAN between the host and the boot LUN. Without FSPM, if more than one path is visible to Windows, the host can fail to boot, and the boot LUN can become corrupted.
Important! Losing all paths to the boot device will cause system failure.
- The exact mechanism used by the host to identify boot and pagefile paths varies with host boot system and HBA design.
For example, details of the various FC ports in the path are stored as part of the path definition. If you later change your SAN configuration so that details of the path are changed, the host may not be able to access the LUN using the path definition it stored earlier, even if access is still possible through other similar paths.
Actions that cause details of the path to change include moving cables to different ports, reconfiguring zones, or changing port masking for a LUN.