1. Oracle Storage Dual-Port 32 Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Low Profile HBA, QLogic Installation Guide For HBA Model 7335902
  2. Hardware Installation and Removal
  3. Best Practices for HBA Installation
  4. Best Practices for Booting From SAN (BFS) Configurations

Best Practices for Booting From SAN (BFS) Configurations

If you plan to install a Boot From SAN (BFS) HBA, follow these best practices:

  • Some devices and operating systems do not yet support UEFI-based BIOS and can boot only from the Legacy BIOS boot mode. However, many servers with UEFI firmware allow you to enable a legacy BIOS compatibility mode.

  • Legacy BIOS - Many tweaks and patches have been added over the years to resolve various issues, and not all were done with the larger ecosystem (many different types of servers, HBAs, operating systems, and so on) in mind.

  • Secure Boot (a UEFI-specific feature) can help you control the boot process, preventing unauthorized code from running.

  • Larger devices (greater than 2 TB) require the use of a GUID Partition Table (GPT) instead of a Master Boot Record (MBR). GPT is the standard for EFI. In Legacy BIOS, booting from a device greater than 2 TB is not supported.

  • Disable OpROM and BIOS for all HBA cards except the one connected to the boot device.

  • When installing a Boot From SAN (BFS) HBA, configure a single connection to a single SAN target/LUN, install the boot OS, and get that working before installing other HBAs and storage. If the configuration is complex, finding the root cause for any BFS issues becomes far more complicated.

  • Once BFS is installed and working, make sure that the HBA driver and firmware are at the latest revision levels. If required, configure a multipath connection, and perhaps one or more alternate boot LUNs.