Boot from SAN on EVA5000

[Derek_31]

Is anyone using boot from SAN for Windows Server 2003 on an EVA5000 and not using internal server disks for a page file? Does it work well? Any problems?

[Doug de Werd]

check out the Boot from SAN Guide for Windows.

http://h200001.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00099862/c00099862.pdf

Lots of folks doing it. The only thing to be careful of is the page file location. If the page file is located on the SAN, there is a possibility of the system Blue Screening. If the SAN has a lot of activity on it, the page file I/O request might time out. Windows will see this as being unable to access memory and halt.

Microsoft has a KB article on this at:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305547&Product=win2000


Thanks,
Doug

[Derek_31]

Thanks. I know it can be done..I was just wondering specifically about the page file issue. Did people really have blue screens on a busy EVA, or are they operating OK with page files on the SAN.

[Doug de Werd · Accepted solution]

we were able to reproduce this only under very extreme I/O conditions, meaning the SAN was being blasted with I/O to and from multiple servers and storage boxes. even then it was very difficult to get it to happen.

so I would say that the risk is very low, but it does exist. one thing you can do is just stick a single drive in each server to use exclusively for the page file, you don't even need RAID on it

Thanks,
Doug

[Uwe Zessin]

And if that single drive dies - so does you server.

[Derek_31]

Just to be safe, I will continue to order dual 18GB internal drives for the servers. I'll mirror them and just put the page file on it, but boot from the EVA.