SAN booting

SAN booting is the general term for booting a Linux host from a storage system LUN instead of an internal hard disk. SAN booting uses a SAN-attached disk, such as a LUN configured on a storage controller, as a boot device for a host.

Note: SAN booting is not supported with Oracle VM.

A SAN boot LUN provides the following advantages:

No maintenance and servicing costs for hard drives
You can remove the hard drives from your servers and use the SAN for booting needs.
Consolidated and centralized storage, because the host uses the SAN
Lower cost
The hardware and operating costs are lowered.
Greater reliability
Systems without the disks are less prone to failure.
Quick server swaps
If a server fails, systems without the disks can be swapped.
Better disaster recovery
Site duplication is simplified.

For information about the configurations that are supported for SAN boot LUNs, see the Interoperability Matrix.