You can use the Host Utilities to support multiple paths, including a combination of protocols. Configuring multiple paths can provide a highly available connection between the Windows host and storage system.
Multipath I/O (MPIO) software is required any time a Windows host has more than one path to the storage system. The MPIO software presents a single disk to the operating system for all paths, and a device-specific module (DSM) manages path failover. Without MPIO software, the operating system might see each path as a separate disk, which can lead to data corruption.
On a Windows system, there are two main components to any MPIO configuration: the Windows MPIO components and a DSM. MPIO is supported for Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2016 systems. MPIO is not supported on any version of Windows running in a Hyper-V virtual machine.
When you select MPIO support during Host Utilities installation, the Host Utilities installer enables the included MPIO feature on all supported Windows versions.
See the Interoperability Matrix for the DSM software currently supported.
The Microsoft Windows multipathing software uses a DSM to communicate with storage devices, such as NetApp storage systems. You must use only one DSM for a given storage vendor. More precisely, you can have only one DSM that claims the LUNs for a given vendor ID and product ID (VID/PID) pair. If you are using Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, or Windows Server 2016, the Host Utilities enable the Windows multipathing feature. See the installation documentation for the DSM version you are using.
A supported DSM is required for multipathing. The following DSMs are available for Windows hosts:
