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VMware and Dell fully support booting the VMware 6, 7 and 8[1] hosts from Dell PowerMax storage arrays when using either QLogic or Emulex HBAs or all CNAs from Emulex, QLogic or Brocade. This holds true for both SCSI and NVMeoF device presentation.
Booting the VMware ESXi from the SAN enables the physical servers to be treated as an appliance, allowing for easier upgrades and maintenance. Furthermore, booting VMware ESXi from the SAN can simplify the processes for providing disaster restart protection of the virtual infrastructure. Specific considerations when booting VMware ESXi hosts are beyond the scope of this document. The E-Lab Interoperability Navigator, available at https://elabnavigator.emc.com/eln/elnhome, and appropriate VMware documentation, should be consulted for further details.
Regardless of whether the VMware ESXi is booted off a Dell PowerMax storage array or internal disks, the considerations for installing VMware ESXi do not change. Readers should consult the vSphere Installation and Setup Guide available on www.VMware.com for further details.
[1] In this whitepaper, unless otherwise specified, reference to major releases of vSphere™ include all update/patches. The book focuses on vSphere 6.7 and higher as the other releases are out of support.