LUN Multiprotocol Type considerations

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LUN Multiprotocol Type considerations

The LUN Multiprotcol Type, or operating system type, specifies the OS of the host accessing the LUN. It also determines the layout of data on the LUN, the geometry used to access that data, and the minimum and maximum size of the LUN.

The LUN Multiprotocol Type values are solaris, solaris_efi, windows, windows_gpt , windows_2008 , hpux, aix, linux, netware, xen, hyper_v, and vmware.

The following table describes the guidelines for using each LUN Multiprotocol Type:

LUN Multiprotocol Type	When to use
solaris	If your host operating system is Solaris and you are not using Solaris EFI labels.
solaris_efi	If you are using Solaris EFI labels. Note: Using any other LUN Multiprotocol Type with Solaris EFI labels could result in LUN misalignment problems. For more information, see your Solaris Host Utilities documentation and release notes.
windows	If your host operating system is Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 using the MBR partitioning method.
windows_gpt	If you want to use the GPT partitioning method and your host is capable of using it. Windows Server 2003, Service Pack 1 and later are capable of using the GPT partitioning method, and all 64-bit versions of Windows support it.
windows_2008	If your host operating system is Windows Server 2008; both MBR and GPT partitioning methods are supported.
hpux	If your host operating system is HP-UX.
aix	If your host operating system is AIX.
linux	If your host operating system is Linux.
netware	Your host operating system is Netware.
vmware	If you are using ESX Server and your LUNs will be configured with VMFS. Note: If you configure the LUNs with RDM, you can use the guest operating system as the LUN Multiprotocol Type.
xen	If you are using Xen and your LUNs will be configured with Linux LVM with Dom0. Note: For raw LUNs, you can use the type of guest operating system as the LUN Multiprotocol Type.
hyper_v	If you are using Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and your LUNs contain virtual hard disks (VHDs). Note: For raw LUNs, you can use the type of child operating system as the LUN Multiprotocol Type.

Note: If you are using SnapDrive for Windows, the LUN Multiprotocol Type is automatically set.

When you create a LUN, you must specify the LUN type. After the LUN is created, you cannot modify the LUN host operating system type.

For information about supported hosts, see the Interoperability Matrix.