Guidelines for using LUN multiprotocol type

The LUN multiprotocol type, or operating system type, specifies the operating system 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 following table describes the LUN multiprotocol type values and the guidelines for using each type:

LUN multiprotocol type	When to use
AIX	If your host operating system is AIX.
HP-UX	If your host operating system is HP-UX.
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.
Linux	If your host operating system is Linux.
NetWare	Your host operating system is NetWare.
OpenVMS	If your host operating system is OpenVMS.
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 might result in LUN misalignment problems. For more information, see the Solaris Host Utilities documentation and release notes.
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.
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.
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.

For information about supported hosts, see the Interoperability Matrix.