Support for Multipath I/O

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003 R2

Multipathing increases availability by providing multiple paths (path failover) from a server or cluster to a storage subsystem.

If a server in your SAN supports Microsoft Multipath I/O (MPIO), you can enable more than one read/write path to a logical unit number by assigning multiple Fibre Channel ports or multiple iSCSI adapters on that server to the same LUN. The same is true when accessing the LUN from a cluster.

Warning

To prevent data loss, ensure that the server or cluster supports MPIO before enabling access through multiple paths to the same LUN. If the server or cluster does not support MPIO, or if you are not sure, assign only a single Fibre Channel port or iSCSI adapter to each LUN.

For more information, see Microsoft Storage Technologies - Multipath I/O at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=50521).