Requirements and Considerations for Software FCoE Boot

When you boot the ESXi host from SAN using software FCoE, certain requirements and considerations apply.

Requirements

• Use ESXi of a compatible version.
• The network adapter must have the following capabilities:
  • Be FCoE capable.
  • Support ESXi open FCoE stack.
  • Contain FCoE boot firmware which can export boot information in FBFT format or FBPT format.

Considerations

• You cannot change software FCoE boot configuration from within ESXi.
• Coredump is not supported on any software FCoE LUNs, including the boot LUN.
• Multipathing is not supported at pre-boot.
• Boot LUN cannot be shared with other hosts even on shared storage. Make sure that the host has access to the entire boot LUN.