1) Overview
This page provides a practical deployment template for NVMe/TCP Boot from SAN on Dell PowerEdge servers.
The overall workflow is:
Gather required parameters.
Prepare the boot namespace on the storage side.
Configure BIOS/iDRAC boot settings.
Install the OS on the remote NVMe device.
Apply post-install tuning.
Goal
Boot the operating system directly from a remote NVMe/TCP namespace over Ethernet.
Avoid dependency on local boot disks.
Keep boot images centralized and easier to replace or recover.
Important note: Compatibility of server models for supporting NVMe Boot from SAN should be verified directly with Dell.
2) Recommended High-Level Flow
Preparation
Collect the host NQN.
Collect the host IP addresses for each boot NIC/SAN path.
Collect the target subsystem NQN.
Collect the discovery IPs or direct target IPs.
Collect the required ports.
Collect VLAN details, subnet mask, and gateway information if relevant.
Storage-side setup
Create the boot namespace/volume on the storage platform.
Map the namespace to the host NQN.
Confirm the target is exposed on the expected IPs and ports.
Server-side setup
Enable NVMe-oF boot in BIOS/iDRAC.
Define one subsystem per SAN path.
Apply the correct target addressing method.
OS install
Boot the installer ISO.
Verify the remote NVMe device is visible.
Install the OS onto the remote NVMe disk.
3 )Information to Collect Before Starting
3.1) Host-side Information
NVMe-oF Host NQN.
NVMe-oF Host ID.
3.2) Target-side Information
NVMe-oF subsystem NQN.
Discovery controller IPs, if using discovery-based configuration.
Direct target / I/O controller IPs, if using static target entries.
NVMe/TCP service port.
Namespace mapping details.
4) Steps to Customize for VAST
Please note that a few reboots will be required to expose and configure all BIOS options listed below.
4.1) Configure NVME Settings
Log in to iDRAC.
Go to:
Configuration > BIOS Settings > NVMe Settings
Set BIOS NVMe Driver to All Drives
Expect the values to remain pending until the system reboots.
4.2) Enable NVMe-oF
Log in to iDRAC.
Go to:
Configuration > BIOS Settings > Network Settings > NVMe-oF
Set to Enabled
Expect the values to remain pending until the system reboots.
4.3) Configure Network Settings
Log in to iDRAC.
Go to:
Configuration > BIOS Settings > Network Settings >NVMe-oF SubSystem Settings
Set NVMe-oF SubSystem1 > Enabled
Expect the values to remain pending until the system reboots.
4.4) Collect Host Information from iDRAC
Log in to iDRAC.
Go to:
Configuration > BIOS Settings > Network Settings
Record the NVMe-oF Host NQN.
Record any NIC-specific information that will be used for the boot paths.
4.5) Define the NVMe-oF Boot Subsystems
Configure one boot subsystem entry per SAN path.
For each subsystem entry, define:
interface / NIC port
protocol
VLAN settings if needed
host IP address and subnet mask
target subsystem NQN if using direct target mode
target address
target port
Two common configuration models
Discovery controller method
Leave the subsystem NQN empty.
Point BIOS to the discovery controller IP.
Use the discovery service port.
Direct target method
Enter the subsystem NQN explicitly.
point BIOS directly to the target IP.
Use the target service port.
4.6) Prepare the Boot Namespace on the Storage Side
Create the namespace/volume that will hold the operating system.
Map it to the host using the host NQN collected from iDRAC.
Confirm that the namespace is presented through the expected NVMe/TCP target IPs and ports.
4.7) Collect Target-side Information from VAST
Gather the target-side values needed by BIOS/iDRAC:
Subsystem NQN
Discovery IPs or direct target IPs.
NVMe/TCP port - 4420.
Namespace-to-host mapping.
4.8) Reboot and Boot the OS Installer
Apply the BIOS changes.
Reboot the host
Boot from the OS installer ISO.
Confirm that the remote NVMe/TCP disk is visible as an install target.
Install the OS onto the remote NVMe device.
If the boot disk is not visible
Use the installer shell and verify:
NVMe subsystem visibility.
NBFT handoff - the process where the system firmware, usually BIOS/UEFI, passes NVMe Boot Firmware Table information to the operating system during boot.
IP addressing
Target reachability
nvme list-subsys
nvme nbft show
ip addr
ping <target-ip>These checks help confirm that BIOS handed the boot configuration to the OS correctly and that the target is reachable.
Choosing Device During Install
During Install
During reboot:
5) Post-Install Validation
Confirm the system is really booting from the remote NVMe device
After the OS installation completes, verify:
The target NVMe namespace is present
/ and boot-related filesystems reside on the expected NVMe device
[root@localhost ~]# nvme list
Node Generic SN Model Namespace Usage Format FW Rev
--------------------- --------------------- -------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------- -------------------------- ---------------- --------
/dev/nvme0n1 /dev/ng0n1 VST0000000e VASTData 0x1 6.54 GB / 2.00 TB 512 B + 0 B 5.5.0
[root@localhost ~]# nvme list-subsys
nvme-subsys0 - NQN=nqn.2024-08.com.vastdata:4ebc5121-259c-53b4-99b4-4e4a1a3d9f03:default:blockbfs
hostnqn=nqn.1988-11.com.dell:PowerEdge.R760.8DH3QH4
\
+- nvme0 tcp traddr=172.21.73.1,trsvcid=4420,host_traddr=172.21.222.214,src_addr=172.21.222.214 live
[root@localhost ~]# df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
devtmpfs 4.0M 0 4.0M 0% /dev
tmpfs 126G 0 126G 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs 51G 9.9M 51G 1% /run
efivarfs 304K 192K 108K 64% /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
/dev/mapper/rl-root 70G 5.9G 65G 9% /
/dev/mapper/rl-home 1.8T 13G 1.8T 1% /home
/dev/nvme0n1p2 960M 336M 625M 35% /boot
/dev/nvme0n1p1 599M 7.1M 592M 2% /boot/efi
tmpfs 26G 4.0K 26G 1% /run/user/0[root@localhost ~]# nvme nbft show
/sys/firmware/acpi/tables/NBFT:
NBFT Subsystems:
Idx|NQN |Trsp|Address |SvcId|HFIs
---+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+----+-----------+-----+----
1 |nqn.2024-08.com.vastdata:4ebc5121-259c-53b4-99b4-4e4a1a3d9f03:default:blockbfs|tcp |172.21.73.1|4420 |1
NBFT HFIs:
Idx|Trsp|PCI Addr |MAC Addr |DHCP|IP Addr |Mask|Gateway |DNS
---+----+----------+-----------------+----+--------------+----+--------+--------
1 |tcp |0:b5:0.0 |b4:5c:b5:c1:c3:94|yes |172.21.222.214|16 |0.0.0.0 |0.0.0.0NBFT entry detected on the host:
A single VAST NVMe/TCP subsystem is defined in the table.
Target endpoint: 172.21.73.1:4420.
The target is associated with the host fabric interface 1.
Host fabric interface 1 maps to NIC 0:b5:0.0
NIC MAC address: b4:5c:b5:c1:c3:94
Host IP address: 172.21.222.214/16 obtained via DHCP.
Both host and target reside in the same /16 network.
No gateway is required, matching the 0.0.0.0 gateway value.
To complete the NVMe configuration setup, please refer to: Persisting NVMe-oF over TCP Across Reboots