Embodiments include systems, methods, and computer program products to perform an operation for enabling multipath I/O for logical volume backed virtual disks through redundant virtual I/O servers (VIOSs) on a computing system. The operation generally includes creating, from a physical storage device, a logical volume on a first VIOS. The logical volume on the first VIOS is activated in a first access mode. The operation also includes importing the logical volume to a second VIOS. The logical volume on the second VIOS is activated in a second access mode different from the first access mode. The operation further includes mapping the logical volume on the first and second VIOSs as a backing storage device for at least one logical partition hosted on the computing system.