diff --git a/confluent_osdeploy/common/profile/scripts/getinstalldisk b/confluent_osdeploy/common/profile/scripts/getinstalldisk
index cb65e9bf..3108053e 100644
--- a/confluent_osdeploy/common/profile/scripts/getinstalldisk
+++ b/confluent_osdeploy/common/profile/scripts/getinstalldisk
@@ -241,31 +241,33 @@ def get_deployment_storage():
 def filter_deployment_storage(disks, storagespec, slotinfo=None):
     if not storagespec:
         return disks
-    spec = storagespec.strip().lower()
-    for disk in list(disks):
-        if spec == 'm2':
-            if disk.is_m2:
-                continue
-            if disk.model.lower() in PRIORITY_MODELS:
-                continue
-            if slotinfo is None:
-                slotinfo = get_m2_slot_info()
-            if not getattr(disk, 'busaddr', None):
-                for kernname in getattr(disk, 'kernnames', []):
-                    if kernname in slotinfo:
-                        break
-                else:
-                    disks.remove(disk)
-                continue
-            if disk.busaddr not in slotinfo:
-                disks.remove(disk)
-        elif spec.startswith('/dev/'):
-            bspec = os.path.basename(spec)
-            if disk.name.lower() == bspec:
+    spec = storagespec.strip()
+    if spec.lower() != 'm2':
+        # A device name with or without /dev/, or a persistent link such as
+        # /dev/disk/by-path/..., resolved to its kernel name
+        if spec.startswith('/dev/'):
+            spec = os.path.realpath(spec)
+        devname = os.path.basename(spec).lower()
+        for disk in disks:
+            if disk.name.lower() == devname:
                 return [disk]
-        else:
-            raise Exception("Unknown deployment.storage specification: {0}".format(storagespec))
-    
+        raise Exception("No disks match deployment.storage specification: {0}".format(storagespec))
+    for disk in list(disks):
+        if disk.is_m2:
+            continue
+        if disk.model.lower() in PRIORITY_MODELS:
+            continue
+        if slotinfo is None:
+            slotinfo = get_m2_slot_info()
+        if not getattr(disk, 'busaddr', None):
+            for kernname in getattr(disk, 'kernnames', []):
+                if kernname in slotinfo:
+                    break
+            else:
+                disks.remove(disk)
+            continue
+        if disk.busaddr not in slotinfo:
+            disks.remove(disk)
     if not disks:
         raise Exception("No disks match deployment.storage specification: {0}".format(storagespec))
     return disks
diff --git a/confluent_server/confluent/config/attributes.py b/confluent_server/confluent/config/attributes.py
index 11c1fa90..fe067368 100644
--- a/confluent_server/confluent/config/attributes.py
+++ b/confluent_server/confluent/config/attributes.py
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ node = {
         'description': ('Timestamp of last state change, as reported by an OS profile, when available'),
     },
     'deployment.storage': {
-        'description': ('Indicates the storage to use for OS deployment.  This may be a specific device name, or a more generic description such as "m2" to indicate that the OS should be deployed to an M.2 device.  If not specified, the default behavior is to prioritize according to various criteria and use the first disk based on that evaluation.'),
+        'description': ('Indicates the storage to use for OS deployment.  This may be a specific device name (for example nvme0n1 or /dev/nvme0n1), a persistent device link such as /dev/disk/by-path/..., or a more generic description such as "m2" to indicate that the OS should be deployed to an M.2 device.  The deployment fails if no disk matches.  If not specified, the default behavior is to prioritize according to various criteria and use the first disk based on that evaluation.'),
     },
     'deployment.useinsecureprotocols': {
         'description': ('What phase(s) of boot are permitted to use insecure protocols '