ISCSI Initiator Setup - Revision history

Qadmin: /* Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports */

2022-10-13T01:05:48Z

Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:05, 13 October 2022
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	By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'iSCSI Portal' option selected as shown in this screenshot.		By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'iSCSI Portal' option selected as shown in this screenshot.

	[[File:Modify Network Port Web 5.jpg\|712px]]		[[File:Modify Network Port Web 6.jpg\|712px]]

Qadmin: /* Step 2. Adding a Host entry for your server/host */

2022-10-13T00:57:54Z

Step 2. Adding a Host entry for your server/host

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:57, 13 October 2022
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	: Note: Restricting access is critically important not just for security purposes but to prevent accessing the same iSCSI device from multiple servers at the same time which can corrupt the filesystem. As a thought experiment imagine if you could connect a hard drive to two servers at the same time. Now imaging you're installing an operating system onto that shared disk device from both servers at the same time. The two servers are not coordinating access with each other so the filesystem created by the first server will be overwritten and/or formatted by the second. It will lead to data corruption and data loss almost instantly. Similarly, you must not share iSCSI devices with more than one server unless the servers are communicating with each other and are using a "cluster-aware" file-system on the iSCSI device. Good examples of cluster-aware systems where you can safely assign iSCSI devices to multiple servers include VMware's VMFS, XenServer iSCSI/HBA SRs, CXFS, OCFS2, Apple XSan, Quantum StorNext, and others.		: Note: Restricting access is critically important not just for security purposes but to prevent accessing the same iSCSI device from multiple servers at the same time which can corrupt the filesystem. As a thought experiment imagine if you could connect a hard drive to two servers at the same time. Now imaging you're installing an operating system onto that shared disk device from both servers at the same time. The two servers are not coordinating access with each other so the filesystem created by the first server will be overwritten and/or formatted by the second. It will lead to data corruption and data loss almost instantly. Similarly, you must not share iSCSI devices with more than one server unless the servers are communicating with each other and are using a "cluster-aware" file-system on the iSCSI device. Good examples of cluster-aware systems where you can safely assign iSCSI devices to multiple servers include VMware's VMFS, XenServer iSCSI/HBA SRs, CXFS, OCFS2, Apple XSan, Quantum StorNext, and others.

	[[File:Add Host ~~Web~~.jpg\|712px]]		[[File:Add Host Web6.jpg\|712px]]

Qadmin: /* Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports */

2020-01-30T21:45:08Z

Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:45, 30 January 2020
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	=== Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports ===		=== Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports ===
	By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the '~~Enable~~ iSCSI' option selected as shown in this screenshot.		By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'iSCSI Portal' option selected as shown in this screenshot.

	[[File:Modify Network Port Web 5.jpg\|712px]]		[[File:Modify Network Port Web 5.jpg\|712px]]

Qadmin: /* Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports */

2020-01-30T21:43:53Z

Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:43, 30 January 2020
Line 164:		Line 164:
	By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'Enable iSCSI' option selected as shown in this screenshot.		By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'Enable iSCSI' option selected as shown in this screenshot.

	[[File:Modify Network Port Web 5.jpg\|~~512px~~]]		[[File:Modify Network Port Web 5.jpg\|712px]]

Qadmin: /* Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports */

2020-01-30T21:43:41Z

Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:43, 30 January 2020
Line 164:		Line 164:
	By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'Enable iSCSI' option selected as shown in this screenshot.		By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'Enable iSCSI' option selected as shown in this screenshot.

	[[File:Modify Network Port Web 5.jpg]]		[[File:Modify Network Port Web 5.jpg\|512px]]

Qadmin: /* Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports */

2020-01-30T21:42:53Z

Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:42, 30 January 2020
Line 164:		Line 164:
	By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'Enable iSCSI' option selected as shown in this screenshot.		By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'Enable iSCSI' option selected as shown in this screenshot.

	[[File:~~iscsienable~~.~~png\|800px~~]]		[[File:Modify Network Port Web 5.jpg]]

Qadmin: /* Step 2. Adding a Host entry for your server/host */

2020-01-30T20:11:05Z

Step 2. Adding a Host entry for your server/host

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:11, 30 January 2020
Line 69:		Line 69:
	: Note: Restricting access is critically important not just for security purposes but to prevent accessing the same iSCSI device from multiple servers at the same time which can corrupt the filesystem. As a thought experiment imagine if you could connect a hard drive to two servers at the same time. Now imaging you're installing an operating system onto that shared disk device from both servers at the same time. The two servers are not coordinating access with each other so the filesystem created by the first server will be overwritten and/or formatted by the second. It will lead to data corruption and data loss almost instantly. Similarly, you must not share iSCSI devices with more than one server unless the servers are communicating with each other and are using a "cluster-aware" file-system on the iSCSI device. Good examples of cluster-aware systems where you can safely assign iSCSI devices to multiple servers include VMware's VMFS, XenServer iSCSI/HBA SRs, CXFS, OCFS2, Apple XSan, Quantum StorNext, and others.		: Note: Restricting access is critically important not just for security purposes but to prevent accessing the same iSCSI device from multiple servers at the same time which can corrupt the filesystem. As a thought experiment imagine if you could connect a hard drive to two servers at the same time. Now imaging you're installing an operating system onto that shared disk device from both servers at the same time. The two servers are not coordinating access with each other so the filesystem created by the first server will be overwritten and/or formatted by the second. It will lead to data corruption and data loss almost instantly. Similarly, you must not share iSCSI devices with more than one server unless the servers are communicating with each other and are using a "cluster-aware" file-system on the iSCSI device. Good examples of cluster-aware systems where you can safely assign iSCSI devices to multiple servers include VMware's VMFS, XenServer iSCSI/HBA SRs, CXFS, OCFS2, Apple XSan, Quantum StorNext, and others.

	[[File:Add Host Web.jpg\|~~512px~~]]		[[File:Add Host Web.jpg\|712px]]

Qadmin: /* Step 2. Adding a Host entry for your server/host */

2020-01-30T20:10:47Z

Step 2. Adding a Host entry for your server/host

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:10, 30 January 2020
Line 69:		Line 69:
	: Note: Restricting access is critically important not just for security purposes but to prevent accessing the same iSCSI device from multiple servers at the same time which can corrupt the filesystem. As a thought experiment imagine if you could connect a hard drive to two servers at the same time. Now imaging you're installing an operating system onto that shared disk device from both servers at the same time. The two servers are not coordinating access with each other so the filesystem created by the first server will be overwritten and/or formatted by the second. It will lead to data corruption and data loss almost instantly. Similarly, you must not share iSCSI devices with more than one server unless the servers are communicating with each other and are using a "cluster-aware" file-system on the iSCSI device. Good examples of cluster-aware systems where you can safely assign iSCSI devices to multiple servers include VMware's VMFS, XenServer iSCSI/HBA SRs, CXFS, OCFS2, Apple XSan, Quantum StorNext, and others.		: Note: Restricting access is critically important not just for security purposes but to prevent accessing the same iSCSI device from multiple servers at the same time which can corrupt the filesystem. As a thought experiment imagine if you could connect a hard drive to two servers at the same time. Now imaging you're installing an operating system onto that shared disk device from both servers at the same time. The two servers are not coordinating access with each other so the filesystem created by the first server will be overwritten and/or formatted by the second. It will lead to data corruption and data loss almost instantly. Similarly, you must not share iSCSI devices with more than one server unless the servers are communicating with each other and are using a "cluster-aware" file-system on the iSCSI device. Good examples of cluster-aware systems where you can safely assign iSCSI devices to multiple servers include VMware's VMFS, XenServer iSCSI/HBA SRs, CXFS, OCFS2, Apple XSan, Quantum StorNext, and others.

	[[File:Add Host Web.jpg]]		[[File:Add Host Web.jpg\|512px]]

Qadmin: /* Step 2. Adding a Host entry for your server/host */

2020-01-30T20:09:54Z

Step 2. Adding a Host entry for your server/host

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:09, 30 January 2020
Line 69:		Line 69:
	: Note: Restricting access is critically important not just for security purposes but to prevent accessing the same iSCSI device from multiple servers at the same time which can corrupt the filesystem. As a thought experiment imagine if you could connect a hard drive to two servers at the same time. Now imaging you're installing an operating system onto that shared disk device from both servers at the same time. The two servers are not coordinating access with each other so the filesystem created by the first server will be overwritten and/or formatted by the second. It will lead to data corruption and data loss almost instantly. Similarly, you must not share iSCSI devices with more than one server unless the servers are communicating with each other and are using a "cluster-aware" file-system on the iSCSI device. Good examples of cluster-aware systems where you can safely assign iSCSI devices to multiple servers include VMware's VMFS, XenServer iSCSI/HBA SRs, CXFS, OCFS2, Apple XSan, Quantum StorNext, and others.		: Note: Restricting access is critically important not just for security purposes but to prevent accessing the same iSCSI device from multiple servers at the same time which can corrupt the filesystem. As a thought experiment imagine if you could connect a hard drive to two servers at the same time. Now imaging you're installing an operating system onto that shared disk device from both servers at the same time. The two servers are not coordinating access with each other so the filesystem created by the first server will be overwritten and/or formatted by the second. It will lead to data corruption and data loss almost instantly. Similarly, you must not share iSCSI devices with more than one server unless the servers are communicating with each other and are using a "cluster-aware" file-system on the iSCSI device. Good examples of cluster-aware systems where you can safely assign iSCSI devices to multiple servers include VMware's VMFS, XenServer iSCSI/HBA SRs, CXFS, OCFS2, Apple XSan, Quantum StorNext, and others.

	[[File:~~centosiscsi~~.~~png\|800px~~]]		[[File:Add Host Web.jpg]]

Qadmin at 17:04, 3 May 2019

2019-05-03T17:04:23Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:04, 3 May 2019
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	* What is iSCSI?		* What is iSCSI?
	** iSCSI (Internet SCSI) is a block protocol that allows you to connect block storage to your servers using over the standard TCP/IP protocol on standard Ethernet networks. After logging into ~~an appliance~~ to access an iSCSI device your server will see a new disk device and it will appear just in the same way as it would if you had physically added a new HDD to your server.		** iSCSI (Internet SCSI) is a block protocol that allows you to connect block storage to your servers using over the standard TCP/IP protocol on standard Ethernet networks. After logging into a system to access an iSCSI device your server will see a new disk device and it will appear just in the same way as it would if you had physically added a new HDD to your server.
	* What is an iSCSI Initiator?		* What is an iSCSI Initiator?
	** The server that connects to the ~~appliance~~ to use the iSCSI storage is the SCSI initiator. It ''initiates'' connections to the storage ~~appliance~~ which has one or more ''target'' devices. Each and every server has a unique initiator IQN which identifies it.		** The server that connects to the system to use the iSCSI storage is the SCSI initiator. It ''initiates'' connections to the storage system which has one or more ''target'' devices. Each and every server has a unique initiator IQN which identifies it.
	* What is an iSCSI Target?		* What is an iSCSI Target?
	** Each ''Storage Volume'' you create in QuantaStor is a iSCSI target. Each ''Storage Volume'' has a unique name assigned to it which is called an IQN. More specifically, it is called a target IQN and QuantaStor Storage Volumes have IQNs that always start with ''iqn.2009-10.com.osnexus:'' and look like this ''iqn.2009-10.com.osnexus:9c30f734-261a10ffeda36cf6:volume1''		** Each ''Storage Volume'' you create in QuantaStor is a iSCSI target. Each ''Storage Volume'' has a unique name assigned to it which is called an IQN. More specifically, it is called a target IQN and QuantaStor Storage Volumes have IQNs that always start with ''iqn.2009-10.com.osnexus:'' and look like this ''iqn.2009-10.com.osnexus:9c30f734-261a10ffeda36cf6:volume1''
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	# Create a Host entry in QuantaStor to represent your server/host with it's IQN		# Create a Host entry in QuantaStor to represent your server/host with it's IQN
	# Assign the storage volume to the host in the QuantaStor web management interface		# Assign the storage volume to the host in the QuantaStor web management interface
	# Use the iSCSI initiator software on the host/server to login to the QuantaStor ~~appliance~~ to connect to the iSCSI storage volume you assigned to the host in the previous step.		# Use the iSCSI initiator software on the host/server to login to the QuantaStor System to connect to the iSCSI storage volume you assigned to the host in the previous step.

	=== Step 1. Locating the iSCSI Initiator IQN for your Host/Server ===		=== Step 1. Locating the iSCSI Initiator IQN for your Host/Server ===
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	==== Locate Initiator IQN: RedHat / CentOS 6.x ====		==== Locate Initiator IQN: RedHat / CentOS 6.x ====

	The iSCSI initiator tools you'll need to access iSCSI storage from you QuantaStor ~~appliance~~ are typically pre-installed even with the minimal server configuration but you should verify they are installed by running this command:		The iSCSI initiator tools you'll need to access iSCSI storage from you QuantaStor System are typically pre-installed even with the minimal server configuration but you should verify they are installed by running this command:

	<pre>		<pre>
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	</pre>		</pre>

	When an iSCSI initiator logs into a storage ~~appliance~~ like QuantaStor it uses a special identifier called an IQN which stands for iSCSI Qualified Name. This IQN for your server can be found in a file located at /etc/iscsi/initiatorname.iscsi. Simply 'more' the file to see what your IQN is and then use this to create a Host entry in the QuantaStor web management interface to represent this host. In this example the IQN is ''iqn.1994-05.com.redhat:5a66857c49dc'':		When an iSCSI initiator logs into a storage system like QuantaStor it uses a special identifier called an IQN which stands for iSCSI Qualified Name. This IQN for your server can be found in a file located at /etc/iscsi/initiatorname.iscsi. Simply 'more' the file to see what your IQN is and then use this to create a Host entry in the QuantaStor web management interface to represent this host. In this example the IQN is ''iqn.1994-05.com.redhat:5a66857c49dc'':

	<pre>		<pre>
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	</pre>		</pre>

	This is because I forgot set the 'iSCSI Enabled' flag on the network interface for 192.168.0.103 in the QuantaStor ~~appliance~~. See the section below on how to Enable iSCSI access on your network ports. Now that we have iSCSI enabled on the port the discovery succeeds and shows us the available iSCSI targets:		This is because I forgot set the 'iSCSI Enabled' flag on the network interface for 192.168.0.103 in the QuantaStor System. See the section below on how to Enable iSCSI access on your network ports. Now that we have iSCSI enabled on the port the discovery succeeds and shows us the available iSCSI targets:

	<pre>		<pre>
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	==== Initiator Login: Apple Mac OS X ====		==== Initiator Login: Apple Mac OS X ====

	We recommend using the ATTO Xtend SAN iSCSI initiator available [http://www.attotech.com/products/product.php?scat=17&sku=INIT-MAC0-001 here]. We ''do not'' recommend using the globalSAN initiator with QuantaStor ~~appliances~~ as we have seen multiple problems with it in testing.		We recommend using the ATTO Xtend SAN iSCSI initiator available [http://www.attotech.com/products/product.php?scat=17&sku=INIT-MAC0-001 here]. We ''do not'' recommend using the globalSAN initiator with QuantaStor Systems as we have seen multiple problems with it in testing.

	Once you have the IQN for your OS/X system you'll need to add a host entry to QuantaStor using the QuantaStor manager web UI. Just press the 'Add Host' button and then enter the name of your system, and enter the IQN in the box that says 'IQN'. Now that you have a host added, you can assign volumes to your Mac. After you've assigned some storage, go back to the iSCSI initiator dialog in OS/X and enter the IP address of your QuantaStor system and you should immediately see all the storage volumes listed which you have assigned to the host. Note that you'll need to partition the disk after you connect to the iSCSI device / volume. We recommend that you use 'quick format' because a full format will end up reserving blocks in the storage system which defeats the purpose of using thin-provisioning which is the default when you 'Create Storage Volume'.		Once you have the IQN for your OS/X system you'll need to add a host entry to QuantaStor using the QuantaStor manager web UI. Just press the 'Add Host' button and then enter the name of your system, and enter the IQN in the box that says 'IQN'. Now that you have a host added, you can assign volumes to your Mac. After you've assigned some storage, go back to the iSCSI initiator dialog in OS/X and enter the IP address of your QuantaStor system and you should immediately see all the storage volumes listed which you have assigned to the host. Note that you'll need to partition the disk after you connect to the iSCSI device / volume. We recommend that you use 'quick format' because a full format will end up reserving blocks in the storage system which defeats the purpose of using thin-provisioning which is the default when you 'Create Storage Volume'.

	=== Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports ===		=== Enable iSCSI Access on Network Ports ===
	By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor ~~appliance~~. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your ~~appliance~~ you'll need to configure it with the 'Enable iSCSI' option selected as shown in this screenshot.		By default iSCSI access is enabled on all network ports in your QuantaStor System. This is typically OK if all the ports are the same speed and on the same network but in most cases you'll want to disable iSCSI access to 1GbE management ports so that all data flows through the faster 10GbE or 40GbE network ports if you have them. Even with 1GbE ports it is common to separate the management network from the SAN ports used to deliver iSCSI storage to the servers and this option allows you to control that. To enable iSCSI on your network interface in your system you'll need to configure it with the 'Enable iSCSI' option selected as shown in this screenshot.

	[[File:iscsienable.png\|800px]]		[[File:iscsienable.png\|800px]]