Dell PowerVault NX3000 Quick reference guide

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Dell™ PowerVault™
Network Attached Storage
(NAS) Solution
iSCSI Deployment Guide

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May 2009 Rev. A00

Contents 3
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Terms and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
PowerVault Storage System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
iSCSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
iSNS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Before Setting Up the PowerVault Storage Solution as
an iSCSI Target. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Best Practices for Setting Up the iSCSI Storage
Area Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 Setup Steps for Initiator-Target
Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Pre-Requisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Method 1 (Discovery Using Target Portals) . . . . . . . 13
Configuring the Initiator (Host) . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Configuring iSCSI Connection With the PowerVault
NAS Storage System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Creating the Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Creating a Virtual Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Log on - Configuring the Initiator-Target Connection
From Initiator (Host) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Method 2 (Discovery Using iSNS Server) . . . . . . . . 18
Pre-Requisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Configuring Settings From the Initiator . . . . . . 18

4Contents
3 Target Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Setting Up Target IP Addresses in the PowerVault™
NAS Storage Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Configuring Microsoft®iSCSI Software Targets . . 21
Configuring iSCSI LUNs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Multiple Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
iSCSI Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Disconnecting/Cleaning Up iSCSI Devices . . . . . . . 32
From Initiator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
From Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4 Configuring Secured iSCSI Connections
Using Challenge-Handshake
Authentication Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
CHAP vs IPSec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
One-Way CHAP Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
iSCSI Target Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
iSCSI Initiator Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Mutual CHAP Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Initiator Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Target Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Initiator Settings Continued. . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
A Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Initiator Details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
General Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Discovery Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Targets Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Contents 5
Advanced Configuration Details . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Enabling Multi-Path on the Initiator . . . . . . . . 45
Using the Advanced Option . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Verifying the Properties of the Targets that
are Connected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Installing and Configuring iSNS Server . . . . . . . . . 48
Configuring the iSNS Server . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Best Practices for Efficient Storage Management . . . 50
Storage Manager for SANs . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
LUN Management for iSCSI Subsystems. . . . . . 50
Known Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

6Contents

Introduction 7
Introduction
This document provides information about configuring the
Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) Software Target on the
Dell™ PowerVault™ storage system as a block storage device.
iSCSI is a useful and relatively inexpensive way to provide storage for new
applications or to provide a network pool of storage for existing applications.
Dell and its storage partners provide a variety of storage solutions that can be
implemented easily. This document allows administrators and IT managers to
explore iSCSI technology and see actual deployment examples.
The following topics are discussed in the document:
• Quick install steps—Provides instructions about creating an iSCSI Target
and establishing connection with a Microsoft
®
iSCSI Initiator
• End-to-end iSCSI configuration:
– Detailed instructions on installing and configuring the Microsoft
iSCSI Initiator software and the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target
– Configuring the Initiator-Target connections
• Setting up secure iSCSI connections
• Microsoft iSNS server and other advanced configuration details
NOTE: In this document the iSCSI Initiator is referred to as the Initiator and the
iSCSI Software Target is referred to as the Target.

8Introduction
Terms and Definitions
The following sections describe the terms used in this document.
PowerVault Storage System
Throughout this document, the term PowerVault storage system refers to the
individual storage unit. The term PowerVault storage solution refers to the
configuration of the server separately or together with the storage arrays.
iSCSI
iSCSI is a standard that carries SCSI commands through Transfer Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)—a protocol that enables transport of
block data over IP networks, without the need for a specialized network
infrastructure, such as Fibre Channel.
In the context of system storage, iSCSI enables any client/machine (Initiator)
on an IP network to contact a remote dedicated server (Target) and perform
block I/O on it just as it would perform on a local hard disk.
iSNS
Microsoft iSCSI Internet Storage Name Service (iSNS) is a service that
processes iSNS registrations, deregistrations, and queries through TCP/IP from
iSNS clients and also maintains a database of these registrations (similar to a
DNS server). A common use for Microsoft iSNS server is to allow iSNS clients
(Initiators and Targets) to register themselves and to query for other registered
iSNS clients. Registrations and queries are transacted remotely over TCP/IP.
You can download and install the iSNS server from the Microsoft Support
website at support.microsoft.com on a separate server that does not have
Microsoft iSCSI Initiator or Target installed.
NOTE: For details about installing and configuring the iSNS server, see "Appendix"
on page 39.

Introduction 9
Before Setting Up the PowerVault Storage
Solution as an iSCSI Target
Before you set up your storage solution as an iSCSI Target, read this section
completely. You must consider features such as Ethernet settings and security
settings for iSCSI Targets.
Best Practices for Setting Up the iSCSI Storage Area Network
Table 1-1 provides information about configuring NICs (on Target) in
different models of iSCSI networks.
• You can configure redundant paths on Initiator (hosts). Microsoft
Multipath I/O (MPIO) is supported with Initiator version of 2.06 or later.
• You require two dedicated iSCSI NICs on the Target and Initiator for
efficient MPIO connection in the PowerVault storage solution.
• iSCSI NIC teaming is not supported.
• You can configure Initiators with one or two dedicated NICs for iSCSI
based on your requirement.
NOTE: Table 1-1 provides information about the iSCSI Target NIC
configuration. The optimal connection information is also provided as options.
You can configure the iSCSI NICs according to your network requirements.
Table 1-1. Using a Single PowerVault Storage Solution as a Target
Number of NICs Details Refer to Figure
4 NIC-1 and NIC-2 - Teamed NICs for public
network
NIC-3 - iSCSI dedicated traffic (subnet A)
NIC-4 - iSCSI dedicated traffic (subnet B)
Figure 1-1
3
NOTE: Use this
configuration if iSCSI
traffic has more
priority than file traffic.
NIC-1 - NIC for public Network
NIC-2 - iSCSI dedicated traffic (subnet A)
NIC-3 - iSCSI dedicated traffic (subnet B)
Figure 1-2

10 Introduction
• It is a good practice to have two ports dedicated for iSCSI. Configure each
NIC (or ports if you have a multiport NIC) on a separate subnet.
• Secured iSCSI is possible with Challenge-Handshake Authentication
Protocol (CHAP). For more information about CHAP settings, see
"Configuring Secured iSCSI Connections Using Challenge-Handshake
Authentication Protocol" on page 35.
Table 1-2. Worksheet
NOTE: IQNs are the standard naming convention for identifying Targets and
Initiators and it is recommended that you use IQN as the identifier whenever
possible.
NOTE: It is recommended that you configure dedicated iSCSI NICs on
separate subnets and not on the public network.
Options Host IP Target IP
NIC 1
iSCSI
Public
Other
NIC 2
iSCSI
Public
Other
NIC 3
iSCSI
Public
Other
NIC 4
iSCSI
Public
Other