RANCHO RT-iSCSI-R User manual

RANCHO SYSTECH, INC.
9155 Archibald Ave., Suite 904
Rancho Cucamonga, CA. 91730
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Web: http://www.rancho.com
Email: [email protected]
RT-iSCSI-R
Small Enterprise Rack Mount iSCSI
to SCSI Bridge User Manual

Warning
The Rancho iSCSI to SCSI Bridge contains no user-serviceable components. Only an
Authorized Service Centre should carry out any servicing or repairs. Unauthorized repairs or
modifications will immediately void your warranty.
Before you start
There are a number of additional pieces of equipment you will require for the successful
installation of your Bridge:
Ethernet Cable
You will require a good quality cable of suitable length to go between your network access
point and the iSCSI Bridge. This should be marked as certified to Cat 5e and have a RJ45
style connector at the Bridge end.
SCSI Cable
The greatest source of SCSI related faults are due to poor quality SCSI cabling. This is
especially true when running at the higher speeds possible with this iSCSI Bridge. We
therefore recommend that, you purchase a good quality SCSI 3 compatible cable with High
Density 68 way D type connectors for your installation.
You will also need to complete your SCSI bus installation with a SCSI Terminator. This is
connected to the last peripheral on the SCSI bus. Again we recommend you use a good
quality LVD / SE Terminator.
If you are in any doubt contact your reseller for extra assistance.
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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Overview
2.0 Installing the iSCSI Bridge
2.1 Ethernet Connection
2.2 SCSI Bus Connection
2.3 Connecting the Power Supply
3.0 Configuring the iSCSI Bridge
3.1Initial Set Up
3.2 Set the Hostname
3.3 Setting the IP Address
3.4 Setting the IP Mask
3.5 Setting the Broadcast Address
3.6 Committing the Changes
3.7 Reconnect to the Bridge
3.8 Setting the Password
3.9 Network Services
3.10 iSCSI Connections
3.11 SCSI Bus
4.0 Information
4.1 SCSI Devices
4.2 System Information
4.3 System Log
5.0 Maintenance
5.1 Firmware Updates
5.2 Saving the Configuration
Appendix A Configuring Windows 95 98 NT
Appendix B Configuring Windows 2000 2003 XP
Appendix C LED Indicators
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1.0 Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Rancho iSCSI to SCSI Bridge.
The Bridge has been designed to ensure that in the majority of installations it will require the
minimum of set up before use. However, we suggest you read the following that will guide you
through setting up both the Network and SCSI aspects of the iSCSI Bridge
The GUI Management section guide you through the initial set up required to install the Bridge
on to your network
1.1 Overview
The iSCSI Bridge creates an interface between a network, which utilizes the Ethernet protocol,
and peripherals that utilize the SCSI bus. The internal circuitry of the Bridge acts as a two-way
interface converting the data packets that are received on the network into data transfers and
electrical signals that storage devices such as disks, tape drives and optical disks understand
on the SCSI bus.
The Rancho Small Enterprise iSCSI Bridge
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2.0 Installing the iSCSI Bridge
There are 4 basic steps to installing the iSCSI Bridge
•Connecting the Ethernet cable
•Connecting the SCSI cables and peripherals
•Connecting the Power Supply
•Configuring the Bridge’s host name and IP address
2.1 Ethernet Connection
The iSCSI Bridge can be used on the following network configurations
•10BaseT
•100BaseT
•1000BaseT (Gigabit)
It is not necessary to specify which network type you are connected to as the iSCSI Bridge
when powered up it will automatically select the correct network speed.
The connection to the Ethernet network is via an industry stand copper interface on the front of
the unit.
To connect the iSCSI Bridge the Ethernet network, inset the Cat 5E cable into the connector
on the unit as shown below. When the plug is in the correct position a “click” should be heard.
Front Panel of the Bridge Showing Ethernet Cable Connections
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2.2 SCSI Bus Connections
The SCSI bus on the iSCSI Bridge is capable of running at speeds of up to 160 Mbytes/s,
however, devices that operate at slower speeds can still be connected to this SCSI bus. In a
manner similar to the Ethernet connection, the iSCSI Bridge will automatically negotiate with
these devices to obtain their optimal operating speed upon power up.
When adding your SCSI peripherals to the SCSI bus it is important to remember that every
device on the SCSI bus must have a unique SCSI ID and that SCSI ID 7 is reserved for the
iSCSI Bridge.
The iSCSI Bridge can support both Single Ended and LVD peripherals. However, it should be
noted that the two buses will have different data transfer speeds and cable length limitations:
•Single Ended termination and/or devices –2 meters length –(40 MB/s maximum)
•LVD termination and/or devices –6 meters length –variable speeds up to a
maximum of 160 MB/s.
If you are in any doubt, please contact your reseller for further assistance.
Connect the SCSI cable to the front of the iSCSI Bridge as shown below, ensuring that
connector is the correct way up.
Connecting the SCSI Cable to the Bridge SCSI Port
Note: The two securing screws on either side of the connector should ONLY
BE FINGER TIGHT.
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2.3 Connecting the Power Supply
Before connecting the Power supply to the unit, ensure the wall plug is removed or switched
off.
Connect the Power Supply to the rear of the ISCSI Bridge as shown below.
Before powering up the iSCSI Bridge, ensure all the peripherals are powered up and you have
a connection to the network.
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3.0 Configuring the iSCSI Bridge
Before the iSCSI Bridge can be used on the network for the first time, it is necessary to
configure a number of IP parameters. To make this as easy as possible we have provided the
iSCSI bridge with an inbuilt GUI interface that can be accessed via any web browser.
3.1 Initial set up
Connect the iSCSI Bridge to the SCSI peripherals and network as described in the previous
sections and power up the unit.
From within your web browser, connect to the ISCSI Bridge using the IP address 10.10.10.10
Depending on how the network parameters are set on the machine you are using to access
the iSCSI Bridge, if may be necessary to change your network setting on your computer for the
initial set up. See Appendix A and B for further help.
Once you have connected to the GUI interface you will see the entry page shown below.
Enter the default password and username –admin, and admin.
Note: We suggest that you change your password at the next possible opportunity –see
section 3.8
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The GUI interface will now display the root selection screen as shown below.
Click on the Connections button under the Network section of the main window. This will now
bring up a new configuration page.
3.2 Setting the Hostname
In this box enter the name you wish to use to address this iSCSI Bridge in the future. We
suggest that you use a name that is relevant to its location and or, its purpose.
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3.3 Setting the IP Address
There are two possibilities when configuring the IP address of the iSCSI Bridge:
•DHCP -this means the Bridge will seek out the DHCP sever on your network and
obtain an IP address from the server each time it powers up.
•Static IP - the IP address set in this page will be the IP address the unit will use
each time it powers up.
Depending on your configuration, either click the DHCP button or set your Static IP address.
Note: if you select the DHCP mode, ensure your DHCP server is set to automatically
update the DNS server.
3.4 Setting the Subnet Mask
If the Bridge is configured to use DHCP the netmask will be issued from the DHCP server. If
you are using static IP address enter the IP mask in this box.
3.5 Setting the Broadcast Address
Enter in this box your Broadcast address for your network.
3.6 Committing the changes
Click the save button to save these parameters and then click the reboot option in the left hand
pane. S
3.7 Reconnect to the Bridge
If you made changes to you computer, return them to their previous setting and reconnect to
the Bridge using the IP address or hostname, depending on which addressing mode you
selected.
3.8 Setting the Administration Password
This configuration page will allow the administrator to change the access password for the GUI
interface. From within the main menu select the Password and Security icon under the
Network section The GUI will now display the following window
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To change your password, type the existing password and the new password into the
appropriate boxes and press save.
Note: it is not possible to reset the password without logging into the GUI so ensure you
remember your password!
3.9 Network Services
This configuration page will allow the administrator to configure the IP addresses for the
Network Time Domain server and the iSNS service. From within the main menu select the
Service Control icon under the Network section The GUI will now display the following window
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The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a protocol for synchronizing the clocks of computer
systems over the IP network. To enable NTP on the Bridge, click the tick box and enter the IP
address for the NTP Server and then click the save button
Internet Storage Name Service (iSNS) allows automated discovery, management and
configuration of iSCSI from a central point. If this option is enabled the Bridge will register its
resources with a central iSNS server. To enable iSNS on the Bridge, click the tick box and
enter the IP address for the iSNS Server and click the save button.
3.10 iSCSI Connections
This configuration page will allow the administrator to configure the password and username
for the CHAP authorisation and the Data Digest error checking on the Bridge
From within the main menu select the iSCSI Target icon from the SCSI System section.
The GUI will now display the following window
CHAP is an authentication scheme used by Servers to validate the identity of clients and vice
versa. When CHAP is enabled, the initiator must send the correct Username and Initiator
Password to gain access to the bridge. The Target Password is provided to allow iSCSI mutual
CHAP. If mutual CHAP is selected on the Initiator, this field contains the Target
Password.
To enable CHAP click the tick box and enter the following details
•Username –this is the same name as specified in the iSCSI host
•Initiator Secret –this is the password defined in the iSCSI host
•Target Secret - this is the password that the Bridge will send to the iSCSI
Host.
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Header & Data Digests
Digests are an advanced form of error-detection specified by iSCSI. These may be used for
error detection on the iSCSI Headers and or the Data portion of the packet. Depending on the
hardware used, enabling Digests may affect the performance so it is recommended that this
option be only enabled when you suspect you are receiving corrupted IP packets.
There are three encoding options for each of the Digests.
•Selecting None forces Data Digests to off
•Selecting CRC32 forces on Data Digests to use the CRC32 encoding.
•Selecting the None/CRC32 option allows the initiator to select the whether
Data Digests are enabled
Current Connections
This section lists the current connections i.e. logged on, from iSCSI hosts. It displays which
initiator is connected to which Target device.
Note it is possible that more than one host to be connected to any target device or one host to
multiple target devices.
It is possible to send a logout request to a host by highlighting the host connection and
pressing the logout button
Note: many initiators are configured to automatically reconnect after completing the logout
request. If this is the case then the connections window may not show any change.
3.11 SCSI Bus
This configuration page will allow the administrator to configure a number of parameters that
control the behaviour of the SCSI bus.
From within the main menu select the SCSI Initiator icon from the SCSI System section.
The GUI will now display the following window
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The settings in the SCSI Initiator page are advanced settings provided for configuration of
legacy devices. Typically, no modification to any of these parameters should be required.
Host ID
This defines the ID of the Bridge on the SCSI bus and should not require modification unless
using the unit with a shared SCSI bus.
Settle Delay
When devices are first turned or, when a SCSI bus reset is issued most devices will perform a
set of tasks to reinitialise settings and reconfigure certain parameters which can take a little
time to perform before the device will respond to commands on the SCSI bus. The settling time
is the length of time given to allow devices to reset before issuing commands. Some older
devices may take longer than the default 3 seconds which may cause them to be missed when
the bridge rescans the SCSI bus. Increase this parameter in small steps only.
Advanced Options
The following settings should only be changed if instructed by your support channel:
•Maximum Commands per LUN –This is the maximum of commands that the
Bridge will allow any one device to accept at any one time Default 64
•Disable Wide Transfers –This forces the SCSI bus to work in Narrow Mode (8 bit)
only. Default off.
•Disable Synchronous Transfers, -This forces the SCSI bus to transfer in
Asynchronous Mode only. Default off.
Selecting either of the last two options will have a detrimental affect on the performance of the
Bridge
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4.0 Information
The following section describes the various pages that are available to the administrator to
monitor the performance, show which devices are connect and review the error log.
4.1 SCSI Devices
This information page will allow the administrator to view the Target devices that are connected
to the SCSI bus From within the main menu select the Device Information icon from the SCSI
System section. The GUI will now display the following window
In the above example we can see a disk drive connected to the SCSI bus 0 with a SCSI ID of
8 and a single LUN –the disk itself.
If a target ID has multiple LUN such as a Tape autoloader with 1 tape unit and a robots Media
Changer, the Tape Drive and the Media Changer will be shown as separate devices with the
Same SCSI ID but different LUN numbers.
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4.2 System Information
This System information page will allow the administrator to view the Performance of the
Bridge
From within the main menu select the System Information icon from the Bridge Maintenance
section.
The GUI will now display the following window
Within the top window the following information is displayed
•Current Firmware Level
•Serial Number of the PCB within the Bridge
•ISCSI IQN –Each iSCSI device be it a Server or a Target device such as a Tape
Drive has a unique identifier –this entry shows the IQN for the Bridge.
Within the lower window are 3 bar graphs, which provide an approximation of the follow
performance parameters
•Network Speed - This indicates the current performance in MB/s across the
network.
•CPU - This indicates the percentage of the time the CPU is occupied undertaking
the management and scheduling the transfer of data between the two interfaces
•Memory usage- This indicates the percentage of memory used by all processes
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4.3 System Log
This System information page will allow the administrator to view the log status that the
Bridge encounters whilst running.
From within the main menu select the View Log-file icon from the Bridge Maintenance
section.
The GUI will now display the following window
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5.0 Maintenance
5.1 Firmware Updates
The Firmware Updates page will allow the administrator load new firmware into the Bridge
From within the main menu select the Firmware Updates icon from the Bridge Maintenance
section. The GUI will now display the following window
From time to time it may be necessary to upgrade the firmware within the Bridge. New versions
contain resolutions to known issues as well as new features and improvements to the
functionality of the Bridge. It is advisable to check on the latest release on a regular basis.
New version of the firmware can be downloaded from the Rancho web site at:
www.rancho.com Once you have downloaded the new firmware to a local disk
drive:
•Click on the browse button to locate the file you have downloaded from the
website
•Then click on the update button.
Updating the firmware will take a few minutes after which it will be necessary to reboot the
system to bring the new code into memory.
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5.2 Saving the Configuration to Disk
The Load Save Configuration page will allow the administrator save and load the configuration
parameters to a local disk partition.
From within the main menu select the Load Save Configuration icon from the Bridge
Maintenance section.
The GUI will now display the following window
Once you have finished configuring your Bridge we recommend that you save your
configuration data to a local disk. By doing so you could save valuable time if the unit requires
replacement or if a configuration is lost during upgrades.
It is possible that creating a “Boiler Plate” configuration and loading this into each new Bridge
as it is initialised. This can ease the rollout of multiple Bridge within a enterprise.
To save the configuration data click on the “Click here to Download” link from within the Export
Configuration window located in the centre of the page.
Depending upon the browser you are using, select the option to save file to disk.
The Bridge will now download an encoded file that contains all the configuration settings for
the Bridge.
To reload the configuration, click on the Browse button and locate the required configuration to
upload into the Bridge. Once located click the upload button and the new configuration data
will be uploaded.
Once completed, use the various configuration pages to make any further adjustments required
and then reboot the system.
Restore Factory Defaults.
By clicking on this button all the parameters will be set back to the factory defaults. This
includes IP address, hostname and passwords. We recommend that if you return the Bridge for
maintenance that you reset to defaults to protect passwords and other sensitive information
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APPENDIX A
A1.Setting up your computer for initial set up
If your computer is running Windows 95, 98 or NT follow the instructions below .For users
with Windows 2000,2003 or XP instructions are detailed in Appendix B. From the Start
menu, choose Settings then Control Panel. Then click the Network icon
In the Network window’s Configuration tab,
Select the TCP/IP entry Then the Properties
Button
Click on the IP Address tab Make a Note
of your current set up then: Click on the
Specify an IP address button
Enter 10.10.10.11into the IP Address field Enter
255.255.255.0 into the Subnet Mask field
Finally click the OK button and reboot your
computer.
Note: Once you have completed the initial set up of the iSCSI Bridge, return your computer to
the original settings and reconnect to the iSCSI bridge.
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