Best Practices For Iscsi; Iscsi Hba Issues - Spectra Logic T-Series Spectra T200 Release Note

Best Practices for iSCSI

The best performance with iSCSI is achieved by setting the iSCSI
parameters to the following state:
The parameters below can be set to the maximum values listed below:
Best performance is achieved by setting these values to their maximum
value.

iSCSI HBA Issues

Reservation Issues
The SCSI reservation option makes it possible to reserve a device (target)
for a specific host (initiator). This is useful in a multi-server environment
where more than one server is connected to an iSCSI device. When an
initiator reserves a device, other initiators are not allowed to change the
characteristics of that device until the reservation is released. This prevents
one system from interfering with another system's backup.
If a device is reserved for a specific initiator, and another one attempts to
access that device, a reservation conflict is reported back to the second
system. In Microsoft Windows operating systems, all iSCSI HBAs report
this reservation conflict as an I/O error instead of correctly reporting a
reservation conflict.
Additional Known Issues
In addition to the reservation conflict issue, certain brands of iSCSI HBAs
have the following other known issues:
Adaptec 7211 iSCSI HBA This iSCSI HBA is not supported by the E-QIP.
Intel PRO 1000/T iSCSI HBA
December 2008
R2T = No
Immediate Data = Yes or No
First Burst Length = 128K
Maximum Burst Length = 256K
Maximum Receive Buffer Length = 64K
Both discovery sessions and login sessions fail when CHAP (Challenge
Handshake Authentication Protocol) is enabled. Spectra Logic
recommends that you disable CHAP authentication on the QIP and
HBA. See the "Using Partitions" chapter in the Spectra T200, T380, and
T680 User Guide for information about CHAP.
Operating in Gigabit Ethernet Environments
T200, T380, and T680 Libraries
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