Dell PowerVault NX3000 Deployment Manual
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Dell PowerVault NX3000 Deployment Manual

Iscsi deployment guide
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Download this manual See also: Troubleshooting Manual, Hardware Owner's Manual
Dell™ PowerVault™

Network Attached Storage

(NAS) Solution
iSCSI Deployment Guide
w w w . d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l . c o m

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Summary of Contents for Dell PowerVault NX3000

  • Page 1: Network Attached Storage

    Dell™ PowerVault™ Network Attached Storage (NAS) Solution iSCSI Deployment Guide w w w . d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l . c o m...
  • Page 2 Reproduction of these materials in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, and PowerVault are trademarks of Dell Inc.; Microsoft, Windows, and Windows Server are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents Introduction ......Terms and Definitions ....PowerVault Storage System .
  • Page 4 Target Details ....Setting Up Target IP Addresses in the PowerVault™ NAS Storage Solution ....®...
  • Page 5 Advanced Configuration Details ... . Enabling Multi-Path on the Initiator ..Using the Advanced Option ... . Verifying the Properties of the Targets that are Connected .
  • Page 6 Contents...

  • Page 7: Introduction

    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.

  • Page 8: Terms And Definitions

    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...

  • Page 9: Before Setting Up The Powervault Storage Solution As An Iscsi Target

    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.
  • Page 10 • 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"...
  • Page 11 Figure 1-1. Redundant iSCSI Paths and NIC Teaming for Data Sharing With Four NICs public network host public network (Initiator) NIC Teaming dedicated iSCSI traffic switch switch PowerVault storage system with NIC Teaming for File sharing optional iSNS optional iSNS server server NOTE:...
  • Page 12 Figure 1-2. Redundant iSCSI Paths With Three NICs public network host (Initiator) public network iSCSI traffic switch switch PowerVault storage system optional iSNS optional iSNS server server NOTE: For a detailed configuration of the iSCSI Target, see "Target Details" on page 21.

  • Page 13: Setup Steps For Initiator-Target

    Setup Steps for Initiator-Target Connection This section provides step-by-step instructions to set up an iSCSI Target and establish connection from an Initiator. It is assumed that the user is familiar with the following: • Operations of iSCSI protocol • iSCSI Initiator-Target connection information ®...

  • Page 14: Configuring The Initiator (Host)

    The following steps guide you through setting up an iSCSI Target and establishing connection from an Initiator. Configuring the Initiator (Host) Log on from Initiator setup Target setup Initiator Configure the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator with the IP address of the Target server's information.
  • Page 15 6 The Create iSCSI Target wizard displays the iSCSI Target Identification option. Enter a Name and Description (optional) for the iSCSI Target and click Next. The iSCSI Initiators Identifiers screen appears. 7 Click Browse and select the IQN for the host that connects to the Target. The host is listed only if step 1 in "Configuring the Initiator (Host)"...

  • Page 16: Creating A Virtual Disk

    Select Next. NOTE: IQNs work regardless of the DNS configuration. You can also specify the IP address or MAC address of the Initiator regardless of DNS configuration. The option of specifying a DNS domain name is built into the iSCSI Software Target snap-in.

  • Page 17: Log On - Configuring The Initiator-Target Connection From Initiator (Host)

    Log on - Configuring the Initiator-Target Connection From Initiator (Host) Log on from Initiator setup Target setup Initiator 1 From the iSCSI Initiator (host), click Start→ Programs→ Microsoft iSCSI Initiator→ iSCSI Initiator Properties→ Targets tab. 2 Refresh the screen. The PowerVault storage system Target device that you created in "Configuring iSCSI Connection With the PowerVault NAS Storage System"...

  • Page 18: Method 2 (Discovery Using Isns Server)

    8 To initialize and configure the iSCSI device as local drive and perform iSCSI I/O operations, select Computer Management→ Disk Management option. CAUTION: If multiple hosts access the same Target, data corruption may occur. For more information, see "Enabling Multi-Path on the Initiator" on page 45. Method 2 (Discovery Using iSNS Server) This section describes the procedure for iSCSI Target discovery using the iSNS server.
  • Page 19 Setting Up the Target (PowerVault Storage System) Log on from Target setup Initiator setup Initiator 1 From the PowerVault storage system, go to Start→ Server Manager→ Storage→ Microsoft iSCSI Software Target. The PowerVault Server Manager Management Console appears. 2 Select Microsoft iSCSI Software Target which is located in the storage snap-in and right-click on Properties.
  • Page 20 Setup Steps for Initiator-Target Connection...

  • Page 21: Target Details

    Target Details This section describes the end-to-end iSCSI setup, including settings for the iSCSI Initiator, Target, and establishing connections. Setting Up Target IP Addresses in the PowerVault™ NAS Storage Solution Based on your system configuration (with one or two dedicated iSCSI NICs) assign IP addresses to the iSCSI NICs.
  • Page 22 2 Preparing LUNs for use—The PowerVault NAS storage solution runs on a ® Microsoft Windows operating system based platform. The steps to prepare LUNs for use, such as assigning a drive letter for the internal server, providing a volume name, and so on are to Windows operating system setup.
  • Page 23 4 Creating iSCSI Targets—To create an iSCSI Target: Figure 3-1. Creating iSCSI Targets In the PowerVault NAS Management Console, right-click iSCSI Targets on the left pane to launch the Create iSCSI Target Wizard. The Welcome to the Create iSCSI Target Wizard screen is displayed. Click Next.
  • Page 24 • Go to Advanced Identifier→ Add→ Add/Edit Identifier→ Identifier Type and select either IQN, DNS Domain Name, IP address, or MAC Address to add the Initiator identifier. Figure A-5 uses the IP address to identify the iSCSI Initiator. You can use the Browse option to choose the value from the list of available Targets.
  • Page 25 Choose the size for the virtual disk and click Next. For this example, we choose a size of 100 GB from the available 501 GB on this volume. The Description screen appears. The Description field is optional. However, enter a description for better management.

  • Page 26: Configuring Iscsi Luns

    • Create Snapshot—You can take a snapshot of the virtual disk contents at any given instance. • Disk Access—Mount Read/Write (Provision of Read/Write access of the virtual disk by mounting it as a volume in the PowerVault NAS storage system. Mounted virtual disk appears as a local disk). CAUTION: Before mounting the virtual disk, disconnect all iSCSI Targets using the same virtual disk.

  • Page 27: Multiple Sessions

    In the Assign Drive Letter or Path screen, assign the driver letter from drop-down menu. Click Next. In the Format Partition screen, use the default options to format the partition. Enter a Volume label and click Next. NOTE: Select the Perform quick format check box for faster Format. In the Completing the New Partition Wizard screen, click Finish.
  • Page 28 Snapshots that are created on the iSCSI Target server are crash consistent. iSCSI snapshots are created using VSS and a storage array with a hardware provider designed for use with VSS. To enable consistent snapshots in Microsoft iSCSI Software Target, you require the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target VSS Hardware Provider.

  • Page 29: Click Next

    3 After making necessary changes, click OK. CAUTION: → Even if you do not change the default settings, go to Volume → → Properties Shadow Copies Settings and click OK. Perform this action to ensure proper snapshot recovery in the event of node failure. When the snapshot size exceeds the maximum size of the storage area, the oldest snapshot is deleted.
  • Page 30 7 The Frequency screen appears and lists the different options namely— Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and On-time only. Choose one option and click Next. 8 You must select the Start Time, Days, Months, Start Date, and other time parameters based on the Frequency selection in step 7. Edit these parameters to the preferred time.
  • Page 31 • Delete snapshot—Select the snapshot that you want to delete, right-click the snapshot and click Delete. NOTE: You cannot delete the snapshots that are mounted. You must dismount the snapshot before deleting it. • Disk Access—You can mount the snapshot of an iSCSI virtual disk in read -only mode from the PowerVault NAS storage system and it appears as a local disk.

  • Page 32: Disconnecting/Cleaning Up Iscsi Devices

    Disconnecting/Cleaning Up iSCSI Devices This section describes the procedure for cleanup operations to be performed on iSCSI devices. You must perform the procedure for cleanup operations on both iSCSI Target and iSCSI Initiator. From Initiator Disconnect an active connection with the Target by stopping the iSCSI I/O operations that are running on that Target device by performing the following steps: 1 Click Start→...
  • Page 33 3 To delete a virtual disk, choose the Devices option, right-click on the virtual disk from middle pane, and select Delete Virtual Disk. NOTE: Step 3 only deletes the association in the iSCSI Target software, but does not clear the disk space in the volume. You must manually browse to the volume and delete the .vhd file to clear the disk space.
  • Page 34 Target Details...

  • Page 35: Configuring Secured Iscsi Connections

    If the hash values match, the Initiator is authenticated. The other security information includes an ID value that is increased with each CHAP dialog to protect against replay attacks. The Dell™ PowerVault™ NAS storage solution also supports Mutual CHAP .

  • Page 36: Chap Vs Ipsec

    CHAP vs IPSec CHAP authenticates the peer of a connection and is based upon the peers sharing a secret (a security key that is similar to a password). IP Security (IPSec) is a protocol that enforces authentication and data encryption at the IP packet layer and provides an additional level of security.

  • Page 37: Iscsi Initiator Settings

    iSCSI Initiator Settings 1 Go to the Discovery tab. 2 Log in to the Target on which you have enabled CHAP by clicking iSCSI Initiator Properties→ Targets tab→ Log On..(Please refer "iSCSI Target Settings" on page 36). 3 In the Log On to Target window, select Advanced. 4 In the Advanced Settings window, select the check box for CHAP logon information.

  • Page 38: Target Settings

    Target Settings Configure the Target settings of CHAP as described in "iSCSI Target Settings" on page 36 and perform the following steps: 1 In the <Target Name> Properties window, select the Authentication tab. 2 Select the check box for Enable reverse CHAP authentication. In the User name field, enter the IQN of the Initiator.

  • Page 39: A Appendix

    Appendix The previous chapters in this document describe the procedures for basic iSCSI session/connection information. This chapter briefly describes procedures for a few advanced configuration settings. Initiator Details This section describes the various features included in the iSCSI Initiator Properties window. General Tab The General tab displays the Initiator node name which is the Initiator's iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN).

  • Page 40: Discovery Tab

    Figure A-1. General Tab in iSCSI Initiator Properties Window The General tab includes three options namely—Change, Secret and Tunnel. • Change—Allows you to rename the Initiator node name that is displayed. • Secret—iSCSI security provided CHAP. For more information, see "Configuring Secured iSCSI Connections Using Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol"...
  • Page 41 Figure A-2. Discovery Tab in iSCSI Initiator Properties Window iSNS Servers—You can also perform Target discovery using iSNS servers. Add the iSNS server IP address or DNS name. If the iSNS service is up and running on a server, all clients (Initiators and Targets) that are registered with the iSNS server are listed in the Registered Clients screen.

  • Page 42: Targets Tab

    Targets Tab The Targets tab provides the list of individual Targets available to the iSCSI Initiator. In the following example, three Targets are available to the iSCSI Initiator. Figure A-3. Targets Tab in iSCSI Initiator Properties Window NOTE: The above illustration is an example of discovery in the Targets tab. In practice, the Targets are discovered only after you configure the PowerVault NAS storage system as a Target.
  • Page 43 If multiple-paths to the Target are available, then you must describe each path to the iSCSI Initiator. To describe multiple paths to the Initiator: 1 In the Log On to Target window, select Enable multi-path and click Advanced. The Advanced option provides a drop-down menu with all possible source (Initiator) IP addresses and a separate drop-down menu for all possible Target portal addresses.
  • Page 44 Persistent Targets Tab You can configure Persistent Targets so that the connection to the Target is automatically restored when the system reboots. If the Targets are configured to be persistent, they appear in this Persistent Targets tab. Figure A-5. Persistent Targets Tab in iSCSI Initiator Properties Window Bound Volumes/Devices Tab If a host service or application depends on the availability of an iSCSI volume, you must configure it as bound so that the iSCSI service includes...

  • Page 45: Advanced Configuration Details

    Figure A-6. Bound Volumes/Devices Tab in iSCSI Initiator Properties Window Advanced Configuration Details Enabling Multi-Path on the Initiator After you establish the iSCSI Initiator-Target connection, perform the following steps to enable multi-path operation: 1 On the Initiator, go to iSCSI Initiator Properties→ Targets tab→ Log On...→...

  • Page 46: Using The Advanced Option

    Using the Advanced Option You can use the Advanced option to perform the following functions: • Go to iSCSI Initiator Properties→ Targets tab→ LogOn...→ Log On to Target window→ Advanced option. The Advanced Settings screen appears and consists of two tabs namely—Advanced and IPSec. The General tab allows you to set CRC/Checksum, CHAP and choose source IP address and Target Portal—IP address of iSCSI Target.
  • Page 47 Devices Tab The Devices tab of Target Properties screen provides generic device details like the virtual disks that are associated with Target. Click Advanced to view information about MPIO and launch the Device Details screen. You can use the MPIO tab to modify the MPIO settings. On this tab, you can select the appropriate Load Balance Policy settings.

  • Page 48: Installing And Configuring Isns Server

    Properties Tab The Properties tab of Target Properties screen provides information about Target Alias, Authentication, Associated Network portals and other details of the Target. Installing and Configuring iSNS Server The Microsoft iSNS server is a free download from the Microsoft website at www.microsoft.com and is available in two versions namely—x86 and IA64.

  • Page 49: Configuring The Isns Server

    Configuring the iSNS Server iSNS server performs the automatic discovery of iSCSI Initiators and Targets; after you register them with iSNS server. • The Initiators that are registered with iSNS servers can view all Target devices that are registered with iSNS in the Targets tab and logon to the Targets.

  • Page 50: Best Practices For Efficient Storage Management

    2 You can use the Discovery Domains feature to group certain Initiators with Targets with specific access: Go to iSNS Server Properties→ Discovery Domains tab→ click Create→ enter a name for the Discovery domain→ select Add. The Add registered Initiator or Target to Discovery Domain screen appears.

  • Page 51: Known Issues

    Securing data on an iSCSI SAN—To help secure data transfers between the server and the subsystem, configure security for the login sessions between Initiators and Targets. Using Storage Manager for SANs, you can configure one-way or mutual Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) authentication between the Initiator and Targets, and you can also configure Internet Protocol security (IPsec) data encryption.
  • Page 52 The wizard was unable to import one or more virtual disks. Make sure that the files are not in use, and then run the wizard again. • Initiator fails to discover a Target using the DNS domain name— When configuring Initiator access to an iSCSI Target, IQNs are the preferred method and work regardless of DNS configuration.
  • Page 53 server running Microsoft iSCSI Software Target has IP addresses that are not used to communicate with the Initiator. The Initiator attempts to connect to each configured IP address and waits up to 100 seconds for a response. This issue can also be caused by automatic private IP address assignments (169.x.x.x).
  • Page 54 Appendix...
  • Page 55 Index iSCSI snapshots, 27 iSNS, 8 best practices setting up the iSCSI storage area network, 9 known issues, 51 CHAP, 35 mutual, 37 one-way, 36 PowerVault storage system, 8 configuring Initiator, 18 Initiator (host), 14 Initiator-Target connection from setting up Initiator (host), 17 target, 18 iSCSI connection with the...
  • Page 56 Index...

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