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Clustering Using the iSCSI Protocol
You can use the iSCSI protocol with virtual machines and physical machines in a
clustered environment to provide highly available network storage and failover.
Clustering with iSCSI is the only way you can use GSX Server to configure clustering
across multiple hosts. It is an easier clustering method to configure compared to the
other methods discussed earlier, as you do not have to enable SCSI reservation in the
virtual machine, which involves manually editing the virtual machine's configuration
file. However, performance is limited by the slower speed of virtual networking.
Each virtual machine represents a cluster node. You configure each node of the
cluster to act as an iSCSI initiator. The initiator communicates with the iSCSI target. The
iSCSI target can be:
• A virtual machine on this host or another host.
• The GSX Server host itself or a different host on the network.
The iSCSI initiator must run the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator package, available for
download from the Microsoft Web site at
technologies/storage/iscsi/default.mspx. This software runs in a virtual machine with a
Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, or Windows XP guest operating system.
The iSCSI target software can run in a virtual machine or on a host with a Windows or
Linux operating system. Examples of iSCSI target software include WinTarget (for
Windows) and NetApp Filer (for Linux).
Note: You can use any clustering software in these cluster nodes that is supported
by other GSX Server clustering strategies. For more information, see
Software on page
205.
The following sections describe how to set up clustering using the iSCSI protocol.
•
Clustering Scenarios Using iSCSI on page 223
•
Creating and Configuring the iSCSI Initiator Virtual Machine on page 224
•
Configuring the iSCSI Target in the Cluster on page 225
Clustering Scenarios Using iSCSI
You can employ the following scenarios to cluster virtual machines with the iSCSI
protocol:
•
Using a Virtual Machine as the iSCSI Target
•
Using a Host as the iSCSI Target
C H A P T E R 7 High-Availability Configurations with VMware GSX Server
www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/
Clustering
223
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