How to Use iSCSI Targets on VMware ESXi 5 With MPIO

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How to use iSCSI Target on VMware ESXi 5.0.0 with Multipath I/O

Overview

This article will guide the administrator into mounting an iSCS Target from Thecus NAS onto a VMware ESXi.

This article was created with a VMware ESXi 5.0.0, and a Thecus NAS N4200 with firmware v5.02.01.

Note:

1. Please make sure that an iSCSI Target has been created on the Thecus NAS and is ready for use.

There is an article How to Create iSCSI Target on Thecus NAS

(http://esupport.thecus.com/support/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=viewdownload&downloaditemid=

310) for reference.

2. It's recommended to use MPIO with separate networks (or different subnets) with multiple network

cards to be installed on the iSCSI Initiator and Target. Usage of MPIO is recommended for

experienced network administrators only.

3. On the iSCSI Initiator, its best to reserve network cards for storage duties only, and they can not be

used for any other purpose.

Preparing The ESXi Hypervisor for multiple NIC Usage

This section is setting up the ESXi Hypervisor to use two NICs for MPIO.

1. Open the vSphere Client and proceed to Configuration, Networking and click Add Networking.

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2. Select VMKernel and click Next.

3. Create a new virtual network switch and select a NIC located on another subnet.

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4. Enter a new name for this new network and click Next.

5. Enter IP Address and Subnet address for this secondary NIC and click Next.

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6. Finally confirmation setting and click Finish.

7. The second network has been add to this Hypervisor.

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8. If have additional NIC, please repeat this process for each additional network to be added to the

Hypervisor.

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Mounting the iSCSI Target on the ESXi Hypervisor

This section is mounting iSCSI Targets on the Thecus NAS to the ESXi Hypervisor.

1. On the Configuration tab, click Storage Adapters, select Add..

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2. Select the Software iSCSI Adapter, click Properties to configure the settings of the iSCSI Initiator.

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3. Check the status if Enable.

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If not, please click Configure, checkbox checked to enable.

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4. Once the iSCSI Initiator is enabled, click on Dynamic Discovery. Enter the primary IP Address of the

Thecus NAS.

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5. If mounting for MPIO, enter the secondary IP address of the Thecus NAS, located within the secondary

subnet of the ESXi Hypervisor.

6. After setting done, click Close to rescan the Host Bus Adapter, select Yes.

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7. The iSCSI Initiator has detected the target on the Thecus NAS. Right click on the target and select

Manage Paths.

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8. Select Round Robin (VMWare) and click Close.

Within the Path Management, the ESXi Hypervisor is using two paths (via two subnet) to mount the

same iSCSI Target.

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Formatting the iSCSI Target for usage within the ESXi Hypervisor

This section is formatting the iSCSI Target for usage within ESXi Hypervisor.

1. On the Configuration tab, click Storage and select Add Storage.

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2. Select Disk/LUN and click Next.

3. Find the iSCSI Target and click Next.

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4. Select the Mount Options and File System Version.

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5. Review the Current Disk Layout and click Next.

6. Enter a new datastore name for this new storage and click Next.

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7. Select Capacity space to use for this new storage and click Next.

8. Finally confirmation setting and click Finish.

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9. The new datastore has been added.

10. Right click the datastore and select the Browse Datastore. It is ready for use.

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Start the virtual machine creation process

1. Select the server and click the icon to add new virtual machine.

2. Configure settings for your new virtual machine, for this purpose we use Custom

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Provide name for your new virtual machine.

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3. For this purposes of this article, we're using the iSCSI target space on Thecus NAS N4200.

4. Choose the virtual hardware version you wan to use.

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5. Identify the operation system that will run inside the virtual machine. For this purposes of this article,

we're using Microsoft Windows Server 2008R2 (64bit).

6. Specify CPU /Memory /Network

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7. Choose a SCSI Controller. LSI Logic SAS is the default for Windows-based guest operation system.

8. Choose your virtual disk.

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9. Specify Size of the new virtual disk / disk type /disk location

10. If you like, you can make advanced changes to the disk configuration on Advanced Option.

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11. And with that, now created your first fully functioning virtual machine under VMware ESXi 5.

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How to Use iSCSI Targets on VMware ESXi 5 With MPIO

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