Microsoft NLB on a virtual iSCSI SAN using computer

Similar Questions

• FC to iSCSI SAN using ESXi 5.1

  Hi all

  We have 4 guests with ESX5.1 installed and use vCentre to manage with Enterprise license. Guests began life as 3.5 and we have updated since then. Had to be replaced in 6 months.

  A key element is that the VMKernel port is a management network using two physical NICS for redundancy.

  All servers used multihomed all FC HBA on a CF polyester fabric. We replace FC SAN with a SAN iSCSI only.

  My question is what is the best way to implement this? I created a vSwitch with two VMKernel ports on it. The vSwitch is introduced as two whole separate from the active NIC to failover. It is all well and done on all hosts.

  However, I was planning a vLAN dedicated iSCSI with just the SAN on it. This seems to be a problem, because I can not put a specific default gateway on port groups because they are VMKernel ports and will only use the default gateway, that I put on the management network which will not work!

  vSwitch0

  Management

  vmk1:192.168.200.102

  vSwitch6

  iSCSI2

  vmk3: 192.168.30.162

  iSCSI

  vmk2: 192.168.30.161

  There is only a single routing table shared for all VMKernel ports? If yes how can I apply this? I'd rather not have iSCSI on my network but according to online guides, I get so far and cannot route iSCSI interfaces I install outside its own subnet. Is it normal?

  Any advice much apprecaited!

  Thanks - Steve

  Highly recommended best practice is to configure a VLAN separate with use IP network only for iSCSI, possible even with a dedicated layer two switches used only for iSCSI, depending on the type and quality of the switches.

  stevehoot wrote:

  Just to be 100% sure, I seem to have done is correct, and that ESXI does not allow a VMK iSCSI have a default gateway on it?

  It is not really the storage network cannot have a default gateway, but rather that the operating system of ESXi (vmkernel) has IP stack with the internal routing table shared on different functions such as management, vMotion, storage and other.

  This means that you have a gateway by default common for each host and not by function, and translates as more generally as the 'common' default gateway will be on the management network.

• The use of frames with iscsi SAN

  Hello

  We are moving our warehouses of local DAS to a SAN iscsi in common.

  We will have two physical hosts (1 ESX 3.5 and an ESXi 3.5) with two iscsi devices (1 DELL MD3000i and 1 openfiler 2.2 "in the home-built') and two dedicated switches (a 16 ports GBit 1216T one one port 8 Gbps unmanaged Linksys Dlink).

  Both iscsi devices have connections ethernet redundand (Dell has 4 ports on 2 different controllers, openfiler has 2 ports), so I planned to distribute connections on two switches for redundancy.

  each ESX and ESXi physical hosts have 2 ethernet NIC dedicated to iscsi

  My doubts/questions are:

  -is the switch 'Office' of linksys OK for this configuration? Or should I get a second Dlink 1216 T?

  -J' need to have the Dell MD3000i to least performance that we conduct with the local SAS DAS storage.

  Can I activate "frames" switch and Dell MD300i? What ESX and ESXi? and linksys switch (will it work with thaat jumbo mtu)?

  -If I DO NOT activate the Jumbo on openfiles iscsi, will it work with standard MTU even if it is connected to the switches with active Jumbo?

  -should I 'team' toghether both connections ethernet in iscsi on the physical ESX/ESXi hosts?

  an another question I have is:

  -We currently have a LUN iscsi on device openfiler which is accessible using the initiator Microsoft iscsi sw inside a win2k03 virtual machine on the host ESX 3.5. Can I disable initiator Microsoft iscsi inside the virtual machine, log on to this LUN using ESX iscsi sw and have win2k03 to find all the data?

  Thanks in advance

  Guido

  Take a lok at it to your specific questions

  http://communities.VMware.com/thread/107173

  And for an overview of ISCSI on ESX reading this, when you get a chance.

  http://virtualgeek.typepad.com/virtual_geek/2009/01/a-multivendor-post-to-help-our-mutual-iSCSI-customers-using-VMware.html#more

• How can I move virtual machines from a local data store for a new iSCSI SAN?

  Hello guys,.

  Now that we have a new iSCSI SAN market how can I tranfer all the virtual machine to a local data store for a new SAN? Can I stop the VM in the host, and then copy the DataStore files with all the info on the new volume?

  Thank you

  Pesinet

  Alternatively, you can use VMware converter or cold Migration / Storage VMotion if you have the appropriate licenses.

  Duncan

  VMware communities user moderator | VCP | VCDX

  -

• iSCSI SAN Connectivity

  I'm kinda new to this Yes, you can be sweet.

  We are migrating some of our less critical servers to VSphere. Because the servers are at camp, we'll install eSXI on our server and use hosted camp via iSCSI SAN. The camp provided us with a block of IP addresses that we can use for SAN connectivity.
  SAN connectivity is on it's own dedicated NIC (1 for testing purposes) and physical switch.
  Management network
  192.168.72/24
  SAN IP blocked
  172.26.11.0/26
  172.26.11.1 - GW
  The target IPs
  172.31.3.105
  172.31.3.109
  I created a virtual switch for iSCSI and tied a physical NETWORK adapter to it. I then added the iSCSI adapter software, responsible for the target in the dynamic, linked discovery the NIC to the iSCSI Software card.
  I then added a road 172.31.3.0/24 to go to 172.26.11.1.
  When I scan for the storage of the new, I just blank. If I go back into the adapter software, targets are now listed on the static discovery tab. The camp is saying that their HDS does not all applications.
  So I built a virtual Windows machine and loaded on this host (using an Openfiler iSCSI on the management network) and installed the Microsoft iSCSI initiator. By using this software, I am able to connect to the SAN CoLo network from inside the virtual machine.
  What Miss me? Why can I not connect to the network the host SAN? Any help will be much appreciated.
  Bob

  http://pubs.VMware.com/vSphere-50/topic/com.VMware.vSphere.storage.doc_50/GUID-0D31125F-DC9D-475B-BC3D-A3E131251642.html

  (Physical network adapters must be on the same subnet as the iSCSI storage system, that they connect)

  / Rubeck

• How to connect to iSCSI SAN without compromising security

  Hello:

  How to enable server OSes (VMS or physical host computers) to connect and LUN iSCSI mount without compromising the safety of our ESX host?  We have a few Microsoft servers that need to use iSCSI initiators at Mount MON for MSCS.   We cannot use the ESX initiators because VMware doesn't support iSCSI to virtual storage with MSCS.  We have already read all the documentation and spoke with VMware support, so we know that our only option is to use the iSCSI initiators in Microsoft servers to connect to the LUN.

  Our concern is security.  If we let the servers use their iSCSI initiators to connect to the San, then they also won't have access to our service and the vkernels via the iSCSI network console?  ESX requires that you have a port the service console and the port of vkernel on the iSCSI network for each ESX box that you want to use the ESX initiator for.  We struggle to understand how to connect any machine (virtual or physical) to the iSCSI network to mount LUN without exposing our service and vkernels consoles.  I know that the best practice is to remove this VMs network for this exact reason, but of course many organizations also have physical servers (UNIX, Windows) who need to access their iSCSI SAN.  How people treat this?  How much of a security problem is it?  Is there a way to secure the service console and vkernel ports while allowing host ESX - no access to the SAN?  I know that many of you are facing this exact in your organizations situation, please help.  Obviously, it is not supposed that nobody uses their SAN iSCSI for anything else except for the ESX host.  I thank very you much.

  James

  Hello

  Check out this blog

  Use of firewall is certainly a step in the right direction for that. If you can't have separate iSCSI networks, then you will need to isolate nodes NON-ESX/VCB iSCSI using other mechanisms. I would certainly opt for firewalls or reduce the redundancy to just 2 network-by-network cards and not 4 to a single network.

  Someone at - it any other suggestions? Surely many ESX users share their iSCSI SAN with a lot of different systems and operating systems. Thanks again.

  They do, but they do not secure their networks for their VMs ESX iSCSI / other physical systems. You have asked a very important question and it's how to connect to iSCSI SAN without compromising safety. If the options are currently:

  1. Physically isolate

  2. Isolate using firewall

  Given that ESX speaks in clear text and does not support IPsec for iSCSI, you have very limited options that are available to you. The firewall you use and charge iSCSI, you send through it will determine if there is no latency. Yes its a cost extra, but if it is an independent network switches/ports/etc.

  Best regards
  Edward L. Haletky
  VMware communities user moderator, VMware vExpert 2009
  ====
  Author of the book ' VMWare ESX Server in the enterprise: planning and securing virtualization servers, Copyright 2008 Pearson Education.
  Blue gears and SearchVMware Pro items - top of page links of security virtualization - Security Virtualization Round Table Podcast

• OPENFILER w / ISCSI?  Any decline in performance compared to a commercial ISCSI SAN?

  Experiment with VMWare ESXi and want to put in place a San to store all Virtual Machines and storage.  Are there performance problems if you use OPENFILER compared to a commercial ISCSI SAN?   HCL hardware supported - Asisde speed problems are there?  I intend to use the hardware failover and load balancing, but need a San to achieve this.  On a budget, so I was wondering if all this aside, will be an OPENFILER solution be slower than a commercial SAN ISCSI...

  Well, maybe...

  I agree with this, if you use the other stuff on the same machine as Openfiler, but if you have dedicated a machine serving via Openfiler iSCSI volumes, then you should get pretty good performance - perhaps even comparable to "material" iSCSI implementations  I have a PE2800 with a single processor and 4 GB of RAM which is my Openfiler iSCSI SAN/NAS head.  The performance is very good - is perhaps not as good as some of the commercial solutions, but works very well.

  In addition, many commercial solutions are focused on software, hardware not in function.  The short week, SOHO are "firmware" based, but iSCSI is still usually done in software - many times by a demon of Linux on the box.  Of course, it's the only thing he does, but simply because it's a software does not mean that it will hurt.

  I use Openfiler in a production environment - no problem.  You can also purchase support for Openfiler, which makes it even more viable production.  Do not hit, just because it is a software, just because it's open source, or just because it's Linux.  There are a lot of people out there using Microsoft Windows Storage Server in production - why not Openfiler?

• iSCSI SAN storage

  Hello

  I am trying to build a practice for VCP certification test lab.  I use Workstation 7.1.4 and ESXi installed on the same host.  Can anyone recommend a good 'free' iSCSI SAN storage virtual appliance?  I went through the market, but wanted to get a recommendation from experts.

  Thank you

  Kim

  There are various products that you can use. E.g. Openfiler, Starwind, open-e or VSA from HP. For the last HP offers especially for VMware Player/workstation demo version.

  André.

• Make Accessible iSCSI SAN-VM via Windows iSCSI initiator

  I have a "total newbie" question that I hope can respond quickly enough.

  I added a new DELL MD3000i SAN to my storage network in order to use this SAN exclusively for Windows virtual machines. I have the vdisks large (2) 4 to 7 to each (Yes, I REALLY need unique and large volumes) defined on the MD3000i. (4) the MD3000i ports are connected to my iSCSI VLANS and have the id default host port 192.168.130.101/102 and 192.168.131.101/102.

  I have a MD3220i installed in the network and working with hosts ESXi 4.1 (2) (192.168.230.101/102, 192.168.231.101/102 of the subnets). I am quite familiar with how to make the storage available to the host via the initiator of the iSCCI, but I know not how to make accessible storage for virtual machines WITHOUT using the host to connect to the iSCSI SAN, create a data store, and then add a new virtual disk to the virtual machine.

  Only the vmnic dedicated to the iSCSI initiator have physical links to iSCSI VLANS (vSwitch01). The network switch has (2) network adapters connected to the network via vSwitch0 "inside".

  Any ideas on the best way to "get there from here"?

  Hello.

  You will need to create a group of ports in virtual machine on the same vSwitch created in your iSCSI ports group.  Give the virtual machine a 2nd NETWORK card and then assign it to the created virtual machine port group previously.

  Good luck!

• Several iSCSI SAN on different VLANS

  I have a little trouble to get this configured.

  In our environment, we have 4 guests and 2 EqualLogic iSCSI San. Each host has 3 NICs dedicated to iSCSI traffic, and they have been implemented to use the plugin for Multipathing of Dell with 3 VMKernel iSCSI ports, each bound to a NETWORK adapter physical and then linked to the iSCSI software adapter.

  We want to add a new SAN QNAP out some VMs test & dev environment of low cost data warehouses. The QNAP San not supporting Jumbo frames, we want to move them to their own VIRTUAL local area network.

  Can someone tell me how I can get this set up? I need of course a new VMKernel port running on the VLAN again, but after that I'm stuck.

  Thank you

  First: the initiator will be gracefully demote by using standard images.

  Second, there is nothing that prevents you from using the same trade for the qnap. If it does not manage the same way MPIO, you may need to add more exchanges and vmknics. If you place moderate to heavy load on the qnap it would interfere with the ability of the EMM to balance the load properly but allows to measure.

  We have a group EQL and a Celerra making MPIO in different ways. With Celerra you add several portals (ip addresses) network on different subnets so ideally you set up your trade in this way. For us, this meant adding a second portgroup and vmknic on each vmnic, resulting in a whole bunch of paths to the Celerra said. If our use of Celerra was far from being weak to non-existent I probably don't have it.

  -Anders

• question of iSCSI san

  Hello everyone,

  I just created my first with software e open iscsi san solution.

  My situation: on the local disk, I put my VM

  I created 4 iscsi data warehouses

  1 will be used to back up my VM and can be reached for Vsphere

  The other 3 serve as a backup for my 3 VMS solution. I am connected to them through the Iscsi initiator in the virtual machine, format them, and now they appear as an additional drive in the virtual machine. I can see them in Vsphere but is no longer in data warehouses, but in devices (because they are formatted as NTFS)

  Now the question:

  Is it possible to see what data is on data warehouses that are formatted to ntfs When you are not connected to the virtual computer?

  When a virtual machine should crash, backupped data should always be saved to disk iscsi, but where can I get it?

  Thanks in advance, onkt

  NTFS is only accessible via windows server only. You can mount the iSCSI drive backup on another virtual computer.

• To access ESXi 4 Update 1 custom server from dell MD3000i iSCSI SAN

  Hello

  I'm brand new on VMware ESX/ESXi products and for the most part, no.  I configured several machines virtual with server 1 and 2.  I am trying to connect a virtual ESXi 4 server in a SAN and starts to become very confused about what I can or not do.  I hope that someone here can break it down for me because I couldn't find the answer to my specific questions.

  Here's how I'm Setup:

  I have a Dell PowerEdge R710 with ESXi 4 Update 1 'Custom Dell' (whatever that means) is installed.

  I have a Dell MD3000i SAN using iSCSI with a pre-configured dedicated virtual disk.

  I would like to create virtual machines on virtual disk said.

  I think that ESXi 4 is completely free.

  It seems that to manage the server, I need to use 1 of the 2 products.  The Vsphere client or web application of VMware Go.

  If I use Vsphere:

  I have the ability to add a type of storage through the user interface.

  I'm on a 60-day trial. I thought that it was free.

  If I configure my iSCSI via Vsphere and then the eval expires... what happens?  All jump on me and then I have to purchase a license to get it back?

  If I use VMware go:

  It seems I don't really have any options to do any kind of configuration iSCSI in VMware Go.  I do?

  I also have a XenServer that is configured in this way and it's all free. I wanted to try the bare metal of VMware solution, but now I wonder if I'll have to go back to Xen.

  Can someone please relieve me of my confusion until I have to pull the plug on this experience.  Maybe direct me to the proper documentation on how to configure what I need with what I have at the cost free-is possible.

  Thanks a lot for your comments and have a wonderful weekend!

  I'd go by QuickStart Webcast and Webcast ESXi Webstart to help get a better understanding.

  Here is a configuration to the MD3000i http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/solutions/esx_storage_deployment_guide_v1.pdf guide

• Assistant can't see iSCSI SAN software

  Hello

  I test StarWind version 5 (www.starwindsoftware.com) with an ESX v3.5

  I have configured an adapter for iScsi (vmhba40) and specific vswitch (only the VMkernel port) software. There are specific NIC for iSCSI traffic and no rule of firewall between ESX and SAN.

  .

  Using the Wizard "Adding storage", I don't see the "iSCSI SAN software.

  Anyone have problems with this software SAN?

  Thank you for your reply,

  Yossi

  REM: to be sure that the Starwind is set correctly, I tried

  connect through Microsoft Initiator. And it has been directly

  Ok.

  You probably followed the white paper of http://www.starwindsoftware.com/images/content/StarWind_HA_ESX.pdf

  ?

  ---

  iSCSI SAN software

  http://www.starwindsoftware.com

• Slow performance read/write on iSCSI SAN.

  This is a new configuration of ESXi 4.0 running virtual machines off a Cybernetics miSAN D iSCSI SAN.

  Having a high data read the test on a virtual machine, it took 8 minutes vs 1.5 minutes the

  the same VM on a slower 1.0 Server of VMWare host with virtual computers on

  local disk.   I look at my reading speed of the SAN, and

  It's getting a little more than 3 MB/s max in reading, and usage of the disk on the virtual computer is slower 3MB/s...horribly.

  The SAN and the server is both connected to the same switch 1 GB.  I followed this guide

  virtualgeek.typepad.com/virtual_geek/2009/09/a-multivendor-post-on-using-iSCSI-w

  ITH-vmware - vsphere.html

  to get the configuration of multiple paths correctly, but I still do not get good

  performance with my VM.   I know that the SAN and network

  must be able to handle more than 100 MB/s, but I am not getting

  it. I have two network cards of GB on the multipath SAN to GB two network cards on the

  ESXi host.  One NETWORK card per VMkernel.  Is there anything else I can check

  or do to improve my speed?  Thanks in advance for advice.

  Another vote for IOMeter.

  Try to test 32K 100% sequential read (and write) with 64 IOs in circulation, this will give sequential performance.  Should be close to 100 Mbps per active path of GigE, depending on how much the storage system can get out.

  Then 32K 0% sequential read (and write) with 64 traffic against a LUN will IOs (say 4 GB +) good test size give a value for IOPS, which is the main factor for virtualization.  Look at the latency, must remain below approximately 50ms usually in order to be able to work if the default 32 IOs in circulation (by host) is OK (say you had six hosts, the table should be able to deliver the random i/o with a latency)<50ms with="" 192="" outstanding="" ios="" (="">

  Do not use the "test connect rate" and cela effectively tests only cached flow, which we are not so interested in any case.

  Please give points for any helpful answer.

• iSCSI SAN, ESX4 Datastore recommended sizing

  Hi all.  I am in the final stages of our construction of vSphere and I'm looking for best practices in terms of sizing of the warehouses of data/Lun on a SAN, iSCSI for several hosts of ESX4.

  What we have:

  Two HP c7000 blade enclosure with three BL460c in each enclosure.

  All servers will run ESX4 and use an iSCSI SAN (Software initiator).

  I'm not sure of the best way to configure these elements.  A large unit number logic holding a large store of data?  A few small LUN each holding a data store? A unit number logic/data store for each ESX host?  I don't want to use vMotion and who could help narrow down the answer.

  Any help that you experienced people from VMware can each give this noob is very much appreciated.

  -Dave

  Dave

  This is my golden rule.

  Virtual machines are mixed on data warehouses to optimize storage efficiency and the efficiency of the I/O - low mix I/O virtual machines with virtual machines I/O high on the same data store.

  VMs per VMFS datastore 12-16 maximum.

  16 VMDK files per VMFS datastore maximum.

  * A VMFS volume per LUN storage.

  * At least 15% to 20% of a VMFS data store should be left as open space to meet requirements such as the virtual machine swap files and snapshots.

  According to your needs - you will initially 30 virtual machines, you must look for set 2 data warehouses-, but the number of vmdk files or e/s for a virtual machine needs can change that.