Microsoft iSCSI + Multipath Connections?

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Hexland

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Jan 17, 2012
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I have two machines - Windows Server and FreeNAS. FreeNAS has a couple of iSCSI drives exposed, and I'm using the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator to mount them as NTFS volumes.
Each machine has 2 x Gb NIC's

Windows
- 192.168.1.4 (Intel NIC -- Direct connection to FreeNAS via a crossover cable)
- 192.168.10.4 (Broadcom NIC -- Home LAN)

FreeNAS
- 192.168.1.5 (Intel NIC -- Direct connection to Windows via a crossover cable)
- 192.168.10.5 (Broadcom NIC -- Home LAN)

There is a dedicated NIC on each machine so that FreeNAS and Windows can maximize iSCSI transfers. There is an additional NIC on each machine which connects them to the LAN via various switches, etc.

Right now, everything is set up to use only the dedicated 192.168.1.x network for iSCSI traffic, but with the Multipath option in the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator - wouldn't it be possible to load balance traffic between the two machines, using BOTH networks?

I had a fiddle around, but couldn't really see how to achieve it.
Would I need to add both subnets to the main iSCSI portal? How would I configure it on the Windows end?

I'm curious -- has anyone else tried this?
 

jgreco

Resident Grinch
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May 29, 2011
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No clue on the Microsoft side of things. On the FreeNAS side of things, however:

1) Add a new portal for 192.168.10.5:3260, in the Portals dialog, by editing your existing entry, and do it on a separate line if you want it to work ;-) You do NOT need to "Add Portal" unless you want to deal with a new group number.

2) Under "Authorized Initiator", add 192.168.10.4 to the list of authorized networks for your existing entry, and do it on a separate line if you want it to work. Again, do not add a new entry unless you want to deal with a new group number.

3) ....???

4) iSCSI Fun!

No but seriously that ought to be fine. Step 3) is your Microsoft side... you get to deal with that fun. What you will want to keep an eye on is "netstat -an|grep 3260" in the FreeNAS CLI, to see what FreeNAS is listening on, and what is connected to FreeNAS.

Multipathing like this appears to work fine with VMware ESXi.
 
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