Master iSCSI: Configure Your Storage Server with Our Installation and Usage Guide

Table of Contents

Setting up an iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) Target is a straightforward and efficient method to establish a network-based storage server. This technology empowers remote devices to seamlessly access and utilize storage resources across a standard TCP/IP network, effectively bridging the gap between storage and servers, regardless of physical location. In this comprehensive guide, we will meticulously walk you through the entire process of installing and configuring an iSCSI Target on your storage server, ensuring you gain a robust understanding and practical skills to implement this powerful storage solution.

Understanding iSCSI: Bridging the Gap in Networked Storage¶

Before diving into the installation and configuration, it’s crucial to understand what iSCSI is and why it’s a valuable technology in modern data centers and IT infrastructures. iSCSI is essentially a transport protocol that operates at the transport layer of the OSI model and builds upon the widely adopted TCP/IP protocol suite. It allows for the block-level SCSI protocol commands to be transported over an IP network. This is significant because SCSI is traditionally used for direct-attached storage (DAS) within servers, known for its performance and reliability in storage operations.

By encapsulating SCSI commands within IP packets, iSCSI effectively extends the capabilities of SCSI beyond the physical confines of a server and into the network. This enables the creation of Storage Area Networks (SANs) using standard Ethernet infrastructure, which is often more cost-effective and easier to manage compared to traditional Fibre Channel SANs.

Key Benefits of iSCSI¶

• Cost-Effectiveness: iSCSI leverages existing Ethernet infrastructure, reducing the need for specialized hardware like Fibre Channel switches and HBAs, leading to significant cost savings.
• Simplified Management: Using familiar IP networking technologies for storage simplifies management and integration with existing network infrastructure. IT administrators can use their existing networking skills to manage iSCSI SANs.
• Scalability and Flexibility: iSCSI SANs can be easily scaled to meet growing storage demands. Adding more storage capacity or expanding the network is often simpler and more flexible compared to DAS.
• Disaster Recovery: iSCSI facilitates remote replication and backup, crucial for disaster recovery strategies. Storage can be located in geographically separate locations and accessed over the network.
• Virtualization Support: iSCSI is an ideal storage solution for virtualized environments. Virtual machines can boot from and store data on iSCSI LUNs, providing centralized and shared storage for virtual infrastructure.

Step-by-Step Guide: Installing and Configuring iSCSI Target¶

Now, let’s proceed with the practical steps to install and configure an iSCSI Target server. We will be focusing on Windows Server for this guide, as it provides a built-in iSCSI Target Server role, simplifying the process.

1. Install the iSCSI Target Server Role¶

Windows Server conveniently includes the iSCSI Target Server Role as a built-in feature. This role transforms your Windows server into a centralized storage provider, capable of offering block-level storage to clients over the network. Enabling this role is the first crucial step.

1.1. Launch Server Manager and Initiate Role Installation¶

1. Open Server Manager. This is typically found on the taskbar or in the Start Menu under “Windows Administrative Tools”. Server Manager is the central console for managing your Windows Server.
2. In the Server Manager dashboard, locate and click on Manage in the top right corner.

3. From the Manage dropdown menu, select Add Roles and Features. This will launch the Add Roles and Features Wizard, guiding you through the installation process.

   

1.2. Select Installation Type¶

1. On the “Before you begin” page of the wizard, review the preliminary information and click Next.

2. In the “Select installation type” window, choose Role-based or feature-based installation. This option allows you to install specific server roles and features, which is what we need for the iSCSI Target Server. Click Next to proceed.

   

1.3. Select Destination Server¶

1. In the “Select destination server” window, ensure Select a server from the server pool is selected. This option is usually pre-selected and suitable for installing roles on the local server.

2. Choose your target server from the server pool. In most cases, it will be the local server you are currently working on. Click Next.

   

1.4. Select Server Roles¶

1. The “Select server roles” window is where you choose the iSCSI Target Server role. Scroll down and locate File and Storage Services. Expand this section by clicking the arrow next to it.
2. Under “File and Storage Services”, expand File and iSCSI Services.

3. Within “File and iSCSI Services”, find iSCSI Target Server and tick the checkbox next to it.

   

4. A popup window might appear asking if you want to add features required for iSCSI Target Server. Click Add Features to automatically include any necessary prerequisites.

5. Click Next to continue.

1.5. Confirm Installation and Complete¶

1. The “Select features” window appears. For iSCSI Target Server, no additional features are typically required. You can review the list and click Next.
2. On the “Confirm installation selections” page, review your choices. Ensure that “iSCSI Target Server” is listed under roles to be installed.
3. Click Install to begin the installation process.
4. Wait for the installation to complete. This might take a few minutes.

5. Once the installation is successful, you will see a “Installation succeeded on [Server Name]” message. Click Close to exit the wizard.

   

With the iSCSI Target Server role successfully installed, you are now ready to configure it and create iSCSI virtual disks.

2. Configure the iSCSI Target Server¶

After installing the iSCSI Target Server role, the next critical phase is configuration. This involves setting up the server to provide block-level storage over the network using the iSCSI protocol. Follow these steps to configure your iSCSI Target server effectively.

2.1. Create an iSCSI Target Folder¶

Before creating iSCSI virtual disks, it is recommended to create a dedicated folder to store these virtual disk files. This helps in organization and management.

1. Choose a suitable directory or partition on your server to store the iSCSI virtual disks. This should be a location with sufficient free space and appropriate performance characteristics.
2. Create a new folder. For example, you can name it “iSCSIVirtualDisks” or something similar. Note down the path to this folder, as you will need it in the next steps.

2.2. Access iSCSI Management in Server Manager¶

1. Open Server Manager again.
2. Click on File and Storage Services located in the left-hand navigation pane.

3. Select iSCSI from the File and Storage Services dashboard. This will bring you to the iSCSI management interface.

   

2.3. Create a New iSCSI Virtual Disk¶

1. In the iSCSI management interface, you will see a section titled “iSCSI Virtual Disks”. To create a new virtual disk, click on the link “To create an iSCSI virtual disk, start the New iSCSI Virtual Disk Wizard”.

2. Alternatively, you can also click on the Tasks menu in the same window and select New iSCSI Virtual Disk. Both options will launch the New iSCSI Virtual Disk Wizard.

   

2.4. Specify Virtual Disk Location¶

1. In the “Virtual Disk Location” window, you have options to select the location of the virtual disk. Choose Select by volume.
2. Under “Select by volume”, choose Type a custom path.
3. Click Browse and navigate to the folder you created in step 2.1 (e.g., “iSCSIVirtualDisks”). Select this folder and click OK.

4. Click Next to proceed.

   

2.5. Name and Describe the Virtual Disk¶

1. In the “Virtual Disk Name” window, provide a descriptive Name for your iSCSI virtual disk. This name will help you identify the disk later. For example, you might name it “VirtualDiskForSQLServer” or “StorageForVMs”.
2. Optionally, add a Description to provide more details about the purpose or usage of this virtual disk.

3. Click Next.

   

2.6. Specify Virtual Disk Size¶

1. In the “Virtual Disk Size” window, specify the Size of the iSCSI virtual disk you want to create. Choose the size based on your storage requirements.

2. You also need to select a Provisioning type. You have three options:

   • Fixed size: Allocates the entire specified size upfront. This offers consistent performance but consumes storage space immediately.
   • Dynamically expanding: Starts with a small size and expands as data is written to it, up to the specified maximum size. This is space-efficient but might have slight performance overhead during expansion.
   • Differencing: Creates a virtual disk that stores only the differences from a parent virtual disk. This is often used in virtualization and snapshot scenarios.

   Choose the provisioning type that best suits your needs and storage strategy. For general use, dynamically expanding is often a good balance of space efficiency and performance.
   3. Click Next.

   

2.7. Configure iSCSI Target¶

1. In the “iSCSI Target” window, you need to configure the iSCSI Target that will expose the virtual disk. Click New iSCSI target.

   

2.8. Name and Describe the iSCSI Target¶

1. In the “Target Name” window, provide a Target name. This is the name that iSCSI Initiators will use to connect to this target. It’s best practice to use a descriptive name, for example, “StorageTarget01” or “SQLServerTarget”.
2. Optionally, add a Description for the target.

3. Click Next.

   

2.9. Specify Access Servers (iSCSI Initiators)¶

1. In the “Access Servers” window, you need to specify which iSCSI Initiators are allowed to connect to this target. Click Add.
2. In the “Add Initiator ID” window, ensure Enter a value for the selected type is selected.
3. Expand the Type dropdown menu and select IP Address.
4. Enter the IP Address of the iSCSI Initiator (client server) that you want to grant access to. You can add multiple initiators by repeating this process.
5. Click OK to add the initiator.

6. Click Next in the “Access Servers” window.

   

2.10. Configure Authentication (CHAP)¶

1. The “Enable Authentication” window allows you to configure CHAP (Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol) for enhanced security. CHAP provides mutual authentication between the iSCSI Target and Initiator.

2. You have options for CHAP:

   • No authentication: Not recommended for production environments due to security risks.
   • One-way CHAP: The initiator authenticates to the target.
   • Mutual CHAP: Both initiator and target authenticate each other, providing stronger security.

   For a more secure setup, it’s highly recommended to select either One-way CHAP or Mutual CHAP. If you choose CHAP, you will need to set a CHAP secret (and optionally a mutual CHAP secret if using mutual CHAP). These secrets will need to be configured on the iSCSI Initiator as well.

   Note: For simplicity in a test environment, you might skip CHAP, but for production, always implement CHAP authentication.
   3. Select your desired authentication option and configure CHAP secrets if necessary.
   4. Click Next.

   

2.11. Review and Complete¶

1. The “Confirm Selections” window presents a summary of your iSCSI virtual disk and target configuration. Review all settings to ensure they are correct.
2. Click Create to finalize the configuration and create the iSCSI virtual disk and target.
3. Wait for the wizard to complete the creation process.

4. Once completed, you will see a “Successfully created iSCSI virtual disk and target” message. Click Close.

   

Your iSCSI virtual disk is now created, and the target is ready to accept connections from authorized iSCSI Initiators.

3. Configure the iSCSI Initiator (Client)¶

With the iSCSI target configured on the server, the next step is to configure the client machine, known as the iSCSI Initiator. The iSCSI Initiator is responsible for initiating the connection to the iSCSI Target, allowing the client to access the storage resources as if they were locally attached disks.

3.1. Launch iSCSI Initiator on the Client Machine¶

1. On the client machine (the server or workstation that needs to access the iSCSI storage), open Server Manager.
2. Go to the Tools menu in the top right corner of Server Manager.

3. Select iSCSI Initiator.

   

4. If this is the first time launching iSCSI Initiator, a prompt might appear asking if you want the iSCSI Initiator service to start automatically. Click Yes to set the service to start automatically. This ensures that the initiator service is running whenever the client machine starts.

   

3.2. Connect to the iSCSI Target¶

1. The iSCSI Initiator Properties window will open. Navigate to the Targets tab.
2. In the “Target” field under the “Targets” tab, enter the IP Address or Hostname of your iSCSI Target server.

3. Click Quick Connect. The iSCSI Initiator will attempt to discover and connect to the target server.

   

4. In the “Discovered targets” section, you should see the iSCSI Target you configured earlier. Select the target from the list.

5. Click Connect.

   

3.3. Configure Authentication on the Initiator (if CHAP is used)¶

1. If you configured CHAP authentication on the iSCSI Target, you need to configure the same CHAP credentials on the iSCSI Initiator.
2. In the “Targets” tab, select the connected target.
3. Click Advanced.
4. In the “Advanced Settings” dialog, navigate to the Authentication tab.
5. If you configured One-way CHAP on the target, check the Enable CHAP log on checkbox and enter the CHAP secret you set on the target server.
6. If you configured Mutual CHAP, select CHAP type as “Mutual CHAP”, check both Enable CHAP log on and Perform mutual authentication, and enter both the CHAP secret and the Mutual CHAP secret.
7. Click OK in the “Advanced Settings” dialog.

8. Click OK in the “iSCSI Initiator Properties” window.

   

3.4. Access and Initialize the iSCSI Disk¶

1. Once the connection is established, the iSCSI disk should be recognized by the client operating system as a new disk.
2. Open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc). You can find it by right-clicking the Start button and selecting “Disk Management” or by searching for it in the Start Menu.
3. You should see the new iSCSI disk listed in Disk Management. It will likely be shown as Offline and Not Initialized.
4. Right-click on the iSCSI disk (usually labeled as “Disk [Number]”) and select Online.

5. Right-click on the disk again and select Initialize Disk. Choose the partition style (GPT or MBR, GPT is recommended for disks larger than 2TB) and click OK.

   

3.5. Create a New Volume and Format¶

1. After initializing the disk, it will show as unallocated space. Right-click on the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume.
2. The New Simple Volume Wizard will start. Click Next.
3. Specify the size for the volume (you can use the entire unallocated space or create smaller partitions). Click Next.
4. Assign a drive letter to the new volume from the dropdown list. Click Next.
5. Choose a file system (NTFS is generally recommended for Windows) and provide a Volume label. You can also choose formatting options like “Perform a quick format”. Click Next.

6. Review your settings and click Finish to create and format the volume.

   

Once formatted, the iSCSI disk is ready to use just like any other local disk on your client machine. You can now store files, install applications, or use it for any purpose you intended.

Adding iSCSI to Your Server: A Recap¶

To summarize, adding iSCSI storage to your server involves these primary steps:

1. Install the iSCSI Target Server role on the designated storage server.
2. Create an iSCSI virtual disk and define it as a Target server, specifying size, location, and provisioning type.
3. Configure network settings to ensure the iSCSI Target server is reachable over the network.
4. Authorize iSCSI Initiators (client servers) to connect to the target, potentially using CHAP authentication for security.
5. Configure the iSCSI Initiator on the client server to connect to the iSCSI Target.
6. Initialize and format the iSCSI disk on the client server to make it usable.

iSCSI Target vs. Initiator: Understanding the Roles¶

It’s essential to differentiate between the iSCSI Target and Initiator:

• iSCSI Target: This is the storage server or device that provides storage resources over the network. It’s the server-side component that hosts the virtual disks and makes them available to clients. In our guide, the Windows Server with the iSCSI Target Server role is the Target.
• iSCSI Initiator: This is the client that connects to the iSCSI Target to access and use the storage resources. It’s the client-side component that initiates the iSCSI connection and mounts the virtual disks as local drives. In our guide, the server or workstation connecting to the iSCSI Target is the Initiator.

In essence, the Target provides the storage, and the Initiator uses it. This client-server relationship is fundamental to how iSCSI operates.

---

By following this comprehensive guide, you have successfully learned how to install and configure an iSCSI Target server and connect to it from an iSCSI Initiator. This knowledge empowers you to create flexible, scalable, and cost-effective storage solutions for your network environment.

Do you have any questions about configuring iSCSI or have you encountered any challenges during the process? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below!