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m_crocker
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iSCSI LUNs not visible on ESXi hosts

So i have a bit of a weird one and hoping the wider community can help me figure it out. In my home lab I have 3 x ESXi 5.1 Build 799733 hosts of which 2 x hosts are the same hardware (Intel NUCs) and the other host an old HP slim desktop. I am running Nexenta CE 3.1.3.5 on a HP Microserver which has been providing iSCSI storage to the HP desktop. The 2 new Intel NUC VMware hosts though, I am unable to get any iSCSI storage visible to them. Software iSCSI adapter is enabled, can vmkping the storage from the hosts and the target appears under the static discovery tab. The configuration appears to be identical between the 2 however the hardware is different...I perform a rescan on the host and no devices appear. Now the obvious answer is it must be a security issue on the Nexenta side...but the 3 hosts are all part of the same initiator group. Confirmed and copied the IQN over and over again. I still think it might be a Nexenta issue but maybe it is something else.

Checking the vmkernel.log file contains the following info after a rescan...

2013-06-09T23:49:06.160Z cpu3:2933)VC: 1547: Device rescan time 17 msec (total number of devices 5)

2013-06-09T23:49:06.160Z cpu3:2933)VC: 1550: Filesystem probe time 85 msec (devices probed 4 of 5)

2013-06-09T23:49:06.412Z cpu3:2931)Vol3: 692: Couldn't read volume header from control: Not supported

2013-06-09T23:49:06.412Z cpu3:2931)Vol3: 692: Couldn't read volume header from control: Not supported

2013-06-09T23:49:06.412Z cpu3:2931)FSS: 4972: No FS driver claimed device 'control': Not supported

Anyone got any ideas?

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m_crocker
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Problem solved.

Appears it was an iSCSI port binding issue. There is only a single pNIC in each of these hosts and by enabling vmkernel port bindings on the iSCSI initiator under "Network Configuration" this resulted in the iSCSI target devices not being visible. Removed the vmkernel port binding and performed a rescan. Devices then showed up.

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m_crocker
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Thanks but reading this KB article I think is more relevant. The KB article mentioned above doesn't appear to apply to my situation.

VMware KB: Troubleshooting iSCSI array connectivity issues in VMware ESXi/ESX (multiple versions)

I have gone through and confirmed connectivity is good between the hosts and the Nexenta box again. I forgot to add in the previous post that I have enabled the software SCSI client as an outgoing connection through the firewall.

I might have to spin up a Windows VM and see if I can use iSCSI on that. Could it be possible that it has something to do with the NIC hardware? ESXi 5.1 has the drivers installed for the Intel NIC on the Intel NUC hosts, the network adapter is there so I assume it could use the iSCSI software initiator fine.

If it was a security related issue on Nexenta, would vmkernel or vmkwarning log files log something to indicate this? Any ideas what I would see?

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admin
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Nexenta is not supported for iSCSI in ESX/ESXi as per VMware HCL guide. Only FC and NAS are supported.

VMware Compatibility Guide: Storage/SAN Search

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m_crocker
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Lots of things are unsupported in this configuration...all my hardware is! It is a home lab. Doesn't explain why it doesn't work though, appreciate if I wanted to call VMware support if I were a customer I wouldn't get assistance.

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admin
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No comments on unsupported configuration. Looks like you need to fix it up yourself...

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m_crocker
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I am hoping someone in the community has this configuration up and running...plenty of people using Nexenta in their home labs these days because ZFS kicks a$$!! Will see what other ideas might come about. There must be events in the logs that can pinpoint down the issue...

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m_crocker
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Problem solved.

Appears it was an iSCSI port binding issue. There is only a single pNIC in each of these hosts and by enabling vmkernel port bindings on the iSCSI initiator under "Network Configuration" this resulted in the iSCSI target devices not being visible. Removed the vmkernel port binding and performed a rescan. Devices then showed up.

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