TheKenApp
Contributor
Contributor

Creating an iSCSI vmkernel port in dvswitch: vSphere 5.1

Hi. The documentation is not all that clear on this point, so posting this here. I have a vSphere 5.1 implementation consisting of ESXi hosts with 12 physical NICs. I dedicated 4 NICs for iSCSI, and the rest are used for FT, management, virtual-machines, and vMotion.

I created one dVswitch. I have already created vmkernel port for management, vMotion and FT traffic on the appropriate adapters for that traffic, but there does not appear to be iSCSI services available for vmkernels in 5.1. My question is this: Do I just create an iSCSI vmkernel adapter with no services associated with it, or do I need to create a standard switch for iSCSI traffic?
Thanks.

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MKguy
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

but there does not appear to be iSCSI services available for vmkernels in 5.1. My question is this: Do I just create an iSCSI vmkernel adapter with no services associated with it, or do I need to create a standard switch for iSCSI traffic?

That's correct, it may be a bit confusing but there is no specific checkbox for just the software iSCSI vmkernel port function. So just create a new vmkernel port and leave the 3 options unchecked. You don't need to create a separate vSwitch.

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TheKenApp
Contributor
Contributor

Thank you so much MKguy!

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