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TomLambrechts
Contributor
Contributor

how to configure iscsi storage via vmware cos (serviceconsole)

Hello,

I'm trying to configure vSphere 5 to boot from iSCSI, but I'm having some issues.
Now I discovered that when you enter the COS during started, I can make a listing of the NIC's and vSwitches.
So I was wondering if someone can share his commandline skills how to configure icsci and make a connection to an iscsi target via de COS/Service Console !!

Thanks in advance !

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dvhorvath
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

I'm not sure I fully understand your question, but if I read it right, it looks like you're trying to boot an ESXi host from iSCSI SAN. As far as I know, this has to be configured in the BIOS of either the hardware iSCSI initiator or the network adapter that supports the iSCSI Boot Firmware Table (iBFT) format. The boot LUN has to be presented to only the host to be booted and, depending on the storage vendor and iSCSI adapter being used, to just one adapter on that host. Once that's been done, you can specify the IP address of the storage array and the iqn of the LUN to be used in the BIOS of the hardware you're using to boot the host. Chapter 11 of the vSphere Storage Guide for vSphere 5.0 has more detail on that process:

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-storage...

I realize that it's quite possible I've completely misunderstood your question. If so, I apologize and you can feel free to disregard this post altogether. The thing that's throwing me here is that you say vSphere 5, but there is no longer a Service Console in 5; it's all ESXi now. And due to the nature of the boot from SAN process, I don't see how that could be configured within an already-installed OS. I think it has to be done using the BIOS of the iSCSI storage adapter being used.

Dave