ISCSI Target Service in VMware Virtual SAN 6.5 & 6.6 Step by Step Configuration

With VSAN 6.5 VMware introduced new cool feature ISCSI Target Service. Use the iSCSI target service to enable hosts and physical workloads that reside outside the Virtual SAN cluster to access the Virtual SAN datastore. This feature enables an iSCSI initiator on a remote host to transport block-level data to an iSCSI target on a storage device in the Virtual SAN cluster.

After you configure the Virtual SAN iSCSI target service, you can discover the Virtual SAN iSCSI targets from a remote host. To discover Virtual SAN iSCSI targets, use the IP address of any host in the Virtual SAN cluster, and the TCP port of the iSCSI target. To ensure high availability of the Virtual SAN iSCSI target, configure multipath support for your iSCSI application. You can use the IP addresses of two or more hosts to configure the multipath.

Note:

Virtual SAN iSCSI target service does not support other vSphere or ESXi clients or initiators, third party hypervisors, or migrations using raw device mapping (RDMs).

Virtual SAN iSCSI target service supports the following CHAP authentication methods:

CHAP

In CHAP authentication, the target authenticates the initiator, but the initiator does not authenticate the target.

Mutual CHAP

In mutual CHAP authentication, an additional level of security enables the initiator to authenticate the target.

Description of Few Terms Used in VSAN ISCSI Environment 

iSCSI Targets

You can add one or more iSCSI targets that provide storage blocks as logical unit numbers (LUNs). Virtual SAN identifies each iSCSI target by a unique iSCSI qualified Name (IQN). You can use the IQN to present the iSCSI target to a remote iSCSI initiator so that the initiator can access the LUN of the target.

Each iSCSI target contains one or more LUNs. You define the size of each LUN, assign a Virtual SAN storage policy to each LUN, and enable the iSCSI target service on a Virtual SAN cluster. You can configure a storage policy to use as the default policy for the home object of the Virtual SAN iSCSI target service.

iSCSI Initiator Groups

You can define a group of iSCSI initiators that have access to a specified iSCSI target. The iSCSI initiator group restricts access to only those initiators that are members of the group. If you do not define an iSCSI initiator or initiator group, then each target is accessible to all iSCSI initiators.

A unique name identifies each iSCSI initiator group. You can add one or more iSCSI initiators as members of the group. Use the IQN of the initiator as the member initiator name.

Procedure to Configure VSAN ISCSI Target

1. Enable the ISCSI Target Service. By default this is disabled

  Select VSAN Cluster > Configure Tab >  ISCSI Targets

  Select VSAN Cluster > Configure Tab > General > Edit

Select Enable VSAN iSCSI Target Service > Select VMKernel Port for ISCSI Network > OK

 2. Once Service is Enabled, Add the iSCSI Target and LUN to the ISCSI Target > OK

3. Now i am going to access this LUN in my Windows OS. Configure ISCSI Initiator of Windows OS. Note down the Owner Host detail from VSAN ISCSI Target >  Specify it in ISCSI Initiator > Quick Connect > Status is listed as connected > Done

4. Access Server Manager > File and Storage Services > Volumes > Disks > Verify New disk is listed there. Now format it and use it in your windows os.