iSCSI has me iSCREAMING

MrBreton

Studying for 70-659 Hyper-V

I'm trying to get a working free iSCSI Target Server up and working in my test environment so I can play with it and my VM hosts.

Tried running the Microsoft iSCSI Target product. MS iSCSI Initiator failed to connect.
Tried the FREEnas open source product. MS iSCSI Initiator failed to connect.

I'm not really interested in spending a lot of time right now learning iSCSI, because I feel I have deviated far too much in my studying.

Is there an idiot-proof NAS that anyone would recommend for practicing clustering VM Hosts?

The free Microsoft iSCSI Target looked simple enough I just couldn't get them to talk!

cyberguypr

Studying for this test right now. I wasnt timing it but it didnt take long to install freenas on an old box and configure everything so the hyper v hosts could connect. Where did you get stuck? What resources are you using to study?

MrBreton

I paid for the Jumpstart class last night, it was good. Gonna' download and rewatch it later right before test. Currently making my way through the VirturalAcademy. And finally I have 3 laptops running Hyper-V and trying to create any scenario they bring up in the videos.

So in installed FreeNAS and got to the GUI from another server.
Changed the IP to a static one.
Went straight to the iSCSI tabs and tried to configure a Target as open as possible.
Allowed "ANY" Initiator, no auth, etc.
I don't know what I'm doing in these settings and honestly guessing. I wish there was a quickstart guide that told me the very minimal basic config for a connection.

cyberguypr

As with many things in life, Freenas can be intimidating if you've never worked with it before. Between targets, extents, devices and volumes it is easy to lose your way. If you are looking for a step by step there's a plethora of videos on youtube on how to set it up. There are also dozens of blogs covering this. Go check those out. They will clear 90% of your questions.

Zartanasaurus

Just read the installation notes on the FreeNAS website. It's not really that hard for a first time user.

jmritenour

I really can't say with regard to FreeNAS or the Microsoft target, I've always used Openfiler for my iSCSI needs in my lab. But in general, you must have a drive/volume ready for use, then add it as an extent when creating the iSCSI target. If using the MS software iSCSI initiator to connect, you you need the add the IP & port of the iSCSI device in the portal of the discovery tab, then then targets should show up on the target tab, if they are properly configured.

MrBreton

Gave FreeNAS another shot today.

Decided to install it on a Virtual Server and have it and Virtual Cluster connect to each other via their own Private Virtual Network.

Well I didn't get far.

After giving FreeNAS a legacy virtual NIC I was able to configure it with an IP.

VirtualFreeNAS 192.168.0.1 255.255.255.0
VirtualServer1 192.168.0.2 255.255.255.0
VirtualServer2 192.168.0.3 255.255.255.0

The servers can ping each other but not FreeNAS, and FreeNAS can't ping the servers, but FreeNAS can ping itself(to confirm settings).

Edit: Seems I'm not the only one.

cyberguypr

I am confused. Were you able to ping before, with the scenario you initially posted? Why did you abandon the original install?

MrBreton

cyberguypr wrote: »

I am confused. Were you able to ping before, with the scenario you initially posted? Why did you abandon the original install?

The original install was at work using a physical VM Host, across a real switch, to a physical FreeNAS server.

I'm at home and a Virtual Server can't ping a Virtual FreeNAS over a virtual network.

Everyone

Did someone say FreeNAS and iSCSI? Budget Laboratory: Part 2 - iSCSI Virtual SAN with FreeNAS 8 | Fix the Exchange!

It doesn't get much easier than that. I have used it with Hyper-V too, but haven't gotten around to posting anything for it. The Microsoft iSCSI Initiator isn't hard to setup either, but again, haven't gotten around to doing a write-up on it.

MrBreton

Everyone wrote: »

Did someone say FreeNAS and iSCSI? Budget Laboratory: Part 2 - iSCSI Virtual SAN with FreeNAS 8 | Fix the Exchange!

It doesn't get much easier than that. I have used it with Hyper-V too, but haven't gotten around to posting anything for it. The Microsoft iSCSI Initiator isn't hard to setup either, but again, haven't gotten around to doing a write-up on it.

If you got FreeNAS 8 visualized in Hyper-V I will be very surprised. I got so fed up I deleted everything and created a virtual FreeNAS server set to DHCP and it couldn't obtain an address so I wrote it off as uncompilable with Hyper-V. (with a legacy adapter)

Edit: And my Host server can't ping it using static IPs.

Everyone

MrBreton wrote: »

If you got FreeNAS 8 visualized in Hyper-V I will be very surprised. I got so fed up I deleted everything and created a virtual FreeNAS server set to DHCP and it couldn't obtain an address so I wrote it off as uncompilable with Hyper-V. (with a legacy adapter)

I'm sorry I should clarify, I run Hyper-V inside of VMWare Workstation 8, and FreeNAS is a VM on Workstation 8 as well, on top of my Windows 7 64bit desktop. I don't have a spare box just for Hyper-V to try it out with, otherwise I would try running FreenNAS on a Hyper-V VM. I have connected Hyper-V to the iSCSI target on my FreeNAS VM without issue though.

cyberguypr

MrBreton wrote: »

If you got FreeNAS 8 visualized in Hyper-V I will be very surprised. I got so fed up I deleted everything and created a virtual FreeNAS server set to DHCP and it couldn't obtain an address so I wrote it off as uncompilable with Hyper-V. (with a legacy adapter)

Edit: And my Host server can't ping it using static IPs.

Now we're talking. I have 3 Freenas hosts: one on Hyper-V, another physical and one on vSphere. I think I know the issue you are talking about. When I set up the Freenas running on Hyper-V the network refused to initialize properly. It grabbed the IP from DHCP but there was no actual network communication. All you gotta do to make it work is go to the Freenas shell (option 9) and type 'ifconfig eth0 down' followed by 'ifconfig eth0 up'. Keep in mind your interface name maybe different. There's a way to automate this within the web GUI but I can't recall where.

Edit: added a PDF with screenshots

MrBreton

This is helpful.

Test1: I tried to take it offline with the settings as-is and no response.


Test2: Started the Virtual DHCP server, Set FreeNAS to DHCP, acquired address, set NIC to down, set NIC to up.

It Worked! I can ping, and access the webGUI!

Test3: Set a static IP and everything stops working again. Cant take the NIC down, no ping.

Seems FreeNAS it only works with DHCP in Hyper-V. OK, that will get me by.

Now onto reading that "Budget Laboratory" article that Everyone posted. If I start at the WebGUI step it should get me by (I hope).

jibbajabba

MrBreton wrote: »

This is helpful.

Test1: I tried to take it offline with the settings as-is and no response.


Test2: Started the Virtual DHCP server, Set FreeNAS to DHCP, acquired address, set NIC to down, set NIC to up.

It Worked! I can ping, and access the webGUI!

Test3: Set a static IP and everything stops working again. Cant take the NIC down, no ping.

Seems FreeNAS it only works with DHCP in Hyper-V. OK, that will get me by.

Now onto reading that "Budget Laboratory" article that Everyone posted. If I start at the WebGUI step it should get me by (I hope).

Maybe it is just easier to install Server 2008R2 somewhere and download the free ISCSI target and use that as a "SAN"

Download: iSCSI Software Target - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details

At least you are familiar with Windows so that should be very easy

MrBreton

jibbajabba wrote: »

Maybe it is just easier to install Server 2008R2 somewhere and download the free ISCSI target and use that as a "SAN"

Download: iSCSI Software Target - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details

At least you are familiar with Windows so that should be very easy

OK, so my studying for Hyper-V was set back 6 days while I created, deleted, recreated, re-networked, simplified, wiped, restarted etc.

Here are all the reasons I couldn't ping:

-FreeNAS won't work with a static IP and visualized in Hyper-V currently.
-Cluster Server Win3's NIC had driver issues causing it to access the internet but fail to respond to any pings. (Was miserable to troubleshoot, came down to 1 switch, 2 wires, 2 servers to figure it out.)
-I suspect a switch was building bad tables and swapped it for an unmanaged switch.

Once I got all those issues cleared up I could finally ping! Oh god it was so painful.

Once the pinging worked, everything flew together. I just blew through a clustered Hyper-V host setup sharing a iSCSI LUN!

VM's are automatically failing over maintaining uptime, the sun is shining, the the below message is bliss.

cyberguypr

MrBreton wrote: »

OK, so my studying for Hyper-V was set back 6 days while I created, deleted, recreated, re-networked, simplified, wiped, restarted etc.

1. That is how you really learn
2. That's what we are here for
3. That REP button is your friend

MrBreton

cyberguypr wrote: »

1. That is how you really learn
2. That's what we are here for
3. That REP button is your friend
[IMG]http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/SiteCollectionImages/Council and Democracy/ArrowDownLeft.gif[/IMG]

It's funny, but I looked to Rep you guys, but couldent find the button, thanks for the "pointer" =-]

Bonus Lusty Hyper-V Cluster Pics