Configuring the iSCSI Software Initiator

Add the path for iscsiutil and other iSCSI executables to the root path as:

# PATH=$PATH:/opt/iscsi/bin

See “The iscsiutil tool”, for more information on iscsiutil.

Configure the iSCSI initiator name.

The iSCSI protocol mandates an initiator name for the host iSCSI node.

iSCSI initiator names (iSCSI names) are defined in the iSCSI Qualified Name (iqn) or IEEE EUI-64 (eui) format.

The iSCSI Software Initiator configures a default initiator name in the iqn format.

	NOTE: To display the iSCSI initiator name that has been configured by default, enter: # iscsiutil -l

If the default iSCSI initiator name configured by the iSCSI Software Initiator meets your requirements, skip ahead to item 4.

If you want to change the iSCSI initiator name, read the following overview of the iqn and eui naming formats. For further details, consult the iSCSI protocol specification (RFC 3720) at: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3720.txt

iSCSI Qualified Name (iqn)

A default iSCSI iqn initiator name appears in the following example:

iqn.1986-03.com.hp:hpfcs214.2000853943

The string iqn. identifies this iSCSI initiator name as an iSCSI Qualified Name to distinguish it from an iSCSI initiator name in the "eui." format.

1986-03. is a date code in yyyy-mm format followed by a dot. This date MUST be a date during which the naming authority owned the domain name used in the iqn formated iSCSI initiator name.

com.hp is the reversed domain name of the naming authority (person or organization) that created this iSCSI initiator name.

:hpfcs214 is an optional string that must comply with a character set and length boundaries that the owner of the domain name deems appropriate. The optional string must be preceeded by a colon. The optional string may contain product types, serial numbers, host identifiers, or software keys (e.g, it may include colons to separate organization boundaries). The string following the colon (:) in the example above depicts the hostname (hpfcs214) followed by the partition identifier (2000853943).

With the exception of the colon prefix, the owner of the domain name can designate the content of the optional string. It is the responsibility of the naming authority to ensure the iSCSI names it assigns are unique worldwide.

For example, if the Hewlett-Packard Company owned the domain name "stor.hp.com", registered in 2001, the iSCSI qualified names that might be generated by the Hewlett Packard Company appear in the following example:

                     Naming     String defined by 
        Type  Date    Auth      "stor.hp.com" naming authority
       +--++-----+ +---------+ +--------------------------------+
       |  ||     | |         | |                                |
       
       iqn.2001-04.com.hp.stor:initiator:master-host-ae12345
       
       iqn.2001-04.com.hp.stor:storage.disk2.sys1.xyz
       
       iqn.2001-04.com.hp.stor:storage:diskarrays-sn-a8675309
       
       iqn.2001-04.com.hp.stor

IEEE EUI-64 Name (eui)

An iSCSI initiator name in the eui format appears in the following example:

          Type  EUI-64 identifier (ASCII-encoded hexadecimal)
          +--++--------------+
          |  ||              |
          eui.02004567A425678D

The format is "eui." followed by an EUI-64 identifier (16 ASCII-encoded hexadecimal digits). Any leading zeroes among the16 ASCII-encoded hexadecimal digits, must be specified.

The IEEE Registration Authority provides a service for assigning globally unique identifiers.

The IEEE EUI-64 naming format might be used when a manufacturer is already registered with the IEEE Registration Authority and uses EUI-64 formatted worldwide unique names for it’s products.

Now configure the iSCSI initiator name using the following command:

                    # iscsiutil [iscsi-device-file] -i -N <iSCSI-initiator-name>

where

[iscsi-device-file] is the iSCSI device filepath, /dev/iscsi. It’s use is optional when other options such as -i and -N are included in the command.

-i configures iSCSI initiator information.

-N is the initiator name option. When preceded by -i, it requires the iSCSI Initiator Name as an argument. The first 256 characters of the name string will be stored in the iSCSI persistent information.

<iSCSI-initiator-name> is the initiator name you have chosen, in iqn or eui format.

for example:

# iscsiutil -i -N <initiator name in iqn or eui format>

To display the initiator name for confirmation, enter:

# iscsiutil -l

For each iSCSI target device that is to be statically identified, store  the target device information in the kernel registry.

Add one (or several) discovery target(s):

     # iscsiutil [/dev/iscsi] -a -I <ip-address> [-P <tcp-port>] [-M <portal-grp-tag>]

where

-a adds a discovery target address into iSCSI persistent information. Only discovery target addresses can be added using this option.

-I is the option that requires the IP Address or the Hostname of the discovery target portal address as an argument.

<ip-address> is the IP Address or Hostname component of the target network portal.

[-P <tcp-port>] is the listening TCP port component of the discovery target network portal (optional). The default iSCSI TCP port number is 3260.

[-M <portal-grp-tag>] is the target portal group tag (optional). The default target portal group tag for discovery targets is 1.

for example:

# iscsiutil -a -I 192.1.1.110

or, if the Hostname of the target portal access is used:

# iscsiutil -a -I target.hp.com

If an iSCSI TCP port of the network portal used by a discovery target is different than the default iSCSI port (3260), the TCP port of the network portal used by the discovery target must be specified, for example:

# iscsiutil -a -I 192.1.1.110 -P 5001

or

# iscsiutil -a -I target.hp.com -P 5001

To display the discovery target(s) that have been configured, enter:

# iscsiutil -p -D

To discover the operational target devices, enter:

# /usr/sbin/ioscan -H 255

To create the device files for the targets, enter:

# /usr/sbin/insf -H 255

To display operational targets, enter:

# iscsiutil -p -O