vSphere Storage - ESXi 5.1 - Documentation - VMware
vSphere Storage - ESXi 5.1 - Documentation - VMware
vSphere Storage - ESXi 5.1 - Documentation - VMware
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The 16-hexadecimal digits are text representations of a 64-bit number of an IEEE EUI (extended unique<br />
identifier) format. The top 24 bits are a company ID that IEEE registers with a particular company. The lower<br />
40 bits are assigned by the entity holding that company ID and must be unique.<br />
iSCSI Initiators<br />
To access iSCSI targets, your host uses iSCSI initiators. The initiators transport SCSI requests and responses,<br />
encapsulated into the iSCSI protocol, between the host and the iSCSI target.<br />
Your host supports different types of initiators.<br />
For information on configuring and using iSCSI adapters, see Chapter 11, “Configuring iSCSI Adapters and<br />
<strong>Storage</strong>,” on page 77.<br />
Software iSCSI Adapter<br />
A software iSCSI adapter is a <strong>VMware</strong> code built into the VMkernel. It allows your host to connect to the iSCSI<br />
storage device through standard network adapters. The software iSCSI adapter handles iSCSI processing while<br />
communicating with the network adapter. With the software iSCSI adapter, you can use iSCSI technology<br />
without purchasing specialized hardware.<br />
Hardware iSCSI Adapter<br />
A hardware iSCSI adapter is a third-party adapter that offloads iSCSI and network processing from your host.<br />
Hardware iSCSI adapters are divided into categories.<br />
Dependent Hardware<br />
iSCSI Adapter<br />
Independent Hardware<br />
iSCSI Adapter<br />
Depends on <strong>VMware</strong> networking, and iSCSI configuration and management<br />
interfaces provided by <strong>VMware</strong>.<br />
This type of adapter can be a card that presents a standard network adapter<br />
and iSCSI offload functionality for the same port. The iSCSI offload<br />
functionality depends on the host's network configuration to obtain the IP,<br />
MAC, and other parameters used for iSCSI sessions. An example of a<br />
dependent adapter is the iSCSI licensed Broadcom 5709 NIC.<br />
Implements its own networking and iSCSI configuration and management<br />
interfaces.<br />
An example of an independent hardware iSCSI adapter is a card that either<br />
presents only iSCSI offload functionality or iSCSI offload functionality and<br />
standard NIC functionality. The iSCSI offload functionality has independent<br />
configuration management that assigns the IP, MAC, and other parameters<br />
used for the iSCSI sessions. An example of a independent adapter is the QLogic<br />
QLA4052 adapter.<br />
Hardware iSCSI adapters might need to be licensed. Otherwise, they will not appear in the client or <strong>vSphere</strong><br />
CLI. Contact your vendor for licensing information.<br />
Establishing iSCSI Connections<br />
Chapter 10 Using <strong>ESXi</strong> with iSCSI SAN<br />
In the <strong>ESXi</strong> context, the term target identifies a single storage unit that your host can access. The terms storage<br />
device and LUN describe a logical volume that represents storage space on a target. Typically, the terms device<br />
and LUN, in the <strong>ESXi</strong> context, mean a SCSI volume presented to your host from a storage target and available<br />
for formatting.<br />
Different iSCSI storage vendors present storage to servers in different ways. Some vendors present multiple<br />
LUNs on a single target, while others present multiple targets with one LUN each. While the way the storage<br />
is used by <strong>ESXi</strong> is similar, the way the information is presented through administrative tools is different.<br />
<strong>VMware</strong>, Inc. 73
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