vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-55-storage-guide

Configuring iSCSI Adapters andStorage 11Before ESXi can work with a SAN, you must set up your iSCSI adapters and storage.To do this, you must first observe certain basic requirements and then follow best practices for installingand setting up hardware or software iSCSI adapters to access the SAN.The following table lists the iSCSI adapters (vmhbas) that ESXi supports and indicates whether VMkernelnetworking configuration is required.Table 11‐1. Supported iSCSI adaptersiSCSI Adapter (vmhba) Description VMkernel NetworkingSoftwareIndependent HardwareDependent HardwareUses standard NICs to connect yourhost to a remote iSCSI target on theIP network .Third-party adapter that offloads theiSCSI and network processing andmanagement from your host.Third-party adapter that depends onVMware networking and iSCSIconfiguration and managementinterfaces.RequiredNot requiredRequiredAfter you set up the iSCSI adapters, you can create a datastore on iSCSI storage. For details on how to createand manage datastores, see “Creating Datastores,” on page 139.This chapter includes the following topics:• “ESXi iSCSI SAN Requirements,” on page 76• “ESXi iSCSI SAN Restrictions,” on page 76• “Setting LUN Allocations for iSCSI,” on page 76• “Network Configuration and Authentication,” on page 77• “Setting Up Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters,” on page 77• “Configuring Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters,” on page 78• “Configuring Software iSCSI Adapter,” on page 81• “Modify General Properties for iSCSI Adapters,” on page 82• “Setting Up iSCSI Network,” on page 83• “Using Jumbo Frames with iSCSI,” on page 89• “Configuring Discovery Addresses for iSCSI Adapters,” on page 90VMware, Inc. 75