Manage iSCSI HBA allocation at the Windows side of the iSCSI network

An iSCSI attached integrated Windows® server can use multiple physical iSCSI HBA ports. An iSCSI HBA port can carry traffic for i5/OS® storage paths and virtual Ethernet networks. Several factors influence the nature of the traffic that flows through each iSCSI HBA port for the Windows server.

IP addresses

iSCSI HBA ports can have a SCSI IP address, a LAN IP address, or both types of address. A port with a SCSI IP address can carry storage traffic. A port with a LAN IP address can carry virtual Ethernet traffic.

Boot storage configuration

You select the iSCSI HBA port used to boot Windows with the CTRL-Q utility. After Windows Server has started, the selected iSCSI HBA port will continue to provide a connection to the i5/OS storage path that corresponds to the system drive.

Automatic allocation of iSCSI HBA ports to virtual Ethernet and non-boot storage paths

IBM i5/OS Integrated Server Support includes several applications for Microsoft Windows that automatically read the i5/OS objects that contain the server configuration information. These programs automatically allocate the iSCSI HBA ports to virtual Ethernet and non-boot storage paths.

The following conditions will cause Virtual Ethernet ports to be automatically allocated:

• You start the server (vary on the NWSD).

• You restart Windows Server.

• You restart the IBM iSeries Virtual Ethernet Manager service from Control Panel→ Administrative Tools→ Services.

• You run the command qvndvimr /restart at a Windows command prompt.

• A connection fails. In this case, the affected virtual Ethernet connections are automatically assigned to a different iSCSI HBA port at the hosted system if one is available. Virtual Ethernet will not use the failed connection again until the cause of the failure is corrected and one of the these conditions for virtual Ethernet automatic allocation occurs.

Any of the following things cause non-boot storage path automatic allocation to occur:

• You start the server (vary on the NWSD).

• You restart Windows.

• You restart the IBM iSeries Manager service from Control Panel→Administrative Tools→Services.

• You run the command lvmaster /restart at a Windows command prompt.

Manual allocation of storage to a physical iSCSI HBA port

You can manually allocate storage to a physical iSCSI HBA port. You must have a Windows server with multiple iSCSI HBA ports and an iSeries system with multiple iSCSI HBAs. This task affects iSCSI HBA usage at both sides of the iSCSI network.

Run the qvnimap command at the integrated server console to generate a Storage Device Connection table. Look for all rows in the table that show a physical connection to the desired iSCSI HBA port at the Windows server. Note the path numbers in these rows. If there is more than one path number, decide which one you want to use. Then relink the storage space to that path. For more information about linking disks, see Link a disk drive to an integrated server.

Manual allocation of a virtual Ethernet adapter to a physical HBA port

If you want to override automatic allocation for virtual Ethernet, you can manually allocate an iSCSI HBA port. Do these steps at the integrated server console.

1. Navigate to the Network Connections window.

2. Double-click the IBM iSeries Virtual Ethernet x adapter that you want to configure.

3. Click Properties.

4. Click Configure.

5. Click Advanced.

6. Click Initiator LAN IP Address.

7. Enter the IP address of the iSCSI HBA port in Windows that you want the virtual Ethernet adapter to use for its physical connection.

You can use the qvnimap and qvndvimr commands at the Windows console to view more information about iSCSI HBA allocation. For more information, see Use the qvnimap command to view iSCSI HBA allocation and Display information about virtual Ethernet adapters.