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Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software
Page 36
The important thing to note is that under the Uplinks section there is only one vmnic assigned to each
iSCSI VMkernel port and that they are evenly distributed across them all.
This can also be done through the vCenter GUI. To configure this from the GUI first navigate to the
Networking section on the ESX host you are configuring. Configuration -> Networking.
From here, click Properties on the vSwitch2.
Select one of the VMkernel Ports, in this example iSCSI1 and click Edit.
From here select the NIC Teaming tab.
Here you are going to select the check box for Override vSwitch Failover Order.
Just like in the CLI example we will assign vmnic2 to iSCSI1. This is done by selecting the adapter that is
not going to be assigned to the VMkernel (vmnic3 in this case) and clicking the Move Down button until it
is listed under Unused Adapters. Click Ok to complete the process. Do this same thing for each of the iSCSI
VMkernel ports so that each VMkernel port is mapped to only one adapter and they are balanced across
them all. In this example we assigned iSCSI1, iSCSI2 and iSCSI3 to vmnic2 and assigned iSCSI4, iSCSI5 and
iSCSI6 to vmnic3.
Step A5: Enable VMware iSCSI Software Initiator
The next step, if it has not been done already, is to enable the iSCSI initiator to prepare the ESX host to
connect to the PowerVault SAN. This can be done either through a CLI command or through the vCenter
GUI.
To enable the iSCSI initiator through the CLI type the following command:
esxcfg-swiscsi –e
This will enable the software iSCSI initiator. To verify that it is enabled type the following
command:
esxcfg-swiscsi –q
This can also be accomplished by using the vCenter GUI.
From the GUI first navigate to Configuration -> Storage Adapters. Select the iSCSI Software Adapter and
click Properties.
Under the General tab click the Configure button. Place a check mark in Enabled and hit Ok.
This will enable the iSCSI initiator and assign a unique iqn to the ESX host.
Step A6: Binding VMkernel Ports to iSCSI Software Initiator
This next step will bind the VMkernel ports that were configured in Step 4 earlier, to the iSCSI Software
Initiator. If this step is skipped there will only ever be a single connection to the PowerVault SAN. This step
must be done via CLI.