StarWind FAQ

iSCSI SAN Storage Software / Resources / StarWind FAQ

General

Q. I have restarted both HA nodes and now both nodes are shown as not synchronized. How can I fix this?

A. When you shut down both nodes of the HA cluster incorrectly StarWind is not able to determine which node holds the most recent data . So it simply blocks all the incoming connections until the synchronization begins. If you know for sure which node was shut down first – you can begin full synchronization from it. If you are not sure about it – delete the HA targets from the StarWind Management console, mount HA images as basic targets, choosing to use “Custom header” and set it to 1024 (for StarWind 5.4 and earlier) or 65536 (for StarWind 5.5 or later). Check which node has the most recent data, remove the target and recreate the HA device running the synchronization in appropriate direction.
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Q. What are prerequisites to install StarWind?

A. StarWind requires installing only Microsoft iSCSI Initiator for its work. You can find the installation instructions in the following manual: http://www.starwindsoftware.com/configuring-ha-storage-for-win-server-2003-and-2008.
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Q. When I write the data to the target I`m not able to see it on other client machine which has the same disk connected. Why?

A. iSCSI is a block-level protocol, and not file-level like NAS . So, to provide access to one file from multiple servers you need to use clustered file system on target. You can use commercial or open-source solutions for this. StarWind Software recommends partner’s commercial products : MetaSAN by Tiger Technology, MelioFS by SanBolic or DataPlow SFS by DataPlow.
http://www.starwindsoftware.com/using-metasan-to-share-iscsi-volumes
http://www.starwindsoftware.com/using-dataplow-sfs-to-share-iscsi-volumes
In case of using ESX(i) example of such clustered file system is VMFS, while in Hyper-V clusters it is Clustered Shared Volume (http://www.starwindsoftware.com/cluster-shared-disk-resources-for-hyper-v).
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Q. How can I change Heartbeat or Synchronization Channel IPs?

A. You cannot do that on the fly. However, it can be accomplished without downtime by the following steps:

1. Remove the HA partner on the node 2.
2. Right-click on the remaining HA target (on the node 1) and click the Switch to new HA partner command.
3. In the wizard that appears, remount the image file of the node 2 (which was previously used for the HA device) and specify the proper IP addresses for the Heartbeat and Synchronization channels.
4. Reconnect the created target to the client server.

Note: We recommend to make this operation during the off-hours when the network is not loaded.
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Q. Why is StarWind not utilizing all the available bandwidth of the network channel?

A. We recommend you to take a look at our special guide on the forum. It describes instructions and tweaks that you may apply to achieve better performance: http://www.starwindsoftware.com/forums/starwind-f5/recommended-tcp-settings-t2293.html
If you still face with low performance even after implementing the appropriate tweaks and checking the hardware please contact our support team: http://starwindsoftware.com/support
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Q. Where can I find the release information and version changelog?

A. This information can be found in our press release section and on the forum:
http://www.starwindsoftware.com/news
http://www.starwindsoftware.com/forums/starwind-f5/starwind-the-most-recent-version-t2069.html
This information is also included in our newsletter.
Changelog can be found on the forum. It can be also reviewed during StarWind installation process and later as a changelog.txt file in the StarWind installation folder.
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Q. Where can I get latest version of StarWind?

A. You can get it on our customer portal any time!
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Q. What cache is better to use, WriteBack or WriteThrough? And what does expiry period mean?

A. We highly recommend using WriteBack caching. Write Back caching improves write speed and lowers the latency unlike WriteThrough caching which improves only the read speed. Cache expiry period is the timeframe data is kept in cache from the moment of the last access till the moment it is flushed to the disk.
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Q. What is heartbeat?

A. Heartbeat is an advanced mechanism which is used to avoid data corruption in case of synchronization channel failure. If data can`t be transferred through the synchronization channel StarWind checks availability of the second node through the alternate network interface, and shuts down secondary node in case of synchronization channel failure.
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Citrix Xen Server

Q. Citrix Xen Server doesn`t see any StarWind target. How can I enable Xen Server-compatible discovery?

A. Please, edit StarWind.cfg file as described in the following manual and restart the service - http://www.starwindsoftware.com/using-with-citrix-xen-server.
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Windows Server

Q. Windows Server doesn`t see my HA target as one disk. Why?

A. You need to install MPIO (MultiPath I/O) Feature to make Windows recognize the HA devices properly. You can find how to do it in the following manual http://www.starwindsoftware.com/configuring-ha-storage-for-win-server-2003-and-2008 for Windows 2003(R2), Windows Server 2008 (R2).
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Q. Does StarWind supports Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) in Hyper-V clusters?

A. Yes, StarWind iSCSI target fully supports SCSI-3 required to build a Hyper-V cluster. You can find how to make CSV in the following manual http://www.starwindsoftware.com/cluster-shared-disk-resources-for-hyper-v
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VMware vSphere

Q. Does StarWind supports both ESX and ESXi?

A. Yes, StarWind fully supports both hypervizors.
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StarWind FAQ

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General

Citrix Xen Server

Windows Server

VMware vSphere

General

Citrix Xen Server

Windows Server

VMware vSphere