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StarWind iSCSI SAN & NAS: Configuring 3-node HA Shared Storage for vSphere

This document refers to the previous StarWind Virtual SAN version. To view the document for the current version, please follow this link

INTRODUCTION

CREATING AN HA DEVICE

This technical paper describes only creation of the first disk, since the procedure of creating the second one is alike.

1. Open a StarWind configuration file.

Note: The default path is C:\Program Files\StarWind Software\StarWind\StarWind.cfg

2. Find the string “<!–<iScsiDiscoveryListInterfaces value=”1″/> –>” and uncomment it (should look as follows: <iScsiDiscoveryListInterfaces value=”1″/>).

3. Restart StarWind Service and repeat the same procedure on other StarWind HA nodes.

4. Launch StarWind Management Console: Start -> All Programs -> StarWind Software -> StarWind.

Note: The StarWind Console icon appears in the system tray when the Console is running. To open StarWind Management Console, double-click the icon or right-click it and then select Start Management Console from the shortcut menu.

5. Select the server you want to provide with the iSCSI target device from the Console tree. Double-click the host to connect.

Note: If you are prompted to enter login and password, specify “root” and “starwind”, relatively. These are the default login and password, but you can always change them later.

6. After connecting to StarWind Service, you can create devices and targets on the server. Open Add Device Wizard by one of the following ways:

  • Select Add Device from the Target menu.
  • Select Add Device from the Devices shortcut menu (right-click to open it).

7. Add Device Wizard appears. Please, follow the wizard’s steps to complete creation of a new HA device.

8. Select High Availability Device.

9. Click Next to continue.

10. Click Add to add a new host. Enter authentication and host information in the Specify Host dialog.

11. Click Next to continue.

12. Specify corresponding information in the Target Alias and Target Name text fields.

Note: The name must be unique. Under this name the device is declared to the iSCSI initiators connecting to the StarWind Service over an IP-network.

13. Click to specify the name and location of an HA virtual disk on the server. If you need to create new virtual disks, select the Create New checkbox.

14. Click Next to continue.

15. Configure data synchronization and Heartbeat channel parameters.

16. Click Next to continue.

17. Specify cache parameters of the HA device.

18. Click Next to continue.

19. Select an initialization method of the HA device.

Note: It is recommended to use the Clear virtual disk option.

20. Click Next to continue.

21. Check whether device parameters are correct. Click Back to make any changes.

22. Click Next to continue.

23. Click Finish to close the wizard.

Follow the similar procedure to create the second HA device.

CONFIGURING ESX SEVERS

1. Launch VMware vSphere Client: Start -> All Programs -> VMware -> VMware vSphere Client.

2. Specify IP-address of the VMware vCenter Server, enter login and password.

3. Click Login to enter.

4. Click the Hosts and Clusters icon from the Inventory panel of the vSphere Client window.

5. Right-click an existing datacenter and select New Cluster. If needed, click New Datacenter to first create a new datacenter.

6. The New Cluster Wizard appears. Specify a name of the cluster.

7. Click Next until the wizard is closed.

8. Right-click the cluster to add a host. Select Add Host.

9. Add Host Wizard appears. Specify a host name or IP address, enter username and password.

10. Click Next to continue.

11. Check whether the specified information is correct and click Next to continue.

12. Assign the license key to the host.

13. Click Next to continue.

14. Click Finish to close the wizard.

15. Follow the same procedure for another host.

16. Select a host.

17. Select the Configuration tab and choose the Networking item from the Hardware pane.

18. Click Add Networking.

19. The Add Network Wizard appears. Click the VMkernel option button.

20. Click Next to continue.

21. Click the Create a vSphere standard switch option and select the appropriate network card checkbox.

22. Click Next to continue.

23. Select the Use this port group for vMotion and Use this port group for management traffic checkboxes.

24. Click Next to continue.

25. Specify IP settings in the relative text fields.

26. Click Next.

27. Click Finish to close the wizard.

28. Follow the same procedure to create the second VMkernel of the third vSwitch.

29. Follow the same procedure for another host in the cluster.

Configuring an iSCSI Initiator

1. Select a host.

2. Click the Configuration tab and select the Storage Adapters item from the Hardware pane.

3. Click Add and select Add software iSCSI Adapter. Click OK.

4. The list of the available storage adapters appears. Select iSCSI Software Adapter.

5. Click the Properties link.

6. Switch to the Dynamic Discovery tab.

7. Add each of the StarWind servers by clicking Add and specifying a server IP-address.

8. Click Close. Click Yes to rescan for new iSCSI LUNs.

9. Follow the same procedure for another cluster host.

Setting up a Datastore

1. Select a host from the Console tree.

2. Click the Configuration tab and select the Storage item from the Hardware pane.

3. Click Add Storage.

4. The Add Storage window appears. Select Disk/LUN option.

5. Click Next to continue.

6. Select the device.

7. Click Next to continue.

8. Review the current disk layout.

9. Click Next to continue.

10. Enter a datastore name in the appropriate text field.

11. Click Next to continue.

12. Set the Disk/LUN formatting options.

13. Click Next to continue.

14. Check the device parameters and click Back to make any changes.

15. Click Finish to close the wizard. A new datastore appears.

16. Check another host for a new datastore. If a new datastore is not listed among the existing datastores, click Rescan All.

17. Follow the same procedure for another storage device. A new datastore appears.

18. To add the HA feature right-click the cluster and select Edit Settings.

19. In the Cluster Settings window select the Turn on vSphere HA checkbox.

20. Click OK.

 

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Dmytro Malynka
Dmytro Malynka StarWind Virtual SAN Product Manager
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