iSCSI for AIX and VIO Server

Introduction and Configuration

Andreas Leibl (andreas.leibl@rstc-ltd.co.uk)

RSTC Ltd, Bristol, UK

STG Technical Conferences 2009 © 2009 IBM Corporation

Monday, 19 October 2009

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Andreas Leibl

 RSTC Ltd
 based in Bristol, UK
 and Ulm, Germany
 http://www.rstc-ltd.co.uk/

 Email: andreas.leibl@rstc-ltd.co.uk

 If you have any questions about the talk feel free to send me an
email!

 Or contact me in
 LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/aleibl
 Xing: https://www.xing.com/profile/Andreas_Leibl

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Questions?

 If you have a question ask right away

 If you don’t ask I can’t answer!

 Or email me later: andreas.leibl@rstc-ltd.co.uk

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What you should know already....

 AIX administration in general

 Device and disk management in AIX

 TCP/IP configuration in AIX

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Agenda
 What is iSCSI?

 iSCSI storage example: Openfiler

 Configuring iSCSI targets

 Configuring iSCSI in AIX

 Configuring iSCSI in the Virtual I/O (VIO) Server

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What is iSCSI?

 Open standard RFC 3720

 (http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3720)

 SCSI commands over IP

 Does not require dedicated, special-purpose cabling like

Fibre Channel (FC)

 Allows to build Storage Area Networks (SAN) over an existing

infrastructure

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What does iSCSI offer?

 Offers block devices like FC

 Not to be confused with Network Attached Storage

 Although many NAS devices also offer iSCSI
 NAS refers to filesystem type exports like NFS or SMB/CIFS

 Long distances supported (although signal run-time might be an

issue)

 Can be an alternative to FC or an intermediate step for storage

consolidation

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How does iSCSI work?

 Uses TCP/IP
 typically ports 860 and 3260

 iSCSI client is called initiator

 typically an AIX, Linux or other operating system

 Initiators can be hardware or software

 Hardware: dedicated iSCSI adapters
 Software: operating system

 iSCSI “server” is called target

 Storage arrays
 NAS gateways
 Some operating systems or appliances like Openfiler
 Disks are LUNs associated with a target

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Support for iSCSI?

 Basically in all modern operating systems

 AIX supports iSCSI since AIX 5.2

 Power Systems can boot from iSCSI

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Address formats in iSCSI

 Three formats

 Most common: iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN)

 Format: iqn.yyyy-mm.<reversed domain name>:<arbitrary text>
 Example: iqn.2009-10.uk.co.rstc-ltd.openfiler02:disk.for.tlpar1.rootvg

 Extended Unique Identifier (EUI)

 Format: eui.<EUI-64 bit address>
 Example: eui.1234567890ABCDEF

 T11 Network Address Authority (NAA)

 Format: naa.<NAA 64 or 128 bit identifier>
 Example: naa.1234567890ABCDEF

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Addressing initiators and targets in iSCSI

 To address an iSCSI participant (target or initiator) one requires:

 Hostname or IP address
 e.g. openfiler02.mydomain.com, 192.168.178.99

 Port number
 usually 3260

 iSCSI name
 e.g. iqn.2009-10.uk.co.rstc-ltd.openfiler02:disk.for.tlpar1.rootvg

 A CHAP secret
 Authentication with CHAP secrets is optional

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Name Service for iSCSI: iSNS

 Internet Storage Name Service (iSNS)

 Management Model analogue FC SANs

 Useful for large iSCSI deployments

 Not covered in this talk

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iSCSI Authentication

 Authentication is optional

 Authentication by CHAP protocol

 challenge-response
 three-way handshake

 No clear text passwords

 But vulnerable to certain attacks

 need to choose the passwords carefully

 Mitigation: restrict network access

 VLANs
 IPSec
 Other VPNs

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iSCSI Access Control

 In addition to authentication LUN mapping prevents unauthorized

access

 Analogue to SAN LUN mapping

 Targets (disks, tapes) are explicitly mapped to initiators

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Advantages of iSCSI over FC

 Can use existing IP infrastructure

 Even if dedicated infrastructure is deployed (switches, cards) the

price is significantly lower

 iSCSI storage devices usually attractively priced

 iSCSI storage can be created using standard hardware

 Ideal for less critical data

 Test systems
 Less frequently accessed data
 Data with less strict requirements on latency
 Temporary data
 Scratch data

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iSCSI Performance Considerations

 Throughput depends on free network bandwidth

 Special iSCSI cards can increase speed and reduce latency and
CPU load

 Alternatively, ethernet cards with TCP Offload Engine (TOE) can

provide a performance boost

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iSCSI Storage

 Dedicated storage systems, e.g. IBM N series

 N3000 (up to 68TB)
 N5000 (up to 504TB)
 N6000 (up to 804TB)
 N7000 (up to 1.176PB)

 iSCSI to SAN gateway

 e.g. IBM System Storage N series Gateway

 Most Unix servers (including Linux and AIX)

 Standard PC/Linux based appliances

 e.g. Openfiler

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Agenda
 What is iSCSI?

 iSCSI storage example: Openfiler

 Configuring iSCSI targets

 Configuring iSCSI in AIX

 Configuring iSCSI in the Virtual I/O (VIO) Server

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What is Openfiler

 Openfiler is a Linux based appliance (x86 and x64)

 Can be installed natively (bare metal) or in a virtual machine

 VMware
 Xen
 Virtual Iron
 Parallels

 Free download: http://www.openfiler.com/

 Support not free

 Disclaimer: not affiliated with Openfiler

 The author, RSTC Ltd and IBM are not affiliated with the Openfiler project

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Openfiler Features

 Web-based interface

 Not only iSCSI

 NFS
 SMB/CIFS
 FTP
 Rsync

 Storage Consolidation

 Alternative SAN gateway

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Agenda
 What is iSCSI?

 iSCSI storage example: Openfiler

 Configuring iSCSI targets

 Configuring iSCSI in AIX

 Configuring iSCSI in the Virtual I/O (VIO) Server

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iSCSI targets

 Need to select an iSCSI name

 e.g. iqn.2009-10.uk.co.rstc-ltd.openfiler02:disk.for.tlpar1.rootvg
 Text after the colon is useful to identify a target and it’s purpose

 Should select a CHAP secret

 CHAP secrets are optional but highly recommended
 Choose different secrets for different initiators

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Creating an iSCSI target in Openfiler

 Go to “Volumes” - “iSCSI Targets”

 In “Target IQN” enter a new name or select the generated default

 Hit the add button

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Creating an iSCSI target disk in Openfiler

 Go to “Volume Groups”

 Enter the disk details and select type “iSCSI”

 Hit the create button

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Map the disk to the target device

 Go to “iSCSI targets”

 Select the target IQN

 Go to the “LUN Mapping” tab

 Click on the “Map” button

 You’re done (on the storage side)

25 iSCSI for AIX and VIOS | Introduction and Configuration © 2009 IBM Corporation

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Agenda
 What is iSCSI?

 iSCSI storage example: Openfiler

 Configuring iSCSI targets

 Configuring iSCSI in AIX

 Configuring iSCSI in the Virtual I/O (VIO) Server

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Configuring iSCSI in AIX: iSCSI Adapter or Protocol Device

 If a special iSCSI card is installed configure iSCSI Adapter

 If normal ethernet adapter is used configure iSCSI Protocol Device

 SMIT shortcut: smit iscsi

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Configuring iSCSI in AIX: iSCSI Adapter or Protocol Device

 Example: iSCSI Protocol Device

Change / Show Characteristics of an iSCSI Protocol Device

Type or select values in entry fields.

Press Enter AFTER making all desired changes.

[Entry Fields]
iSCSI Protocol Device iscsi0
Description iSCSI Protocol Device
Status Available File or ODM
iSCSI Initiator Name [iqn.clienthostname.ho> or iSNS
Maximum number of commands to queue to driver [200] +#
Discovery Policy file +
Maximum Targets Allowed [16] +#
Apply change to DATABASE only no +

F1=Help F2=Refresh F3=Cancel F4=List

Esc+5=Reset Esc+6=Command Esc+7=Edit Esc+8=Image
Esc+9=Shell Esc+0=Exit Enter=Do

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Configuring iSCSI in AIX: Target Configuration

 Flat file configuration

 simple
 easy to understand and debug
 not suitable for disks needed during boot time
 ideal to get started

 ODM configuration
 suitable for boot disks

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iSCSI Flat File Configuration in AIX

 Configuration file: /etc/iscsi/targets

 Format: one line per target (fields separated by spaces)

 Hostname or IP address
 Port number (usually 3260)
 IQN
 CHAP secret (optional)

 Example:
10.1.2.3 3260 iqn.2006-01.com.of:tsn.tmachine1.t01 "bigsecret"

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iSCSI ODM Configuration in AIX

 Set the iSCSI protocol device to “odm”

 smit iscsi
 “Add an iSCSI Target Device in ODM” - “Add a Statically Discovered iSCSI Target
Device in ODM”

Add a Statically Discovered iSCSI Target Device in ODM

Type or select values in entry fields.

Press Enter AFTER making all desired changes.

[Entry Fields]
iSCSI Adapter iscsi0
iSCSI Target Name []
IP Address of iSCSI Target []
Port Number of iSCSI Target []
Password []

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Discovering an iSCSI disk: cfgmgr

 Example: iSCSI Protocol Device

# cfgmgr -vl iscsi0

----------------
Attempting to configure device 'iscsi0'
Time: 0 LEDS: 0x25b0
Invoking /usr/lib/methods/cfgiscsi -l iscsi0
Number of running methods: 1
----------------
Completed method for: iscsi0, Elapsed time = 0
Return code = 0
***** stdout *****
hdisk1
*** no stderr ****
----------------
...
...

# lsdev -Cc disk

hdisk0 Available Virtual SCSI Disk Drive
hdisk1 Available Other iSCSI Disk Drive

32 iSCSI for AIX and VIOS | Introduction and Configuration © 2009 IBM Corporation

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Agenda
 What is iSCSI?

 iSCSI storage example: Openfiler

 Configuring iSCSI targets

 Configuring iSCSI in AIX

 Configuring iSCSI in the Virtual I/O Server

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Configuring iSCSI on the VIO Server

 iSCSI for VIO Server is supported

 VIOS command line interface (CLI) does not offer iSCSI

configuration commands

 Need to use oem_setup_env

 Configuration identical to normal AIX

 VIOS is an AIX based appliance

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Questions?

Thank you for your attention!

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