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Less known Solaris Features: iSCSI - Part 1: Introduction
Saturday, March 22. 2008
With more and more available bandwidth it gets more and more feasible to use only a single network to transmit data in the datacenter. Networking can get really complex when you have to implement two networks. For example for Ethernet and one for FC. It´s getting more complex and expensive, as FC network are mostly optical ones and Ethernet is a copper network in most datacenters.
The idea of using a single network for both isn´t really a new one, thus there were several attempts to develop mechanisms to allow the usage of remote block devices. One of the protocols to use block devices over IP networks is iSCSI. iSCSI is a protocol that was designed to allow clients to send SCSI commands to SCSI storage devices on a remote server.
There are other technologies like ATA or FC over Ethernet that were designed , but iSCSI is the most interesting one from my point of view, as you can use already existing and proven methods implemented for IP (for example IPsec) for encrypting the traffic.
The problem with iSCSI is the latency introduced with the usage of IP. But this problem can be solved by the usage of iSER or "iSCSI Extensions for RDMA" to use iSCSI as part of single-fabric network based on Infiniband. We already implement this mechanism in Solaris as a part of the COMSTAR project.
Yet another technology with it´s own jargon. I will only define the most important:
The combination of all this components can be visualized like in this figure:
It´s a little bit simplified, but this is the core idea of iSCSI: How do i present a LUN on a remote server to another server via an IP network.
There are other technologies like ATA or FC over Ethernet that were designed , but iSCSI is the most interesting one from my point of view, as you can use already existing and proven methods implemented for IP (for example IPsec) for encrypting the traffic.
The problem with iSCSI is the latency introduced with the usage of IP. But this problem can be solved by the usage of iSER or "iSCSI Extensions for RDMA" to use iSCSI as part of single-fabric network based on Infiniband. We already implement this mechanism in Solaris as a part of the COMSTAR project.
The jargon of iSCSI
Yet another technology with it´s own jargon. I will only define the most important:
- Initiator: The initiator is the client at iSCSI. It´s like the SCSI card in your machine, but instead of a SCSI cable it uses IP for the SCSI commands.
- Target: The target is a storage resource on a iSCSI server.
- LUN: A LUN is the "logical unit number". It represents an individual SCSI device. In iSCSI it´s similar. When you want to use an iSCSI disk drive, the initiator connects the target and connects the initiator with the LUN in a iSCSI session.
- IQN: To identify a target or an initato, one of the naming schemes is the iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN). An example for an IQN is iqn.1986-03.com.sun:02:b29a71fb-ff60-c2c6-c92f-ff13555977e6
The architecture of iSCSI
The combination of all this components can be visualized like in this figure:
It´s a little bit simplified, but this is the core idea of iSCSI: How do i present a LUN on a remote server to another server via an IP network.
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Hi,
The article is excellent and very informative.
One query I have though, is when I remove the LUNS they remain in format until I reboot the host.
Is there any command or command sequence I can use to rescan that will clear these from format?
Thanks
Kevin.
The article is excellent and very informative.
One query I have though, is when I remove the LUNS they remain in format until I reboot the host.
Is there any command or command sequence I can use to rescan that will clear these from format?
Thanks
Kevin.
#1
on
2009-08-28 02:02
Try:
devfsadm -C -i iscsi
The -C switch says to clean up dangling /dev entries which should remove them from format as well.
--Dave
devfsadm -C -i iscsi
The -C switch says to clean up dangling /dev entries which should remove them from format as well.
--Dave
#1.1
on
2009-10-27 23:39
Thanks Dave,
Tried that, but that will only remove the device files once the OS has been told the devices have gone. I need some way of actually rescanning the devices, something akin to cfgadm which we use on the FC connections.
Kevin.
Tried that, but that will only remove the device files once the OS has been told the devices have gone. I need some way of actually rescanning the devices, something akin to cfgadm which we use on the FC connections.
Kevin.
#1.1.1
on
2009-12-14 14:20
+1
The LKSF book
The book with the consolidated Less known Solaris Tutorials is available for download here
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Comments
Wed, 10.12.2014 09:01
As this are to part quite sign
ificant changes to ZFS i would
n't expect them in Solaris 10
... but i would have to [...]
Wed, 10.12.2014 08:55
can you clarify which ZFS impr
ovements will also be availabl
e in Solaris 10?
Fri, 28.11.2014 17:24
Verdammt ... hab ich geändert
...
Fri, 28.11.2014 16:04
ich meinte natürlich Zeitreise
!!
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Germany License
I wrote about iSCSI quite often in the last time. But how can you use it in Solaris. I wrote a short introduction about the usage of the iSCSI implementation of Solaris:Introduction Basic iSCSI Bidirectional authenticated iSCSI Alternative backing stor
Tracked: Mar 22, 12:33