White Papers

7 Configuring and Deploying the Dell PS Series Multi-Path I/O Device Specific Module with Microsoft Windows | TR1036
1. A driver component in the I/O stack that works in conjunction with the Microsoft MPIO driver to route
I/O to the desired path. This is the PS Series DSM for Microsoft Windows. It selects the best path for
each I/O by using knowledge about how the volume is laid out on the PS Series Group. See Figure 3.
2. A Microsoft Windows Server service (PS Series Host Connection Manager – EHCM) that manages
connections. The service periodically retrieves the current volume layout from the PS Series Group. It
also monitors the iSCSI sessions and SAN topology and will reconfigure the iSCSI session mesh
when necessary. See Figure 3.
Together, these components allow administrators to easily install and configure MPIO for iSCSI
networks. The DSM components, along with a redundant iSCSI hardware configuration create the
infrastructure needed for a completely fault tolerant and efficient MPIO solution.
I/O
I/O
I/O
TABLE
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATA
VOLUME
PS Series MPIO DSM automatically manages iSCSI sessions and routes I/O directly to the
member servicing it
Multiple I/O streams are concurrently routed through the host iSCSI sessions directly to the PS Series
member servicing them. Using the PS Series MPIO DSM, the best path for each I/O is selected by using
knowledge about the volume layout on the PS Series group. The PS Series DSM automatically manages
these iSCSI sessions.