Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware Server Administration Guide
184 VMware, Inc.
NOTE You!can!use!any!clustering!software!in!these!cluster!nodes!that!is!supported!
by!other!VMware!Server!clustering!strategies.!For!more!information,!see!
“Clustering!Software”!on!page 166.
The!following!sections!describe!how!to!set!up!clustering!using!the!iSCSI!protocol.
! “Clustering!Scenarios!Using!iSCSI”!on!page 184
! “Creating!and!Configuring!the!iSCSI!Initiator!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 184
! “Configuring!the!iSCSI!Target!in!the!Cluster!on!page 185
Clustering Scenarios Using iSCSI
You!can!employ!the!following!scenarios!to!cluster!virtual!machines!with!the!iSCSI!
protocol:
! “Using!a!Virtual!Machine!as!the!iSCSI!Target
! “Using!a!Host!as!the!iSCSI!Target
Using a Virtual Machine as the iSCSI Target
You!can!use!a!virtual!machine!as!the!iSCSI!target.!The!setup!involves!at!least!three!
virtual!machines.!Two!virtual!machines!are!the!cluster!nodes!that!act!as!iSCSI!initiators,!
so!you!must!install!the!iSCSI!initiator!software!in!these!virtual!machines.!The!third!
virtual!machine!acts!as!the!iSCSI!target.
!The!iSCSI!target!virtual!machine!must!be!
running!for!clustering!to!work!successfully.
Using a Host as the iSCSI Target
You!can!use!a!host!on!your!network!as!the!iSCSI!target.!Each!cluster!node!(virtual!
machine)!acts!as!an!iSCSI!initiator,!so!you!must!install!the!iSCSI!initiator!software!in!
each!virtual!machine.!Then!you!install!the!iSCSI!target!software!on!the!target!host.
Creating and Configuring the iSCSI Initiator Virtual Machine
The!iSCSI!initiator!virtual!machine!is!created!in!the!same!manner!as!a!regular!virtual!
machine.!Unlike!other!clustering! methods,!you!do!not!modify!the!virtual!machine’s!
configuration!file!(.vmx)!manually!in!order!to!enable!clustering.
The!virtual!disk!used!to!store!the!guest!operating!system!and!clustering!software!for!
each!virtual!machine!(node)!in!the!cluster!does!not!have!to!be!a!preallocated!virtual!disk!
or!a!SCSI!virtual!disk.
You!should!configure!the!virtual!machine!with!at!least!two!virtual!network!adapters!!
one!to!communicate!with!other!iSCSI!initiator!nodes!and!the!other!to!connect!to!the!