Configuring and Deploying the Dell PS Series Multi-Path I/O Device Specific Module with Microsoft Windows Deploy and configure the Dell PS Series MPIO DSM for Windows Server to enable multi-path I/O for high availability access to a PS Series array.
Revisions Date Description February 2008 Initial Release June 2009 Host Integration ToolsV3.2 updates February 2011 Windows® Server 2008 R2, 10 Gb support, and Host Integration Tools v3.5.1 updates June 2013 Added support for HIT v4.5 and Windows® 2012 January 2017 New Format for Dell EMC The information in this publication is provided “as is.” Dell Inc.
Table of contents Revisions.............................................................................................................................................................................2 Executive summary.............................................................................................................................................................4 Audience .............................................................................................................................
Executive summary Dell™ Storage PS Series arrays optimize resources by automating performance and network load balancing. Additionally, PS Series arrays offer all-inclusive array management software, host software, and free firmware updates. Audience The information in this guide is intended for Microsoft® Windows Server® administrators.
1 Introduction In our technology-driven world, data is one of the most valuable assets in any business organization. Increasingly, organizations are requiring that their data be available 24 x 7. Continuous availability of data is critical to all businesses. A data outage of any duration and size can result in a tremendous loss of revenue perhaps thousands or even millions of dollars. High availability is commonly achieved by using fault tolerant and redundant components.
1.2 Microsoft Multi-Path I/O Microsoft MPIO enables storage vendors to develop multi-path modules that contain specific information about their storage hardware. This ultimately results in more efficient and intelligent use and connectivity to the SAN hardware. These vendor-developed plug-ins are referred to as Device Specific Modules (DSM).
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.
2 Getting started Before installing PS Series HIT/Microsoft (that allows configuration of the PS Series MPIO DSM), plan the networking configuration. More than one network interface should be dedicated to iSCSI SAN traffic from each server. Separate the iSCSI SAN traffic from LAN network. This is especially important when implementing 10Gb and 1Gb infrastructures. The following two documents provide additional information and should be consulted before getting started. - 2.
PS Series Group Manager From the PS Series Group Manager, highlight the member on the left. From the Status tab, click on Rear View and mouse over the corresponding network interfaces to confirm Jumbo Frames. Lastly, modify IP settings to confirm restriction of management traffic to 1Gb management network interface.
3 Installing, configuring and managing the PS Series MPIO DSM The PS Series MPIO DSM is included with HIT/Microsoft. For installation guidelines, please refer to the Host Integration Tools for Microsoft User Guide and Release Notes at eqlsupport.dell.com. The following section assumes that access control to PS Series volumes has been configured with CHAP authentication, multiple redundant NIC IP addresses, or a unique iSCSI initiator name.
MPIO Settings showing included and excluded network connections Select Settings at the bottom left of the application and click on MPIO Settings in the left hand object tree. This will open the MPIO settings configuration view. See Table 1 for all the MPIO setting options. Configure MPIO settings for a selected range of hosts. Select the subnets or individual adapters to Exclude MPIO and iSCSI subnets from SAN traffic. Optionally set the minimum adapter speed to match the network configuration.
3.1.1 Setting Description Max sessions per volume slice The max number of session connections permitted per volume per member. This number represents the # of connections a volume will make to each member or array in the storage pool. Max sessions per entire volume The max number of session connections permitted for a volume. This value must be greater than or equal to the max sessions per volume slice. Use MPIO for snapshots Optionally include or exclude MPIO for connections to snapshots.
volume will load balance across the arrays in the storage pool and each array will host a slice of the volume. The number of session connections per volume can be calculated based on the following equations.
3.1.3 Microsoft iSCSI initiator This section describes the Microsoft iSCSI initiator interface, including the Dell EqualLogic MPIO tab. Launch the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator. See Table 2 on the next page for more information on each tab displayed.
Microsoft iSCSI initiator tabs and descriptions Tab Name Available options… Discovery Add or remove and configure iSCSI portal settings Targets Connect or disconnect and view properties of iSCSI targets Favorite Targets View and configure persistent volume connections Volumes and Devices Configure drive letter bindings to a particular volume RADIUS Add and configure a RADIUS Server for RADIUS authentication Configuration Dell EqualLogic MPIO View subnets included/excluded for MPIO
Both the included and excluded subnets are visible for MPIO as well as all iSCSI MPIO iSCSI Sessions. Note the even distribution of iSCSI sessions to each volume across each NIC. Finally, the scroll bar allows the ability to examine the MPIO status at a specific point in time. Dell EqualLogic MPIO Tab Information 16 Component Description Source IP The IP address of the source device. This is the NIC or HBA installed in the computer that accesses an iSCSI target.
4 Connecting to volumes If Auto-Snapshot Manager was used to configure PS Group access from the host then the Discover Target Portal Step can be skipped as Auto-Snapshot Manager will do this automatically. Please refer to the AutoSnapshot Manager User Guide for more information about setting PS Series Group access. To configure the Target Portal manually, please follow the steps in the next section. 4.
unique iSCSI initiator name. Volume access controls are configured through the PS Group Manager, either at the time of volume creation or afterwards. Add the PS Group Portal to the Initiator List Discovery Target Portal In the Discover Target Portal dialogue box, enter the PS Series group IP address and port. Consult the networking team for anything other than the default port number. Click OK to complete. The PS Group IP should now be listed in the Target Portals list.
Highlight the target of choice from the list and click Connect. To make this iSCSI connection persistent after a reboot, select Add this connection to the list of Favorite Targets. The connection will then be added to the Favorite Targets tab of the iSCSI Initiator properties. To use CHAP credentials, click Advanced, enter the CHAP authentication information and click OK. Select Enable multi-path and click OK.
4.3 Make the PS Series Volume Available to the Server Next, make the disk available to the server through Server Manager’s Disk Management. Right-click on Disk Management and select Re-Scan. After Re-Scan, right-click the disk to set it online. Disk Management Now, use Server Manager/Disk Management, to format the volume as NTFS and assign a drive letter.
Adding the drive letter from the iSCSI Initiator tool’s Volumes and Devices tab 4.4 Verify MPIO There are two common places to look to verify volume session connections to the array. 1. The Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Dell EqualLogic MPIO Tab 2. From Server Manager/Disk Management: Right-click the target disk and select Properties. The MPIO tab will display the MPIO Policy for the selected PS Series volume, as well as the multiple paths to the volume.
iSCSI Initiator and Disk Management screens 4.5 Log off a volume with MPIO From the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Favorite Targets tab, highlight each favorite target and Remove it. The Windows server will no longer try to re-connect to the target volume on startup. iSCSI Initiator Favorite Targets tab From the Targets tab, highlight the target and click Disconnect to logoff each volume. This will disconnect the target volume from the Windows server.
iSCSI Initiator’s Targets tab 23 Configuring and Deploying the Dell PS Series Multi-Path I/O Device Specific Module with Microsoft Windows | TR1036
5 Summary The Dell PS Series array supports multiple iSCSI SAN connections for performance and reliability. MPIO provides multiple paths from servers to storage, delivering fault tolerance, high availability, and improved performance.
A Using hardware initiators In addition to the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator, the PS Series DSM supports hardware initiators. At the time of this document, the Dell PS Series MPIO DSM supports the QLogic HBAs and iSCSI Offload for Broadcom CNA’s. For information on these hardware initiators, reference the Dell PS Series Configuration Guide.
B Tips, troubleshooting and hotfixes Dell recommends that all hardware and software be kept up-to-date with patches and latest firmware and driver revisions. The latest version of the Dell Storage Compatibility Matrix can be found at: http://en.community.dell.
C Technical support and resources Dell.com/support is focused on meeting customer needs with proven services and support. Dell TechCenter is an online technical community where IT professionals have access to numerous resources for Dell EMC software, hardware and services. Storage Solutions Technical Documents on Dell TechCenter provide expertise that helps to ensure customer success on Dell EMC Storage platforms.
