iSCSI Boot from SAN with Dell PS Series For Dell PowerEdge 13th generation servers Dell Storage Engineering September 2016 A Dell Best Practices Guide
Revisions Date Description November 2012 Initial release September 2016 Update for Dell PowerEdge 13th generation servers Acknowledgements Author: Randolph Nethers THIS WHITE PAPER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY CONTAIN TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND TECHNICAL INACCURACIES. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. © 2012–2016 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell and the Dell EMC logo are trademarks of Dell Inc.
Table of contents Revisions.............................................................................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................................2 Executive summary.....................................................................................................................
Executive summary Dell™ Storage PS Series is an ideal solution providing reliable, high-speed, SAN-based disk storage using iSCSI. The iSCSI protocol leverages Ethernet to provide a network medium for storage area networks (SANs). The PS Series, used in conjunction with Dell PowerEdge™ 13th generation servers, can be coupled to provide a boot-from-SAN solution over iSCSI. This offers the flexibility and efficiencies of similar SANbased booting solutions without the added expense of another SAN technology.
1 Introduction This document provides instructions for configuring PowerEdge 13th generation (13G) servers to boot from an iSCSI SAN-based boot image residing on PS Series storage. The demand for boot servers has developed due to the adoption of SAN-based storage in departmental and enterprise markets. Booting from a SANbased volume (a Logical Unit Number or LUN) offers greater flexibility with increased power efficiency as well as easy reconfiguration and deployment.
1.2 Scope Using boot from SAN is possible with many different operating systems. The focus of this paper is to explore setting up PowerEdge 13G servers to boot from PS Series storage through iSCSI. 1.3 Component Details Operating system Servers Dell PowerEdge servers (13G) (process validated on PowerEdge R730, system BIOS v1.5.4) Network adapters Broadcom® 1GbE BCM5720 (v7.10 firmware) Broadcom 10GbE BCM57810 (v7.
2 Process overview The following overview describes the steps covered in this document for configuring iSCSI boot from SAN: 1. Use the configuration worksheet in appendix A to gather the necessary configuration details. 2. Configure the PS Series storage array and prepare the boot volume (iSCSI target). 3. Configure the server and network adapter(s) on the server (iSCSI initiator) to support the boot-fromiSCSI target. 4. Install the operating system onto the iSCSI target volume that was prepared for boot.
3 Pre-installation Before starting, gather the following information and complete the following steps: 1. Use the configuration tracking worksheet in appendix A. a. Note the IP address, IQN, subnet mask, and other details about the Ethernet adapter. Note: The IQN name may also be known as the initiator name in the network adapter configuration. b. Note the Dell Storage PS Series group details and volume details as needed. 2. Follow all best practices related to storage, network switches, and servers.
4 Configuring the iSCSI target Space and permissions must be allocated on the PS Series array to permit booting over the iSCSI SAN. Storage must be dedicated to a volume and the target volume must be made accessible to the storage host initiator. To create a boot-from-SAN volume on the PS Series array using the Group Manager: 1. Log into the PS Series array through a web browser by entering the IP address of the group. 2.
5. Grant the host initiator access to the volume by providing the IP address, host initiator’s IQN name, or CHAP authentication information. Any one of these methods is acceptable. Choose the access type through the iSCSI access tab 6. Keep the default access type of read-write. Click OK. 7. When Group Manager displays the summary screen, verify the settings and click Finish to create the volume. 8. Display the Volumes section of Group Manager by clicking the lower-left Volume button.
5 Configuring the iSCSI initiator The onboard Broadcom BMC5720 interface, or another add-in network adapter, must be configured to act as an iSCSI initiator and connect to the newly created PS Series volume. After a connection is made, the operating system can be installed and the host subsequently booted off the iSCSI target volume. To configure the iSCSI initiator: 1. Boot the host. 2. Press [F10] to enter the Dell Lifecycle Controller Unified Server Configurator (USC). 3.
5.1 Configuring the onboard Broadcom NIC The onboard Broadcom BCM5720 network adapter configuration is configured in the USC under Device Settings. NIC3 is used for iSCSI connectivity. Although any NIC can be used, some operating systems such as VMware ESXi require NIC1 be dedicated to management. 1. To use the onboard BCM5270 port 3, in the Device Settings menu, select Integrated NIC 1Port 3: Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet BCM5270.
2. Select the NIC Configuration menu. Top menu for NIC 1 Port 3 (Broadcom BCM5270) 3. Set the Legacy Boot Protocol to iSCSI. 4. To return to the Main Configuration Page, click Back.
5. Select iSCSI Configuration Menu and iSCSI General Parameters. 6. To use a static IP address, disable TCP/IP Parameters via DHCP and iSCSI Parameters via DHCP. Leave this unchanged if the host will be using DHCP. DHCP can be useful for dynamically controlling any iSCSI parameters on the DHCP server rather than in the USC. 7. To return to the iSCSI Configuration Menu, click Back. Broadcom BCM5270 iSCSI General Parameters menu 8. Select iSCSI Initiator Parameters. 9.
12. Set Connect to Enabled. 13. Enter the IP Address of the PS Series group hosting the iSCSI volume to be used for booting from the SAN. 14. Set the iSCSI Name to the iSCSI IQN of the volume. 15. Set the CHAP ID and CHAP Secret if using CHAP authentication. 16. Click Back twice and click Finish. Broadcom BCM5270 iSCSI First Target Parameters menu 17. Save the changes when prompted. 18. Click Finish until returning to the System Setup menu.
5.2 Configuring the BIOS boot order To install the operating system and boot from it, the BIOS boot order must be changed from the default setting. Note: If the onboard or add-on interface was connected to the SAN network after the previous system reset, for the Lifecycle Controller USC to register the availability of the newly connected interface, the system will need to be reset again. This can be done in the iDRAC menu under the Power menu by selecting Reset System (warm boot). 1.
3. Select System BIOS, Boot Settings, and BIOS Boot Settings. The BIOS Boot Settings menu provides a list of options and two clickable links. Among the list is Integrated NIC 1 Port 3 Partition 1, which is the onboard Ethernet connection that will give access to the volume on the PS Series array. 4. To place the third NIC first in the boot order, click Boot Sequence. Also, any device excluded from the list of boot options can be unchecked in the Boot Option Enable/Disable list.
5. In the Change Order menu, select Integrated NIC 1 Port 3 Partition 1 and click the plus symbol until this item is first in the list. The optical drive should be listed second, assuming it is used for operating system installation. If installation will be performed through PXE-boot, Integrated NIC 1 Port 1 Partition 1 must be the second boot device. Setting the first boot option to NIC 1 Port 3 (Broadcom BCM5270) 6. Click Back twice and click Finish. Be sure to confirm the changes made.
At this point, disable the iSCSI boot for a single boot or the BIOS will attempt to boot the empty iSCSI boot target (which has no operating system) and will fail. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select Device Settings to open the Device Settings menu. Select Integrated NIC 1 Port 3 to open the iSCSI Configuration menu. Select iSCSI Configuration to open the iSCSI Configuration menu. Select iSCSI General Parameters.
At this point, the media for operating system installation needs to be available. The system will attempt to boot from the installation media and install the operating system on the iSCSI target volume. When booting for the first time and each time following the configuration performed in the previous steps, prior to boot up, the following screen will appear showing the system is logging into the iSCSI target volume.
5.3 Configuring the Broadcom 10Gb Interface The following procedure describes setting up the Broadcom Netxtreme II 10-Gb (BCM57810) interface as an example add-on interface. Compared to a 1Gb interface, the 10Gb interface provides excellent throughput to support increased I/O performance. 1. Similar to the onboard Broadcom BCM 5720, make changes in the Lifecycle Controller USC. Upon system power up, press [F10] to enter the USC and select System Setup, Advanced Hardware Configuration, and Device Settings.
4. Select the MBA Configuration Menu. This menu has the same configurable information as the onboard NIC, only in a slightly different presentation. The Legacy Boot Protocol is a drop-down menu as opposed to radio buttons. In the drop-down menu, select iSCSI and click Back.
5. Select the iSCSI Boot Configuration menu and select the iSCSI General Parameters menu. If DHCP is not used in this case, next to TCP/IP Parameters via DHCP click the Disable button. Next to Boot to Target, select the One Time Disable radio button, and click Back.
6. Click iSCSI Initiator Parameters. As before, enter the IP Address and Subnet Mask of the PS Series array, and optionally enter the Gateway and DNS servers. If the iSCSI target and the host are on the same subnet, the gateway is not necessary. The default iSCSI Name can be used or another can be assigned. Click Back.
7. Select the iSCSI First Target Parameters menu, enter the IP Address of the PS Series array, and enable the connection by clicking the Enable button. The default port number is 3260. Unless the port number is different from the default, leave this as is. Click Back, click Finish, and click Yes to save the changes. Broadcom BCM57810 iSCSI First Target Parameters Menu 8. To set the BIOS boot order, perform the procedure in section 5.2.
5.4 Configuring other interfaces In addition to the onboard interfaces available to the PowerEdge 13G server family, a number of other options are available as add-on interfaces. Each interface has a slightly different menu setup, but the same parameters must be set in each case: 1. Configure the interface as an initiator using the same settings described in section 5. 2. Set the legacy boot protocol to iSCSI. 3.
6 Operating system installation Once the PowerEdge 13G server has logged into the target volume on the PS Series array, most modern operating systems will perceive the volume as a local resource upon which the operating system can be installed. iSCSI boot-from-SAN volumes are supported by many different operating systems. Among them are later versions of Microsoft Windows Server, VMware ESXi, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and SUSE Linux Enterprise.
6.2 Red Hat Enterprise Linux The Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) installer (version 6 or 7) should find the target volume, which can be set to Install Target Devices. The version 6.2 and later RHEL installer has drivers for the onboard Broadcom BCM 5720 interface, as well as the most common Broadcom, Intel, and QLogic Ethernet adapters. 6.3 SUSE Linux Enterprise The SUSE Linux Enterprise version 12 and version 12SP1 installer should find the target volume.
7 Host Integration Tools PS Series Host Integration Tools (HIT) for Microsoft, Linux, and VMware provide a collection of applications and utilities to simplify the configuration and administration of PS Series storage arrays. The Multipath I/O (MPIO) software included with the Host Integration Tools provides the ability to easily configure redundant network paths from the host to the PS Series boot volume.
A Configuration worksheet The following worksheet may be helpful to capture configuration information for the boot-from-SAN iSCSI environment. Note: Always use the fully-qualified IQN format: .com.:. For example: iqn.1984-04.com.dell:server-name. For more information see RFC3720 and RFC3721 at http://rfc.net/.
B 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 software, hardware and services. Storage Solutions Technical Documents on Dell TechCenter provide expertise that helps to ensure customer success on Dell Storage platforms. The Dell Storage PS Series Networking Performance Guidelines can be found at https://eqlsupport.dell.
