Broadcom iSCSI Boot for HP FlexFabric Adapters User Guide
Table Of Contents
- Broadcom iSCSI Boot for HP FlexFabric Adapters User Guide
- Abstract
- Notice
- Contents
- Introduction
- Setup
- iSCSI boot setup
- Configuring the iSCSI target
- Configuring iSCSI boot parameters
- Preparing the iSCSI boot image
- Booting
- Other iSCSI boot considerations
- iSCSI offload in Windows server
- iSCSI boot setup
- Troubleshooting
- Boot fails when switching to Broadcom iSCSI offload
- Broadcom iSCSI Crash Dump utility does not capture a memory dump
- HBA offload miniport BXOIS does not load
- Inbox driver does not update
- Installing Windows on an iSCSI target fails
- IP address conflict
- iSCSI target is not recognized as an installation target
- iSCSI configuration utility does not run
- NDIS miniports with Code 31 yellow-bang after L2 iSCSI boot installation
- System blue screen appears after setting iSCSI boot LUN to 255
- System blue screen occurs when installing through Windows Plug-and-Play
- System blue screen occurs when iSCSI boots Windows 2008 R2
- Frequently asked questions
- Event notifications
- Regulatory compliance notices
- Support and other resources
- Acronyms and abbreviations
- Documentation feedback
- Index
Setup 20
and duplex settings can be changed using the BACS management utility for iSCSI boot through the offload
and NDIS paths.
Virtual LANs
VLAN tagging is not supported for iSCSI boot with the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator.
iSCSI crash dump
To use the Broadcom iSCSI Crash Dump utility, follow the installation procedure for the iSCSI Crash Dump
driver ("iSCSI offload in Windows server" on page 20).
iSCSI offload in Windows server
iSCSI offload is a technology that offloads iSCSI protocol processing overhead from host processors to the
iSCSI host bus adapter to increase network performance and throughput while optimizing server processor
utilization.
iSCSI offload limitations
The following limitations are known for iSCSI offload:
• The bnx2i driver for iSCSI does not operate on a standalone PCI device. The driver shares the same PCI
device with the networking driver (bnx2 and bnx2x). The networking driver alone supports layer 2
networking traffic. Offloaded iSCSI operations require both the networking driver and the bnx2i driver.
• iSCSI operations are interrupted when the networking driver brings down or resets the device. This
scenario requires proper handling by the networking and bnx2i drivers, as well as the user space iscsid
daemon that keeps track of all iSCSI sessions. Offloaded iSCSI connections take up system and on-chip
resources that must be freed up before the device can be reset.
• Running iscsid in user space can be unpredictable because it is slow to disconnect and reconnect iSCSI
sessions during network resets, especially for a large number of connections. iSCSI sessions might not
recover when the networking device is repeatedly reset.
To mitigate the effect of the limitations:
• Minimize administrator-administered network device resets, such as MTU change, ring size change,
device shutdown, hot-unplug, and so forth, while there are active offloaded iSCSI sessions running on
the shared device.
Link-related changes do not require device resets and can be performed at any time.
• Install the latest open-iSCSI utilities by upgrading your Red Hat Network subscription.
Configuring iSCSI offload
Configure the HP FlexFabric adapter to offload iSCSI processing from the host processor.
To set up the Broadcom iSCSI offload feature:
• Installing Broadcom drivers and management applications (on page 21)
• Installing the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator (on page 21)
• Configuring Broadcom iSCSI using BACS (on page 21)