Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Using iSCSI Initiator

This section describes how to perform the following tasks for iSCSI Initiator on Windows Server 2012:

• Configuring iSCSI Initiator
• Discovering targets
• Establishing a connection
• Creating volumes

The section shows how to perform these tasks using both Server Manager and Windows PowerShell.

Configuring iSCSI Initiator

Before you can connect to an iSCSI target to provision and use iSCSI storage, you must first configure the iSCSI initiator on your computer. To configure the initiator on a server running Windows Server 2012, open Server Manager and select iSCSI Initiator from the Tools menu to open the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box. Note that if you haven't previously enabled the initiator on the computer, you will first be prompted to start the Microsoft iSCSI Service as described in the section "Enabling iSCSI Initiator" earlier in this tutorial.

You can use the different settings on the six tabs of the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box to configure the initiator. Configuration might be required before you can connect your computer to iSCSI targets in your environment. The following list describes the six tabs that are available:

• Targets You use this tab to view and connect to discovered targets, configure advanced connection settings, disconnect from targets, view session configuration settings, or view the configuration of devices associated with a target. You can also use Quick Connect to discover and log on to a target and add it to your list of favorite targets.
• Discovery You can use this tab to discover, view, or remove target portals (iSCSI target devices) and Internet Storage Name Service (iSNS) servers in your environment. An iSNS server functions similar to a Domain Name System (DNS) server. The computer running initiator asks the iSNS server for available iSCSI targets. Adding an iSNS server enables automatic discovery of all iSCSI targets available to the computer.
• Favorite Targets You use this tab to add a target to the list of favorite targets, view details of the target, or remove the target from the favorites list. When you do this, the initiator uses saved login information to always attempt to reconnect to a target whenever the computer is rebooted.
• Volumes and Devices Use this tab to view a list of the volumes and devices bound by the initiator. If a volume in the list is currently mounted, the drive letter and mount point are shown. You can also use this tab to automatically configure all available devices and to manually add or remove devices.
• RADIUS You use this tab to configure Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) authentication by adding a RADIUS server. Unlike CHAP authentication, which is performed between peers, RADIUS authentication is performed between a RADIUS server and a RADIUS client. To use RADIUS, you must have a RADIUS server on your network.
• Configuration This tab displays the IQN for the initiator, and you can use its settings to modify the initiator name, configure a CHAP secret for the initiator, configure IPsec tunnel mode addresses for the initiator, or generate a report of all connected targets and devices on the system.

You can also use Windows PowerShell cmdlets such as Set-IscsiChapSecret and Register-IscsiSession to configure certain aspects of the iSCSI initiator.

Discovering targets

After you configure your iSCSI initiator, the next step is to discover available iSCSI targets in your environment. You can do this by performing the following steps:

1. Click on the Discover tab of the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box, and click Discover Portal to open the Discover Target Portal dialog box.
2. Type the IP address or DNS name (hostname or FQDN) for the target portal (iSCSI Target Server) that hosts the target to which you want to connect, and then click OK. If additional configuration is required to discover the target portal, click Advanced.
3. After you click OK, the target portal you specified will be displayed in the Target Portals list on the Discover tab.

If you now switch to the Targets tab, the Discovered Targets list should display all the targets available on the portal for the initiator to connect to.

If your attempt to discover an iSCSI target fails, it is usually for one of the following reasons:

• The wrong target portal IP address or DNS name was configured on the initiator.
• The wrong IQN for the initiator was assigned when the target was created.
• There are problems with network connectivity between the initiator and target computers.

Troubleshooting the first issue is straightforward. To see if the second issue is the cause of the problem, try assigning IQN* as the target, which allows any initiator to connect to it. And, of course, you can troubleshoot the third issue using standard network troubleshooting procedures.