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This section describes the steps needed to configure PowerMax iSCSI using the Unisphere for PowerMax graphical user interface.
Note: Prior to configuring iSCSI using Unisphere for PowerMax, ensure that there is a dedicated network for iSCSI, and that the network and VLAN on the host and switch are set up correctly.
Figure 2. iSCSI dashboard and actions required for complete configuration
Figure 3. Create iSCSI Target
To provide flexibility, you will create one or more IP interfaces on a physical port and then later attach them to a target created on the same director board in Step 1.
Figure 4. Create IP interface
After a target is created, it is in disabled state by default and shows up in the list of unattached targets.
Figure 5. Enable Target and attach to IP interface
Figure 6. Create iSCSI port group
Use the database server iSCSI initiator IQN to configure an iSCSI host initiator in Unisphere. The database server iSCSI initiators are not visible in Unisphere without logging into targets, so the easiest method to create an initiator group is to manually enter the database server IQN.
Figure 7. Create Host
Note: On Linux servers it is easy to identify the initiator’s IQN by looking at the contents of the file /etc/iscsi/initiatorname.iscsi for each of the node in cluster.
A storage group (SG) is a way to group devices together so they can be managed as a single entity. An SG can be stand-alone or in a parent-child relationship. A parent SG contains one or more child SGs. In this way, storage management operations on the stand-alone (or child) SG apply only to that SG, and operations on the parent apply to all its child SGs as a unit. In this example grid_sg contains the Oracle +GRID ASM disk group devices (Oracle GI), fra_sg contains the Oracle +FRA ASM disk group devices (archive logs), and db_sg is a parent SG, containing data_sg and redo_sg—Oracle +DATA ASM disk group devices (data files) and Oracle +REDO ASM disk group devices (redo logs).
To create the storage groups for the database, select the Create button in the Storage Group section in Unisphere. The storage group creation wizard allows the creation of just the storage group, which is done by executing the job after the first screen, creation of a storage group and placing it in a masking view, which is done by completing all the steps in the wizard.
Figure 8. Storage Groups for Oracle
PowerMax devices are made visible to hosts through masking views. To create a masking view, you need a storage group (SG), a port group (PG) and an initiator group (IG). The SG contains the devices you want to make visible. For iSCSI, the PG contains virtual iSCSI ports, where each port is associated with a target. The IG contains the iSCSI IQN of the database servers to which devices needs to be presented to. Each server that requires access to devices in a storage system needs to be part of a masking view in that storage system. Once the masking view is created, the devices in the SG are visible across the storage ports in the PG to the all the database servers with initiators in the IG.
Figure 9. Masking View creation