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.

The following steps are required for setting up iSCSI using Unisphere.

Step 1: Create iSCSI target

1. For high availability and scale, create multiple iSCSI targets—at least one per iSCSI front end port. The following example shows the creation of a single iSCSI target on iSCSI director emulation 1E.
2. From Unisphere for PowerMax Dashboard -> System click iSCSI. This will open the iSCSI Dashboard which is the base from which all ISCSI components are configured. On iSCSI Dashboard, the steps required to complete iSCSI configuration on PowerMax are listed for ease of navigation and management.

Figure 2.              iSCSI dashboard and actions required for complete configuration

3. From the iSCSI Dashboard, click on iSCSI Targets (Unattached) -> Create to open a dialog box to create iSCSI target.
4. Select the director that your target will be presented from, the target IQN name (you can choose custom name or have the system automatically generate one), the Network ID, and the TCP port (default port is 3260 for iSCSI) and click OK. Note that the newly created target is in the disabled state.  You must enable it while attaching it to an IP interface.

Figure 3.              Create iSCSI Target

Step 2: Create IP Interface

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.

1. From the iSCSI dashboard, click IP Interfaces to open the IP interfaces page and then click Create to open a dialog box to create the IP interface.

2. Select iSCSI director, port, desired IP address, subnet prefix, Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) ID, and Maximum Transaction Unit (MTU). The default MTU is 1500, but we recommend that you to set it to 9000 for better performance of the Microsoft applications database. A Network ID is a PowerMaxOS construct that is used internally by the system to associate an array IP interface with an array iSCSI target and isolate IP interfaces within same subnet. The valid range for a Network ID is from 0 to 511. VLAN ID of 28 is used in the configuration which should match with that on the switch.

Figure 4.              Create IP interface

Step 3: Enable Target and attach to IP interface

After a target is created, it is in disabled state by default and shows up in the list of unattached targets.

1. To enable the target, click iSCSI Targets unattached, select the target and click Enable.

2. To attach the target to an IP interface, select the target and click Attach.
3. In the Attach dialog box, select an existing unused IP interface, or create a new one.

Figure 5.              Enable Target and attach to IP interface

Step 4: Create a port group of iSCSI targets

1. Select Hosts-> Port Groups-> Create to open the Create Port Group dialog box.

2. Enter a port group name, select the iSCSI radio button and select the newly created target from the list. As shown in the list of ports, several storage virtual ports that are internally mapped to a physical iSCSI port are available for selection.
3. From the drop-down menu in the bottom right (Add to job list menu), select Run Now.

Figure 6.              Create iSCSI port group

Step 5: Create an Initiator Group of host iSCSI IQN

Use the host iSCSI initiator IQN to configure Host for iSCSI. iSCSI host initiators are not visible to PowerMax without logging into targets, so the easiest method to create an initiator group is to manually enter the host IQN to create a host to be subsequently used for Masking View.

1. Select Hosts-> Hosts-> Create->Create Host to open the Create Host dialog box.

2. Enter a host name, select the iSCSI radio button and manually add the host IQN by clicking on the + symbol on the right side, followed by OK.

Figure 7.              Create Host/Host Group

Note: On a Windows server, determine the IQN using iSCSI initiator properties. See the next section on iSCSI configuration on the host for more details.

Step 6: Create a storage groups for Microsoft applications

A storage group (SG) is a way to group devices together so they can be managed as a single entity. A 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 of its child SGs as a unit. There are different ways in which a storage group can be created and the parent-child relationship shown here can be defined. These steps are not defined in this document. Refer to the PowerMax User Guide for more details on this topic or to other documents found in the references. For Microsoft SQL Server data and log child storage groups are created and added to a parent storage group to manage the entire database as a single entity while still allowing specific service levels and other storage level policies applied to the children.

Figure 8.              Storage Groups for Microsoft applications

Step 7: Create masking views

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 each associated with a target. The IG contains the iSCSI IQN of the hosts to which devices must be presented. Each server that requires access to devices in a storage system must be part of a masking view in that 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 hosts with initiators in the IG.

1. Go to the masking view menu (Hosts -> Masking Views->Create Masking View) and create the masking views using the IG and PG created for iSCSI in the steps above.

2. Create a Masking View for the SQL Server database.

Figure 9.              Masking View creation