Drobo iSCSI SAN User manual
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
1
Multipath I/O (MPIO) enables the use of multiple iSCSI ports on a
Drobo SAN to provide fault tolerance. MPIO can also boost
performance of an application by load balancing traffic across
multiple ports. This guide provides the steps to easily configure
MPIO to Drobo iSCSI storage for a Windows server. See the Drobo
B1200i iSCSI SAN at top right and the
Drobo B800i at the bottom right.
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 natively supports a wide array of MPIO
configuration scenarios. These policies can be configured on a per-volume basis
to provide granular control of how Drobo SAN bandwidth is utilized. The figure
below illustrates three of the most common multipathing configurations.
Topics
What you will need & Prerequisites
Provisioning Drobo storage
Disabling Drobo Dashboard on MPIO-enabled hosts
Enabling Windows MPIO support
Gathering Drobo configuration details
Configuring MPIO
Selecting a routing policy
What You Will Need
•Drobo iSCSI SAN storage system: B1200i or B800i, updated to the current firmware version
•Drobo Dashboard management software, updated to the current software version
•Windows 2008 or 2008 R2 Server
•Ethernet network(s)
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
2
Prerequisites
This document assumes that the Drobo iSCSI SAN has been deployed and Drobo Dashboard has been installed on all
hosts to enable MPIO. Drobo Dashboard should be installed on a management server or workstation that will not use
MPIO. If the Drobo has not been configured, follow the directions in the Drobo Getting Started Guide.
•B800i - http://www.drobo.com/media/pdf/B800i_GSG_Rev02_US.pdf
•B1200i - http://www.drobo.com/media/pdf/Drobo_B1200i-getting-started.pdf
You can find the current versions of firmware and Drobo Dashboard software on www.drobo.com > Support >
Updates.
Provisioning Drobo Storage
STEP 1
Launch the Drobo
Dashboard application and
select the Drobo to use to
provision storage.
On the Volumes menu, click
Add Volume to launch the
volume creation wizard.
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
3
STEP 2
On the Format Type screen,
verify that the NTFS button
is selected and click Next.
STEP 3
Select a volume size that is
appropriate for your data
set. Initially be sure to
provision sufficient storage
to support the lifecycle of
the application to avoid
having to migrate data in
the future.
Because the Drobo is thinly
provisioned, you can
configure a volume greater
than the size of the
available physical storage.
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
4
STEP 4
Enter a name for the
volume that describes what
it will be used for.
In this example the volume
is named FileShares and it
will be used to house
Windows file shares.
Click Finish and click
Apply.
The Drobo storage is now
provisioned but should not
be mounted from Drobo
Dashboard.
To configure MPIO, the
volume must be mounted
manually from the iSCSI
initiator.
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
5
Disabling Drobo Dashboard on MPIO Hosts
Drobo Dashboard typically handles all aspects of provisioning and mapping storage on Windows hosts. During
installation it also modifies a number of registry settings to optimize iSCSI performance with the Drobo SAN.
On MPIO-enabled hosts, the Dashboard’s fault monitoring can interfere with manually configured initiator settings.
For the best performance while ensuring that manual configuration is not modified, Drobo Dashboard must be
installed and then disabled on all servers leveraging MPIO.
Once the service is disabled, a management server or workstation can be used to monitor and provision storage on
the Drobo via the management port.
STEP 1
To load the Server
Manager, select Start >
All Programs >
Administrator Tools >
Server Manager.
Select Action > Add
Features to launch the
Add Features wizard.
To launch the Server
Manager from the run
command, enter
ServerManagerCmd.exe
and press enter.
STEP 2
Expand the
Configuration
container and select
Services.
Scroll down the list of
services to find Drobo
Dashboard Service.
Double -click Drobo
Dashboard Service to
display the properties
screen.
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
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STEP 3
In the General tab, choose Disabled from the
Startup type drop-down menu.
In the Service status section toward the
bottom of the window, click the Stop button
to terminate the service currently running.
Click OK to save the changes.
The Drobo Dashboard service is now disabled
and should not enabled on the host.
Management of the Drobo must now be
performed from a management server,
workstation, or any non-clustered host.
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
7
Enabling Windows MPIO Support
STEP 1
To load the Server Manager,
select Start > All Programs >
Administrator Tools > Server
Manager.
To launch the Add Features
wizard, select Action > Add
Features.
To launch the Server Manager
from the run command, enter
ServerManagerCmd.exe and
press enter.
STEP 2
Although iSCSI connectivity is
enabled, MPIO support is not
enabled by default.
In the Select Features screen,
select the Multipath I/O check
box to install MPIO. Click Next
and then Install to complete the
wizard.
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
8
STEP 3
To enable iSCSI MPIO support,
select Start > Control Panel
and click the MPIO icon.
When you first display the icons,
the Windows groups control
panel icons and the MPIO
configuration utility will not be
displayed.
To display them, select Small
Icons from the View By menu
at the top right.
STEP 4
On the MPIO Properties screen, in the
Discover Multi-Paths tab, click the Add
support for iSCSI devices check box and
click OK.
A reboot may be required to complete the
process. If prompted to reboot, click OK.
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
9
Gathering Drobo Configuration Details
STEP 1
All iSCSI addresses assigned
to the Drobo will be required in
the next section.
Load Drobo Dashboard and
select Device Settings >
Network to display the iSCSI
IP address settings. Note the IP
address and then click Cancel
to exit Network Settings.
STEP 2
While the Drobo typically
handles all aspects of the
iSCSI provisioning process, to
configure MPIO some manual
configuration of the iSCSI
initiator is required.
Make a note of the Target
Name for the newly created
volume displayed in the
FileShares screen, as it will be
referenced throughout this
document.
Drobo How-To Guide
Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
drobo.com | Configure Windows iSCSI Multipath I/O (MPIO) with Drobo iSCSI SAN
10
Configuring MPIO
STEP 1
Select Start > Control Panel
> iSCSI to load the iSCSI
initiator.
In the Discovery tab,click the
Discover Portal button.
STEP 2
Enter the first Drobo iSCSI IP
address in the IP address or
DNS name field and verify the
port is set to 3260.
Click OK and repeat the
process for all Drobo iSCSI IP
addresses.
Other manuals for iSCSI SAN
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Table of contents
Other Drobo Storage manuals
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Drobo
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Drobo
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Drobo
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