How To Create iSCSI LUN And Discover In Windows Host Netapp Cluster Mode

Today we will discuss how we can create iscsi LUN in SVM NetApp Cluster Mode and allocate it to a Windows Host. In previous video we discussed how to configure iSCSI in SVM Netapp Cluster Mode. Click here to know more about it. Below are the overall steps need to perform in order to create iSCSI LUN in SVM NetApp Cluster Mode and how we can allocate it to windows host.

How To Create iSCSI LUN And Discover In Windows Host Netapp Cluster Mode

Complete Steps to Create iSCSi LUN in SVM NetApp Cluster Mode

1. Create Volume in SVM

2. Create a LUN over the volume

3. Create PortSet in SVM

4. Create a Initiator group in SVM

5. Bind the Igroup in portset

6. Map the LUN to Igroup

7. Discover the device in Windows Server

We are going to discuss about each step one by one along with the command that we need to use to enable Create iscsi LUN in SVM NetApp Cluster Mode.

Step 1: Create Volume in SVM Netapp Cluster Mode

Below command will create a volume in SVM NetApp Cluster Mode. This step is necessary because a LUN can reside over a volume or qtree. The volume should be thick volume as per netapp best practice recommendation.

volume create -vserver vs1 -volume vol1 -aggregate aggr1 -state online -junction-path /vol1 -size 1G -space-guarantee volume

Step 2. Create a LUN over the volume in SVM Netapp Cluster Mode

In this step we will create a LUN over a volume. As per netapp best practice recommendation we should create a thick volume. In this command the “-space-reserve enable” makes the LUN as thick.

lun create -vserver vs1 -path /vol/vol1/lun1 -size 1GB -ostype windows_2008 -space-reserve enabled

If your host operating system is Windows 2012, you must use the windows_2008 ostype. Space-reserve is enabled by default. If you want a non-space-reserved LUN, you must set the space-reserve option to disabled.

Step 3. Create PortSet in SVM Netapp Cluster Mode

Port Set are nothing but grouping of target iSCSI lifs. It is better to use ports sets when we have multiple targets on a node and you want to restrict access of a certain target to a specific initiator. Do not confuse port set with the physical ports.

Below is the command which will create a port set and add two iSCSI target lif.

portset create -vserver vs1 -portset portset1 -protocol iSCSI -port-name iscsilif1 iscsilif2

You can see the port set details by executing the below command.

portset show -vserver vs1

Step 4. Create an Initiator group in SVM Netapp Cluster Mode

In this step we are going to create initiator group  in SVM. This is also called igroup which is nothing but collection of initiator IQN number. In iSCSI lun allocation IQN are similar to WWPN in FC protocol.  

igroup create -vserver vs1 -igroup igroup1 -protocol iscsi -ostype windows_2008 -initiator iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:hostA

Step 5. Bind the Igroup to portset in SVM Netapp Cluster Mode

In this step we will bind the igroup to the portset. Once this step is completed the the initiator will be able to communicate to the iSCSI target lif which are present in port set. Below is the command to bind an igroup to portset in SVM.

lun igroup bind -vserver vs1 -igroup igroup1 -portset portset1

Steps 6: Map iSCSI LUN to Igroup In SVM Netapp Cluster Mode

In this step we will map or present the lun to the igroup1 and then the lun will be visible to initiator. Below is the command to map the iscsi lun to an initiator.

lun mapping create -vserver vs1 -path /vol/vol1/lun1 -igroup igroup1

Step 7. Discover New iSCSI Lun  in Windows Server

LUNs on your Storage Virtual Machine (SVM) appear as local disks to the Windows host. You must manually rescan disks to discover the new LUN. Below are the steps to do it for windows 2008 server

Steps 1. Open the Windows Computer Management utility:

Navigate to Computer Management Windows Server 2008 Start > Administrative Tools > Computer Management

2. Expand the Storage node in the navigation tree.

3. Click Disk Management

LUNs appear in Windows Disk Management as disks. You need to initialize the disk as a basic disk with a GPT or MBR partition table to create a drive. You need to format the LUN with a file system such as NTFS, below are the steps to do it.

Steps 1. Start Windows Disk Management.

Steps 2. Right-click the LUN, and then select the required disk or partition type.

Steps 3. Follow the instructions in the wizard.

Once these steps are completed you can go to My Computer and can see new drive. Make sure that you create and delete files in the drive. This concludes the steps on iscsi lun creation in SVM and present it to a windows server. Below is a Youtube video which explains more on each steps and commands. You can also like and subscribe to You Tube channel for more such videos.

                 

How To Configure iSCSI In SVM And Windows Server Netapp Cluster Mode

How To Configure iSCSI In SVM And Windows Server Netapp Cluster Mode

Today we will discuss how we can configure iscsi in SVM NetApp Cluster Mode. Basically iSCSI protocol is used for LUN allocation to various host.  In iSCSI the data transfer happens via network. This is why the performance is less in comparison to the FC protocol. You can try increase the performance by using 10G network port and by enabling Jumbo Frames. Below are the overall steps need to perform in order to configure iSCSI in SVM NetApp Cluster Mode.

Complete Steps to configure iscsi in SVM NetApp Cluster Mode.

1. Add iSCSI License is Netapp Custer

2. Add iSCSI protocol in SVM allowed Protocol List

3. Create iSCSI Server in SVM Netapp

4. Create iSCSI Lif in each node of the cluster

5. Discover iSCSI target in windows server

We are going to discuss about each step one by one along with the command that we need to use to enable iSCSI in SVM NetApp cluster mode.

Step 1: Add iSCSI License is Netapp Custer Mode

Below command will add the iSCSI licence in NetApp  cluster mode.

cluster1::> system license add -license-code AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Once the command is executed you can execute the below command to see if iSCSI licence added or not ?

cluster1::> system license show

Step 2: Add iSCSI Protocol in SVM allowed protocol list

Before we use any Protocol in SVM we need to check whether that particular protocol is present in the protocol list of SVM or not.  Below command will show what are the protocol present in SVM.

cluster1::> vserver show-protocols -vserver vs1

If you see iSCSI in the output of above command then we can proceed for the next step.  Else we need to add the iSCSI protocol in the SVM by using the below command

cluster1::> vserver add-protocols -vserver vs1 -protocols iSCSI

Step 3: Create iSCSI server in SVM Netapp Cluster Mode

In this step we are going to enable iSCSI Protocol in SVM once we done with this step then only we will be able to perform iSCSI operations in SVM.

cluster::> vserver iscsi create -vserver vs1

In order to verify if iSCSI service is enabled or not you can execute the below command

cluster::> iSCSI show -vserver vs1

Step 4 Create iSCSI LIF In SVM Netapp Cluster Mode

In this step we will create iSCSI lif. iSCSI lif creation is similar to normal lif creation only difference is that we have to mention iscsi protocol while creating the lif. In order to maintain the multipath we must create lif in each node of the cluster. Below is the command to create lif on node 1.

cluster::> network interface create -vserver vs1 -lif iscsilif1 -role data -data-protocol iscsi -home-node node1 -home-port e0e -subnet-name subnet1

In above command we have used subnet to create the lif. You can click here to see how subnet work in netapp cluster mode.

Now all the steps from Netapp side is completed. Now follow the below steps to complete the configuration from Windows Side.

Steps 5: Discover iSCSI target in windows server

1. Open the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box:

Windows Server 2012 Server Manager > Dashboard > Tools > iSCSI Initiator

Windows Server 2008 Start > Administrative Tools > iSCSI Initiator

2. On the Discovery tab, click Discover Portal or Add Portal, and then enter the IP address of the

iSCSI target port.

3. On the Targets tab, select the target you discovered, and then click Log on or Connect.

4. Select Enable multi-path, select Automatically restore this connection when the computer

starts or Add this connection to the list of Favorite Targets, and then click Advanced.

5. For Local adapter, select Microsoft iSCSI Initiator.

The following example is from Windows Server 2008:

iSCSI Configuration In Windows Netapp Cluster Mode

6. For Source IP or Initiator IP, select the IP address of a port on the same subnet or VLAN as one

of the iSCSI target LIFs.

7. Retain the default values for the remaining check boxes, and then click OK.

Once the steps from Windows side is done. We will be able to see the iSCSI initiator in SVM as well. Below is the command to see them.

cluster::> iSCSI initiator show -vserver vs1

Now the SVM is ready to server iSCSI traffic. Next step is to create a lun and map it to the windows server. In windows server the lun will be mapped as local drive and can be used for data operation. Check Out the YouTube Video which explains each steps in details along with the command line Demo. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel as well.

                

Detail Explanation Of Inode - Netapp Cluster Mode

Detail Explanation Of Inode - Netapp Cluster Mode

This video explains all possible things that you should know about inode in Netapp Cluster Mode.

Detail Explanation Of Inode Netapp Cluster Mode

What is Inode In Netapp Cluster Mode ?

An inode is a data structure or object which contain information about files in Netapp Cluster Mode. An inode is a data structure that defines a file, with an exception of filename which is stored in the directory entry. The inode number is an integer unique to the volume. Whenever a user create a new file an inode is assigned to contain all the information about the file.

What is the Size of One Inode In Netapp Cluster Mode ?

The size of a inode depends upon model to model. Based on the model and the block size of the volume we can say what would be the size of one inode in NetApp cluster mode. If a netapp volume has block size of 4 KB then the one inode will consume 4 KB of space and if the block size of volume is 32 KB then it will consume 32 KB of space.

Command to check block size of volume in netapp cluster mode.

In order to get the block size of netapp volume we need to run node level command. Below command output will give you the block size of all volume which belongs to node 01.

run -node Cluster-01 -command vol status -b

How To Calculate Maximum Inode Of Volume In Netapp Cluster Mode ?

The simple formula is total capacity of volume in KB divided by block size of the netapp. Below is an example where the total volume size is 20 MB or 20480 KB and the block size is 4 KB.

Formula For Calculating Maximum Inode Of Volume  In Netapp Cluster Mode

Total Approx Inode = Total Size Of the Volume in KB/Block Size of the Volume


Total Approx Inode = 20480/4 = 5120


5120 is approximate value for maximum inode. If you want to know the exact value then select a value which is much higher than 5120 and try to increase the Inode. The Ontap will give you error and it will also have the exact value of inode that a volume can have.

How to Check Total Number Of Inode of Volume In Netapp Cluster Mode ?

We can check the total number of  inode of volume in NetApp cluster mode by using two commands.

Command To Check Number Of Inode Of Volume In Netapp Cluster Mode

 df -h vol1


Output of above command will show the total number of free inode and the used inode of a volume and the sum of those will give you the total number currently allocated inode for the volume. You can also use the below SVM level command to get total number currently allocated inode.

Command To Check Number Of Inode Of Volume In SVM Netapp Cluster Mode

vol show -vserver vs1 -volume vol1 -fields files


Output of above command will give the total number files that can be created in a volume which is also is the inode of the volume.

How To Increase Inode Of Volume In Netapp Cluster Mode ?

We need to increase the number of file of volume to increase the inode. As per Netapp best practice recommendation inode should be increased by 2%.

Command to Increase Inode Of Volume In Netapp Cluster Mode.

vol modify -volume vol1 -files 2000


If the value is larger than the maximum inode capacity the ontap will throw an error. This concludes the blog on Inode. Below is an YouTube Video to see the demo on how to perform all steps to increase the inode in Netapp Cluster Mode.