Multiple iSCSI Targets to one VMware ESXi server

[rnutter]

I have one FreeNAS talking to my ESXi server. Everything was fine until I brought a second FreeNAS server online. ESXi would see if and would see the LUNs I had configured but I couldnt add the drives to the ESXi storage system. Verified the configuration between the two FreeNAS servers. Everything is the same. That is where I think the problem might be.

My question is, what has to be unique between the two FreeNAS servers ? I thought the ip addresses would be enough but apparently I must do something else. There were errors on the 2nd FreeNAS server console screen but didnt get those copied down before I left.

Once I stopped the iSCSI service on the 2nd FreeNAS server, I couldnt get it to start. When I tried to stop and restart the iSCSI service on the 1st FreeNAS server - it would stop but not restart.

Looked for info on running multiple FreeNAS severs to a single ESXi server but didnt find anything. Would appreciate some suggestions.

Ron

 

[jgreco]

so you used the same iqn's?

 

[rnutter]

yes. Will try to change that and see what happens

 

[jgreco]

oh for chrissakes. you really need to read the manual instead of just flipping random toggle switches until it seems to work. in particular if you are using "org.example" in your iqn, total fail. did you just think that was there to consume extra screen real estate? sheesh.

 

[rnutter]

I had gone through the manual but didnt remember this piece. Sorry that i am not the expert that you are. I had brought it up before but not two systems at one.

 

[cyberjock]

rnutter, I really think you need to stop and go do some more reading or consult someone with more experience before you continue. jgreco and I have seen plenty of people that have had very bad experiences with ESXi and/or FreeNAS because of inexperience/knowledge. It seems you may be in over your head. Not filling in the fields properly or understanding the settings can be devastating for your data.

There's only so much help that can be provided in terms of support via a forum.

 

[jgreco]

See, when you don't bother to read the documentation, it can lead to "why don't this work" (hopeful best case) to "oh fsck i just irretrievably lost all my data" (cynically, the actual likely result). You're supposed to use your own organization's domain name, and use it to derive a globally unique IQN that should never be inadvertently reused by someone else. Whether this is strictly necessary, I'm sure some people would try to debate, but even if you don't have your own domain name, it would be very smart to abide by the concept. Use an e-mail address you own and translate @ to dot, and your date of birth.

Certainly if you tell your iSCSI subsystem that it has access to the same resources on the same IQN at two different servers, all you're going to do is shoot for disaster when ESXi maybe balances the load between the two servers. Sounds like you were fortunate enough that it was able to detect your PEBCAK. ESXi can occasionally be forgiving in that way.