That must be what I'm missing. Do you know where I can get the correct driver? The Dell Support driver download site lists a Server 2008 x64 driver. I need a certified Server 2008 R2 driver.
FYI. I'm following the Dell document named "Instructions to Perform Boot from iSCSI for Dell Storage Arrays." Thanks.
The ticket with Dell support is now escalated. All settings are correct and there is no documentation that works. The Windows Pre-install environment will not see the iSCSI volumes. In my opinion, Dell just sold me a feature that doesn't work.
Depending on the version of F/W on the card, there is either an options about first boot or you need to tell it not to boot off the iscsi disk. Enable the disk, but not boot off of it. If you dont do this, it will log out of the storage and when you go to look for volumes, it will not be present. If you are using software boot, the built in driver should work, if not, there is a microsoft article on how to remove the drivers off the R2 CD so the new drivers will load.
Threw out all Dell documentation and got the hard drive to show up.
The documentation told me to turn off HBA mode, present as first HDD options, and load the VBD (Blue Screens) and NIC drivers. Once I enabled HBA mode and present as first HDD, and loaded the iSCSI driver, it worked.
I still can't complete the installation... Just one problem after another...
After I install the iSCSI driver, the hard drive appears, so I can select it as a hard drive and install the operating system. The server then reboots and needs to re-load the pre-install environment to run the final Completing Installation tasks. The problem is the server never gets there. It actually tries to load the OS as is and blue screens for a split second before rebooting again.
Here's the list of documentation that I've gone through:
and a few others that have been directly emailed to me from Dell Support.
NOTE: I'm using the 14.2 version of the driver because the current 16.2 version of the driver does not work (i.e. I can't see the hard drive after installing the current driver version.)
Lets break this down where your actually at. It's been a while using BCOM but off the top of my head here are some very general statements of the setup...
- Configure your initiator to discover/mount Target LUN0 (Bootable flash Key)
- Configure EQL Target LUN0 and Inititor info
- Reboot initiator and watch for target detect
- FW subOS should mount LUN0, if target is detected
- Local USB CD or mount ISO of OS for "remote" install to Target LUN0,
load network driver when prompted (this is the driver I think your missing) <--- !
- Complete remote Install OS onto LUN0
- reboot Initiator
- Initiator detects Target,
- Initiator Mounts LUN0 (chech to see this happens),
- Initiator loads OS uploads (IBFT passes info from hw firmware to actual OS)...
Once you figure this out, document your process very well/detailed, as support from Dell on boot-from-iSCSI is nearly non-existant if you ever call with a problem booting the server. So, you'll need to be able to figure out your problem on your own, and your backup (when you're on vacation or so) needs to be able to figure it out as well with your documentation.
mshen112
10 Posts
1
September 26th, 2011 16:00
Got it working! After installing the iSCSI driver, I needed to install the VBD driver. That was the only thing that was missing for me.
BIOS Version: 1.5.2
NIC Firmware: 5.2.7
Driver Version: 1.4.2
Thanks for the responses.
mshen112
10 Posts
0
September 1st, 2011 15:00
I did no get the HBAs. They are Broadcom BCM5709C NICs.
mshen112
10 Posts
0
September 1st, 2011 16:00
That must be what I'm missing. Do you know where I can get the correct driver? The Dell Support driver download site lists a Server 2008 x64 driver. I need a certified Server 2008 R2 driver.
FYI. I'm following the Dell document named "Instructions to Perform Boot from iSCSI for Dell Storage Arrays." Thanks.
Ankit_Test
1 Rookie
•
72 Posts
0
September 9th, 2011 04:00
mshen112
10 Posts
0
September 9th, 2011 10:00
The ticket with Dell support is now escalated. All settings are correct and there is no documentation that works. The Windows Pre-install environment will not see the iSCSI volumes. In my opinion, Dell just sold me a feature that doesn't work.
Dev Mgr
4 Operator
•
9.3K Posts
0
September 12th, 2011 07:00
Just get some real iSCSI HBAs; Qlogic QLE4062C's. Broadcom iSCSI offload isn't a full hardware iSCSI solution, but the Qlogic HBAs are.
mshen112
10 Posts
0
September 12th, 2011 10:00
Here are my reasons for purchasing the NICs instead of the HBAs:
- $1,200 dual port HBA vs $550 quad port NIC is a consideration. I can ports from different NICs for boot redundancy and networking traffic.
- I specifically asked for the boot from iSCSI SAN functionality from the Dell sales reps. They spec'ed out those NICs
- The NIC is marketed to boot from SAN on Dell servers. FALSE ADVERTISING???
Richard_Thompso
28 Posts
0
September 16th, 2011 23:00
Depending on the version of F/W on the card, there is either an options about first boot or you need to tell it not to boot off the iscsi disk. Enable the disk, but not boot off of it. If you dont do this, it will log out of the storage and when you go to look for volumes, it will not be present. If you are using software boot, the built in driver should work, if not, there is a microsoft article on how to remove the drivers off the R2 CD so the new drivers will load.
Richard_Thompso
28 Posts
0
September 16th, 2011 23:00
there is a article on Dell website that should work if you dont have ISOE.
jp1110
67 Posts
0
September 18th, 2011 16:00
mshen112,
Did you get your answer?
jp
mshen112
10 Posts
0
September 19th, 2011 12:00
Threw out all Dell documentation and got the hard drive to show up.
The documentation told me to turn off HBA mode, present as first HDD options, and load the VBD (Blue Screens) and NIC drivers. Once I enabled HBA mode and present as first HDD, and loaded the iSCSI driver, it worked.
mshen112
10 Posts
0
September 19th, 2011 17:00
I still can't complete the installation... Just one problem after another...
After I install the iSCSI driver, the hard drive appears, so I can select it as a hard drive and install the operating system. The server then reboots and needs to re-load the pre-install environment to run the final Completing Installation tasks. The problem is the server never gets there. It actually tries to load the OS as is and blue screens for a split second before rebooting again.
Here's the list of documentation that I've gone through:
1. support.dell.com/.../iSCSI.pdf
2. support.dell.com/.../BFi
3. i.dell.com/.../Instructions_to_Perform_Boot_from_iSCSI_for_Dell_Storage_Arrays.pdf
and a few others that have been directly emailed to me from Dell Support.
NOTE: I'm using the 14.2 version of the driver because the current 16.2 version of the driver does not work (i.e. I can't see the hard drive after installing the current driver version.)
Richard_Thompso
28 Posts
0
September 21st, 2011 20:00
jp1110
67 Posts
0
September 22nd, 2011 21:00
Lets break this down where your actually at. It's been a while using BCOM but off the top of my head here are some very general statements of the setup...
- Configure your initiator to discover/mount Target LUN0 (Bootable flash Key)
- Configure EQL Target LUN0 and Inititor info
- Reboot initiator and watch for target detect
- FW subOS should mount LUN0, if target is detected
- Local USB CD or mount ISO of OS for "remote" install to Target LUN0,
load network driver when prompted (this is the driver I think your missing) <--- !
- Complete remote Install OS onto LUN0
- reboot Initiator
- Initiator detects Target,
- Initiator Mounts LUN0 (chech to see this happens),
- Initiator loads OS uploads (IBFT passes info from hw firmware to actual OS)...
Where are you in this depiction...
Dev Mgr
4 Operator
•
9.3K Posts
0
September 25th, 2011 07:00
Once you figure this out, document your process very well/detailed, as support from Dell on boot-from-iSCSI is nearly non-existant if you ever call with a problem booting the server. So, you'll need to be able to figure out your problem on your own, and your backup (when you're on vacation or so) needs to be able to figure it out as well with your documentation.