Yes I've used the default IQN generated by the iSCSI initiator.
"iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:nts25.cit.local"
I've added this IQN to the host access config in the MD Storage Manager.
I don't know if this is related but in addition to the above situation i noticed that i am not able to select the Change Target Authentication & Change Target Identification options at the manage iSCSI settings tab of the MD Storage Manager.
Yesterday I've spent over an hour with Dell support on the phone. They took over my server's desktop and checked all my settings. Finally they advised me to remove all the storage software and iSCSI initiator, reboot the server, install everything again and reboot again -> but the situation remains as described above .
Can this problem somehow be hardware related? For instance the NIC of the server (which is not a Dell server) not being capable to support iSCSI? (internal NIC is a dualport Intel PRO/1000 EB)
My experience with iSCSI is that on the host side it's not picky about what kind of hardware you're using usually.
I doubt your problem could be caused by hardware, as that only provides the path to the storage array, nothing more than that. Even if there was no path, you should still be able to add a target (even if just a bogus one just to test it).
I've tried the Starport initiator but it doesn't even recognize the IQN name:
In the 'Please select a target to connect to' box it only shows some weird characters.
When i select next i get a connection error. And it's even popping out the iSCSI NIC connection on the hostserver for a few seconds (cable is directly attached to iSCSI port on MD3000i).
At this point things are starting to get frustrating. After 2 WebEx sessions with no result, Dell support is letting me down because they say the support doesn't cover install/config issues while we do not have a Dell server. They did advice me to remove the server from the domain prior to installing and configuring the Microsoft initiator..I've tried that but still same 'Invalid sendtargets response text was encountered' errors occur. So we still don't have a clue what is causing this.
Now, as a last resort, we've captured this events in a network monitor trace and posted this to Microsoft support. Hopefully they come up with a solution, or an explanation at least.
You could try a different approach, if you have a spare desktop or machine available. Load starwind(also rocketdivision), it's an iscsi target, create an image file for a disk. Then try to log on to that using your server. Just a way of proving your initiator software.
Today I tested the Starwind image target on a (local) workstation and it works just fine with the Microsoft iSCSI initiator.
Tomorrow, when I'm back at our office, I will use Starwind to test our initiator using our server to logon to the target. Assuming if the results are the same as I experienced today with the workstation (a successful logon to target), will that make a hardware failure of the MD3000i controller more likely?
I'll post my results on this thread as soon as I have them.
Well as I expected it was no problem to connect from our host server to the virtual iSCSI image drive (created with Starwind on a workstation) using the Microsoft iSCSI initiator.
I tried the other controller of the MD3000i as well to rule out a faulty controller. Yet I still get the same 'Sendtarget error message'. We have also connected a Dell PowerEdge 840 server to the Array but the same situation occurs whenever I try to connect to the target within the initiator.
Microsoft support replied to us, after analyzing our network capture, that the initiator connects to the target IP correctly and submitted login request successfully. However, a logout exchange starts immediately after the iSCSI port replied the target name and IP addresses. Based on their research, this issue can occur if the target name cannot be recognized or the device is not sending packages in supported format.
So that's all we have right now. Even Microsoft suggested to contact Dell support to double check if the MD3000i is setup correctly. I'll have another Webex session with Dell support this afternoon, hopefully they have some new insights of how to solve this issue.
As it turned out the internal configuration of the MD3000i was messed up. Some crucial iSCSI related settings were stuck within the configuration. Changes made with the MD storage manager software were not applied and caused the Powervault to reject all connections coming from the iSCSI initiator.
During the Webex session Dell support was able to reset the device using telnet commands (I had to connect the supplied serial cable) and successfully clear the whole configuration.
After that the MD3000i finally connected with no problems to our host server.
Dell-Jeff G
156 Posts
0
February 4th, 2008 12:00
Did you use the default IQN generated by the iSCSI Initiator?
With the MD3000i, you must use a vaild IQN in the proper format.
Example: iqn.1984-04.com.dell:server-name.
Can you provide the IQN (iSCSI Qualified Name)? Either as a post or private message.
robert1975
15 Posts
0
February 5th, 2008 07:00
Yes I've used the default IQN generated by the iSCSI initiator.
"iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:nts25.cit.local"
I've added this IQN to the host access config in the MD Storage Manager.
I don't know if this is related but in addition to the above situation i noticed that i am not able to select the Change Target Authentication & Change Target Identification options at the manage iSCSI settings tab of the MD Storage Manager.
Yesterday I've spent over an hour with Dell support on the phone. They took over my server's desktop and checked all my settings. Finally they advised me to remove all the storage software and iSCSI initiator, reboot the server, install everything again and reboot again -> but the situation remains as described above .
Can this problem somehow be hardware related? For instance the NIC of the server (which is not a Dell server) not being capable to support iSCSI? (internal NIC is a dualport Intel PRO/1000 EB)
Dev Mgr
4 Operator
•
9.3K Posts
0
February 5th, 2008 15:00
I doubt your problem could be caused by hardware, as that only provides the path to the storage array, nothing more than that. Even if there was no path, you should still be able to add a target (even if just a bogus one just to test it).
tommo666
3 Apprentice
•
1.2K Posts
0
February 5th, 2008 16:00
robert1975
15 Posts
0
February 8th, 2008 11:00
I've tried the Starport initiator but it doesn't even recognize the IQN name:
In the 'Please select a target to connect to' box it only shows some weird characters.
When i select next i get a connection error. And it's even popping out the iSCSI NIC connection on the hostserver for a few seconds (cable is directly attached to iSCSI port on MD3000i).
At this point things are starting to get frustrating. After 2 WebEx sessions with no result, Dell support is letting me down because they say the support doesn't cover install/config issues while we do not have a Dell server. They did advice me to remove the server from the domain prior to installing and configuring the Microsoft initiator..I've tried that but still same 'Invalid sendtargets response text was encountered' errors occur. So we still don't have a clue what is causing this.
Now, as a last resort, we've captured this events in a network monitor trace and posted this to Microsoft support. Hopefully they come up with a solution, or an explanation at least.
tommo666
3 Apprentice
•
1.2K Posts
0
February 8th, 2008 12:00
robert1975
15 Posts
0
February 13th, 2008 13:00
@tommo666: Thanks for the tip
Today I tested the Starwind image target on a (local) workstation and it works just fine with the Microsoft iSCSI initiator.
Tomorrow, when I'm back at our office, I will use Starwind to test our initiator using our server to logon to the target. Assuming if the results are the same as I experienced today with the workstation (a successful logon to target), will that make a hardware failure of the MD3000i controller more likely?
I'll post my results on this thread as soon as I have them.
robert1975
15 Posts
0
February 14th, 2008 10:00
Well as I expected it was no problem to connect from our host server to the virtual iSCSI image drive (created with Starwind on a workstation) using the Microsoft iSCSI initiator.
I tried the other controller of the MD3000i as well to rule out a faulty controller. Yet I still get the same 'Sendtarget error message'. We have also connected a Dell PowerEdge 840 server to the Array but the same situation occurs whenever I try to connect to the target within the initiator.
Microsoft support replied to us, after analyzing our network capture, that the initiator connects to the target IP correctly and submitted login request successfully. However, a logout exchange starts immediately after the iSCSI port replied the target name and IP addresses. Based on their research, this issue can occur if the target name cannot be recognized or the device is not sending packages in supported format.
So that's all we have right now. Even Microsoft suggested to contact Dell support to double check if the MD3000i is setup correctly. I'll have another Webex session with Dell support this afternoon, hopefully they have some new insights of how to solve this issue.
robert1975
15 Posts
0
February 15th, 2008 08:00
Problem fixed! :smileyhappy:
As it turned out the internal configuration of the MD3000i was messed up. Some crucial iSCSI related settings were stuck within the configuration. Changes made with the MD storage manager software were not applied and caused the Powervault to reject all connections coming from the iSCSI initiator.
During the Webex session Dell support was able to reset the device using telnet commands (I had to connect the supplied serial cable) and successfully clear the whole configuration.
After that the MD3000i finally connected with no problems to our host server.
tommo666
3 Apprentice
•
1.2K Posts
0
February 15th, 2008 17:00
That's good news.