Can you provide a little more detail?

First, what kind of error are your getting?  Can you ping the iSCSI ports from the computers?

What operating systems are you using on your computers?

What version of firmware is on the MD3000i along with version of the resource CD?

Are you using a dedicated network for iSCSI or shared on your corporate network?

What are the IP Addresses of the NICs in your computers?

You may also want to check your sales order, you may have a remote installation included in your order.  If that is the case, you can schedule a remote session where Dell will remotely configure your MD3000i storage system while you watch.

As the MD3000i is only supported with Windows 2003/2008, Red Hat Enterprise server 4/5, SuSE Enterprise server 9/10, Citrix Xenserver and ESX 3.5.0, have you tried from one of those type of operating systems?

XP and Vista are supported for management station only (not iSCSI connectivity).

Source: Dell MD3000i online documentation (primarily the support matrix) here. <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

Ok!

we have windows xp sp2

the corporate network is in the 192.168.128.*** area

the switch is 192.168.128.100

the MD3000i ethernet addresses 192.168.128.101 and 192.168.128.102

the iSCSI ports are 192.168.130.101;192.168.131. 101;192.168.128.130.102;192.168.131.102

I can't ping the iSCSI ports.

The error message is in the Initiator "Connection Faild"

Yes, i red the manual, I saw the supported OS, but we have a switch PowerConnect 5448, so

I send a package on the ethernet port and the switch is,- like an end-point device- transformed the package

to the iSCSI port, isn't right?

So, the XP and Vista supported the managment station only, is that meen we can't work our workstation in

host mode, can't reach the virtual disk or mapping? 

Unfortunately, the PowerConnect 5448 switch isn't in the supported switches, but in the offical DELL hompage  I found than it's a first iSCSI optimize switch family, automatic iSCSI device finding etc..

Our concept is the following:

Workstations (Windows XP SP2 Hun)-------->PowerConnect 5448----------->MD3000i (~3.5TB)

is it working, or not?

Please help me. Thanks 

Hi Dzenz!

Thanks your answer.

If I put a workstation ,- with for example Microsoft Windows Server 2008- between the storage and the other

machines, and we can reach the virtual disks of the sotrage through the Server.

How can I make it?

How can I make, than I send a request the server forward the storage, and I get it back?

We're working very large files (10-80GB one file), can the server accept more request without trafic jam?

That's not simple!

The system that the iSCSI Initiator is running on needs to be network accessible to the iSCSI host ports on the storage array. Typically private iSCSI networks are configured, if a coprorate network is used then a VLAN is highly recommended. The default subnets for the iSCSI host ports differ between ports on the  controller and these differ from the management port subnet.

In the configuration outlined either the system needs to be have access to 192.168.130 & 192.168.131 or the iSCSI host ports changed to be on the same subnet of the system.

As noted, non-server OS's are not formally supported for I/O with the MD3000i.

Dave

If you surface each virtual disk mapped to the Windows Server 2008 as a shared folder then each XP client can access the storage that way.

Dave

Hi!

Now I  try to install a Server 2008 and config step by step, if I faild I will write here again.

Reading through the thread, the problem isn't that XP isn't supported.  The underlining problem is that the network is not setup correctly.  This is evident when you can't ping the iSCSI port from the host.  You didn't indicate if you had separate NICs for the iSCSI traffic, if you do, what IP Addresses are you using? 

Is the PowerConnect 5448 also your corporate network switch or is it dedicated for iSCSI traffic.
The default IP Addresses for the iSCSI ports configured on 2 separate subnets and are not routable.  So depending on the number of NICs in the host and how they are configured will depend how the MD3000i is configured. 

I know than, the network is not setup correctly, but that's my first "'network administrator" job, I never build or config network before this time :(. 

The machines with XP SP2 are the 192.168.128.*** province, and the switch has got 192.168.128.100 IP address, the MD3000i has got two management ports, these are 192.168.128.101 and 192.168.128.102 (factory default), and 4 iSCSI ports 192.168.130.101, 192.168.131.101, 192.168.130.102, 192.168.131.102.

Of course if I'm in the *.*.128.* province (example: 192.168.128.103) I can reach the storage with MD Storage Manager progra, but can't ping the iSCSI port. If I take my workstation in the *.*.130.* province I see the iSCSI port, but can't manage the storage.

Idea: I make two VLAN network, one all host (192.168.128.***) + switch management + storage management ports, and the other (192.168.130.***) one server (Windows Server 2003 or 2008)  + iSCSI ports. But, how can we see the server's share map drives, how can ping in the other IP province?

How do I create two VLAN with gateway?

I'm beginner, so that's all.

Hi!

I installed a windows server 2008, i make all step again in the installation manua. 

I made host, set up the initiator, etc...

Now I can see a virtual disk (2TB), but it's status is OFFLINE, i can't format, i can't reach, just see.

It's a half win :(

Can you help me, wath's wrong?

Thanks

This should be easy. On the disk that is marked offline, the one with the red down arrow, right click and choose online. Then you can initialize, create a partition, and format.

From MS "All disks on a shared storage bus are automatically placed in an offline state when first mapped..."

This is normal behavior for a lun being presented from a MD3000i to Windows Server 2008

Regards,

-cjtompsett

Hi!

Thank you for your response, but I can't reach the Online option, it's gray (not active), I can choose only Properties and Help.

The problem is that, when i can connect to the storage with Microsoft iSCSI Initiator (it's working yet),

I can choose the storage, the connections, etc.., but in the "Target Properties\Device" page click to the "Advanced" button, on this page empty the "Volume path names" label. I think that is the problem, but what is the reason?

Hi everbody!

Finally I made it. 

Here is the resault description:

I have a virgin system,  a workstation with Windows XP SP2 hun OS, a Powerconnect 5448 switch, a Powervault MD3000i storage with 7 physica disks.

Step1: Config the switch with it's user manual, and take this IP address 192.168.128.100 

Step2: Set up my IP address to static, 192.168.128.103 submask: 255.255.255.0 no gateway

Step3: Install the Microsoft Initiator (for example the latest version 2.07), only install don't config anything

Step4: Install the manager softver of storage, it's called Powervault Storage  Manager, and config automatly. Well, the auto config sets up the followig settings:

                   - No host

                   - Virtual disks: In factory default, it has got two virtual disk with RAID1, I deleted both disks,

                                        because I will make one or two RAID5 virtual disks.

                   - Ethernet ports: 192.168.128.101 and 192.168.128.102

                   - iSCSI ports: Controller 0 ->192.168.130.101 and 192.168.131.101

                                       Controller 1 -> 192.168.130.102 and 192.168.131.102

These are the most important options,the others for example: storage name, password, etc.., these aren't interesting.

Ok, we have a default system. 

Step5: 

I make the following: 

- Make a host, the name of initiator is that, which is in the Name label of Microsoft Initiator panel.

- Create virtual disks

- Mapping the disk(s) to the host(s)

- I don't make anything the Ethernet ports, they are default 192.168.128.101 and 192.168.128.102

- On the iSCSI config page i switch off the  iSCSI ports excpet one, I leave active the 192.168.130.101 port, but I change the IP address to 192.168.128.110, so only one iSCSI port active.

Step6:

-Start Microsoft Initiator

-On the Discovery page write the 192.168.128.110 IP address

-If everything OK, you can connect the storage

-On the Target page you can Log On to the sotrage

-So start the windows Disk Managment, it's start a "new disk wizard", and here you can partition and format the mapping disk

Thank's for everybody who helps me.