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Mapping volumes to an ESXi server
25 Dell EMC SC Series: Best Practices with VMware vSphere | 2060-M-BP-V
6.6 Configuring the VMware iSCSI software initiator for multipathing
To configure the VMware iSCSI software initiator for multipathing, see sections “Configuring Software iSCSI
Adapter” and “Multiple Network Adapters in iSCSI Configuration” in the vSphere Storage Guide at VMware
vSphere documentation.
For users with previous experience configuring iSCSI for multipathing, here are a few key points for a
successful configuration:
• Verify that there is one VMkernel interface for each physical NIC to be used for storage traffic,
following the virtual switch port binding recommendations in section 6.6.1.
• Adjust the failover order on each VMkernel interface for a 1:1 VMkernel to physical NIC ratio.
• Add both VMkernel interfaces to the iSCSI software adapter network port binding (see Figure 12). If
the prerequisite failover orders have not been set, the vSphere client will not allow the operation.
• Rescan the iSCSI software adapter for new volumes.
• From within the Dell Storage Manager Client, create the server object for the host.
Binding multiple VMkernel ports to the software iSCSI initiator
6.6.1 VMkernel port binding considerations with software iSCSI
When using the software iSCSI initiator provided within an ESXi host, careful consideration needs to be given
to the appropriate virtual switch configurations adhering to VMware iSCSI port-binding requirements. The
number of fault domains, subnets, and IP configuration need to be carefully examined to avoid configuration
errors. If iSCSI front-end ports are configured in a single subnet and single fault domain, the vmnics must
reside within a single vSwitch to use VMkernel port binding.
Note: The most common environment in which a single fault domain is used for the iSCSI network is a
redundant configuration with a single VLAN.