Storage Pt 2 – Set up Nested iSCSI Target/SAN using OpenFiler

Welcome to the second part of the storage segment. This time I want to cover setting up a nested iSCSI target in VMware Workstation. The idea is to create a shared datastore for the training lab so that you may be able to play around and use different features of vSphere that use shared storage. I am using OpenFiler but you can use FreeNAS, NAS4Free, StarWinds iSCSI Target for Windows, etc.

Create a New VM with 1 CPU/1GB Ram/ 13Gb HDD
Add a second HDD to the VM large enough to hold a couple of VMs from ESXi (40 – 80Gb recommended)
Connect the OpenFiler ISO to the CD Rom in VMware Workstation
Start the VM and select Boot from CD
Click Next > Select Language
Select the small 13Gb drive and make sure it is set as Boot drive > click Next and accept Erase all data.
Click Edit > Put in IP address settings for your network > Click OK > type hostname > type Gateway and DNS
Click Next > type in root password > click next and wait for install process
Click reboot
Once restarted open up your web browser and go to https://:446
Log on with Username: openfiler Password: password
Click on Services and click enable and start on iSCSI Initiator and iSCSI Target
Select Volumes > Click Create New Physical Volume
Select /dev/sdb depending on which drive is not your OS drive.
Change your partition size to suit and click create
Select Add Volume on the right > Give the Volume a name and select the disk
Select iSCSI Target > Click Add for the Target IQN
Select Add Volume > type a name for the LUN > Select the size for LUN > select block filesystem
Select iSCSI Targets > LUN Mapping > Click Map