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SnapCenter Software 6.0

Configure LUN storage

Contributors netapp-asubhas

You can use SnapCenter to configure an FC-connected or iSCSI-connected LUN. You can also use SnapCenter to connect an existing LUN to a Windows host.

LUNs are the basic unit of storage in a SAN configuration. The Windows host sees LUNs on your system as virtual disks. For more information, see ONTAP 9 SAN Configuration Guide.

Establish an iSCSI session

If you are using iSCSI to connect to a LUN, you must establish an iSCSI session before you create the LUN to enable communication.

Before you begin

  • You must have defined the storage system node as an iSCSI target.

  • You must have started the iSCSI service on the storage system. Learn more

About this task

You can establish an iSCSI session only between the same IP versions, either from IPv6 to IPv6, or from IPv4 to IPv4.

You can use a link-local IPv6 address for iSCSI session management and for communication between a host and a target only when both are in the same subnet.

If you change the name of an iSCSI initiator, access to iSCSI targets is affected. After changing the name, you might require to reconfigure the targets accessed by the initiator so that they can recognize the new name. You must ensure to restart the host after changing the name of an iSCSI initiator.

If your host has more than one iSCSI interface, once you have established an iSCSI session to SnapCenter using an IP address on the first interface, you cannot establish an iSCSI session from another interface with a different IP address.

Steps

  1. In the left navigation pane, click Hosts.

  2. In the Hosts page, click iSCSI Session.

  3. From the Storage Virtual Machine drop-down list, select the storage virtual machine (SVM) for the iSCSI target.

  4. From the Host drop-down list, select the host for the session.

  5. Click Establish Session.

    The Establish Session wizard is displayed.

  6. In the Establish Session wizard, identify the target:

    In this field…​ Enter…​

    Target node name

    The node name of the iSCSI target

    If there is an existing target node name, the name is displayed in read-only format.

    Target portal address

    The IP address of the target network portal

    Target portal port

    The TCP port of the target network portal

    Initiator portal address

    The IP address of the initiator network portal

  7. When you are satisfied with your entries, click Connect.

    SnapCenter establishes the iSCSI session.

  8. Repeat this procedure to establish a session for each target.

Disconnect an iSCSI session

Occasionally, you might require to disconnect an iSCSI session from a target with which you have multiple sessions.

Steps

  1. In the left navigation pane, click Hosts.

  2. In the Hosts page, click iSCSI Session.

  3. From the Storage Virtual Machine drop-down list, select the storage virtual machine (SVM) for the iSCSI target.

  4. From the Host drop-down list, select the host for the session.

  5. From the list of iSCSI sessions, select the session that you want to disconnect and click Disconnect Session.

  6. In the Disconnect Session dialog box, click OK.

    SnapCenter disconnects the iSCSI session.