Terastation 5400R56C + iscsi + vmware esxi 5.1 update 1

[alexbo]

Hello community,

did anybody tried to connect the items in subject?

I did it, as appears to run fine, in the way that device is seen by esxi and connected to it.

When trying to copy files bigger than 1MB to the unit, copying process hangs and remains stuck.

I learned vmware certification is for nfs only, but just after purchasing.

Is there a clue to use iscsi on that unit, or the only way to use Terastation on vmware esxi is by nfs only?

Thank you for who want/can helping me.

[sbrown]

I am having a similar issue and was wondering if anyone else has been able to get this combination working.

 

We are using a TS5400R2C0 annd I'm trying to connect a VMware ESXi host running version 5.1 u1 via iSCSI.  There is no switch involved as the host and Terastation are connected directly via a patch cable.

 

At first, it seems to work.  I am able to connect the the LV and create a datastore, but when I try to create or copy a file to the datastore, it copies about 8MB and then the process just hangs.  From that point forward, any interaction with the datastore hangs and eventually fails.

 

As a test, I connected a Windows 2003 VM located on the ESXi host in question and was able to create an iSCSI connection to the Terastation without any problems.  This seems to work fine and I was able to copy large files (4GB+) without any issues.  This tells me that the Terastation, NIC, and patch cable are all working properly.  This leads me to believe there is a compatibility issue between the Terastation itself and ESXi 5.1 u1.  I have tried adjusting iSCSI settings on the Terastation as well with no success.

 

If anyone has gotten this to work, please let me know.  I'd also welcome any other suggestions to try.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[sneydste]

SBrown, I am having the exact same issues! Recently purchased a TS5400R0804, setup LVM with a 5TB LUN, configured ESXi 5.1 U1 with a single NIC for iSCSI communication and was able to attach the LUN to the ESXi host. Once attached I cannot transfer files to the storage. What happens is a pop up windows appears stating: I/O Error.

The host is very unstable when attached to the Buffalo device. I have tried:

1) Updating the ESXi NIC drivers for Broadcom 5719 and 5720 (I have both in the ESXi host) - did not fix issue
2) Disabled LVM on the Buffalo device and presented the whole 5.4TB LUN to the ESXi host - did not fix issue
3) Changed the Broadcom BNX2 driver to TG3 driver as per this article on VMWares site: KB2035701 - did not fix issue

I have contacted Buffalo tech support for VMWare but no help so far. I did the same test with hooking to a Windows server with the same hardware and it worked perfectly!

I do not know what the next steps are for this device?

[BigTex]

SBrown, I am having the exact same issues! Recently purchased a TS5400R0804, setup LVM with a 5TB LUN, configured ESXi 5.1 U1 with a single NIC for iSCSI communication and was able to attach the LUN to the ESXi host. Once attached I cannot transfer files to the storage. What happens is a pop up windows appears stating: I/O Error.

The host is very unstable when attached to the Buffalo device. I have tried:

1) Updating the ESXi NIC drivers for Broadcom 5719 and 5720 (I have both in the ESXi host) - did not fix issue
2) Disabled LVM on the Buffalo device and presented the whole 5.4TB LUN to the ESXi host - did not fix issue
3) Changed the Broadcom BNX2 driver to TG3 driver as per this article on VMWares site: KB2035701 - did not fix issue

I have contacted Buffalo tech support for VMWare but no help so far. I did the same test with hooking to a Windows server with the same hardware and it worked perfectly!

I do not know what the next steps are for this device?

I recommend the following.

If you adjust the default iSCSI advanced setting “ImmediateData” from Yes to No it will function properly with VMware 5.x. This, of course, won’t correct the use with NFS but it will allow iSCSI use with VMware 5.0/5.1.




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[sneydste]

BigTex, thank you! That solved the main problem.

Do you know if there is any documentation on setting up Port Trunking with ESXi 5.1 and Buffalo TS5400?

Thanks for your help.

[BigTex]

We do not at this time have any documentation on configuring trucking with ESX. However with the Buffalo TS5000 you can trunk the ports. This will require a switch with 802.3ad trunking requirement in between the NAS and ESX Server. This switch will require trunking the ports for the TS and in similar nature the ESX Server.

[sneydste]

BigTex, currently the TS5400R has port trunking
enabled so only 1 IP address is used for both ports.
On the ESXi 5.1 host I have configured an iSCSI virtual
switch with 2 NICs. I have connected the ESXi host to
the TS5400R via 2 cross over cables. Will this suffice?

I do not want to put a switch into the mix if possible.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks