Ryan Pratt's Big Admin white paper Setting Up a Sun StorageTek 5320 NAS Appliance on Microsoft iSCSI Initiators describes how to attach and use iSCSI targets from the Sun StorageTek 5320 NAS Appliance using the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator software. This is possible since Microsoft supports iSCSI software for Microsoft Windows client/server environments.

Pratt outlines the procedure as follows:

• 1. Configure the network for data access.
• 2. Install and configure the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator package.
• 3. Start the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator service.
• 4. Configure the Sun Storage 5320 NAS Appliance as an iSCSI target.
• 5. Configure the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator software.

After addressing each of these steps in detail, he consider three FAQs, which are:

• Can I use an iSCSI LUN as an Exchange database volume or an SQL Server database volume?

His answer is yes, given that the iSCSI LUN is a strong option for such volumes in that it is presented as a block storage device.

• Can I cluster with the Sun StorageTek 5320 iSCSI targets?

Pratt suggests that this is theoretically possible and has, in fact, been accomplished. He voices a reservation, however, inasmuch as the SCSI reserve/release is not working correctly so one cannot achieve a Windows Logo for Cluster. A change request has been filed (Change Request ID6549686).

• Can I resize my iSCSI LUN?

Pratt's answer here is no, since users need to re-create the additional room they may require. This involves unmounting the LUN from the server, deleting it from the Sun StorageTek 5320 NAS Appliance, and re-creating it.

In his summary, Pratt reports that the Sun StorageTek 5320 iSCSI target is a solid performer when connected to a Microsoft Server 2003, Server 2003 x64, Vista or Vista x64 machine. In addition, both Exchange Servers and SQL Servers perform well when paired with the iSCSI target presented by the Sun StorageTek 5320 Appliance, he concludes. [...read more...]

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