6.0

Table Of Contents
Determine Association Between iSCSI and Network Adapters
You create network connections to bind dependent iSCSI and network adapters. To create the connections
correctly, you must determine the name of the physical NIC with which the dependent hardware iSCSI
adapter is associated.
Prerequisites
Required privilege: Host.Configuration.Storage Partition Configuration
Procedure
1 In the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box, click the Network Configuration tab.
2 Click Add.
The network adapter, for example vmnic2, that corresponds to the dependent iSCSI adapter is listed.
What to do next
You must bind the associated dependent hardware iSCSI and network adapters by creating the network
connections.
Configuring Software iSCSI Adapters
With the software-based iSCSI implementation, you can use standard NICs to connect your host to a remote
iSCSI target on the IP network. The software iSCSI adapter that is built into ESXi facilitates this connection
by communicating with the physical NICs through the network stack.
Before you can use the software iSCSI adapter, you must set up networking, activate the adapter, and
configure parameters such as discovery addresses and CHAP.
NOTE Designate a separate network adapter for iSCSI. Do not use iSCSI on 100Mbps or slower adapters.
The software iSCSI adapter configuration workflow includes these steps:
1 Activate the software iSCSI adapter.
See “Activate the Software iSCSI Adapter in the vSphere Client,” on page 308.
2 Configure networking for iSCSI.
See “Setting Up iSCSI Network,” on page 310.
Configuring the network involves creating a VMkernel interface for each physical network adapter that
you use for iSCSI and associating all interfaces with the software iSCSI adapter.
3 (Optional) Enable Jumbo Frames.
See “Using Jumbo Frames with iSCSI,” on page 315.
4 Configure discovery information.
See “Configuring Discovery Addresses for iSCSI Adapters,” on page 316.
5 (Optional) Configure CHAP parameters.
See “Configuring CHAP Parameters for iSCSI Adapters,” on page 317.
Activate the Software iSCSI Adapter in the vSphere Client
You must activate your software iSCSI adapter so that your host can use it to access iSCSI storage.
You can activate only one software iSCSI adapter.
vSphere Administration with the vSphere Client
308 VMware, Inc.