• Setting Up MPIO for a Windows Cluster Using a Storage System

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    Setting Up MPIO for a Windows Cluster Using a Storage System

    Configuration

    The components in this configuration are:

    Two server hosts

    Two Server hosts -exhost1, exhost2 - running:

    • Windows Server 2008 R2
    • Microsoft iSCSI Initiator 2.08
    • Failover Clustering
    • Multipath I/O
    One storage system

    One storage system configured as follows:

    • Two iSCSI interfaces (iscsia, iscsib) configured as described in the table below.
      Note:  The second iSCSI interface is optional.
      Table 1. Storage System iSCSI interface configuration
      Name
      Details
      iscsia
      • IP addresses: 11.222.123.156, 11.222.224.231
      • Target: IQN.192-05.com.emc: fcnev1005000720000-1
      • Storage processor: SP A
      • Ethernet interface: eth3, et2
      iscsib
      • IP addresses: 11.222.123.157, 11.222.224.232
      • Target: IQN.192-05.com.emc: fcnev1005000720000-2
      • Storage processor: SP B
      • Ethernet interface: eth3, et2
    • iSCSI storage resources:
      • cluster_disk1 (Quorum disk, which is optional, though recommended, for Windows Server 2008 R2)
      • cluster_disk2 (optional)
      • cluster_disk3 (optional)

        The following figure shows how these components are networked together.

        Figure 1. Network configuration
        Network configuration

    Setting up cluster nodes (hosts)

    For simplicity, this section shows only the setup for the single target iscsia. It includes the following tasks
    Procedure
    1. Configure the iSCSI initiator with MPIO on each cluster node
    2. Enable MPIO on each cluster node
    3. Verify the MPIO settings on each cluster node
    4. Present the storage devices to the Primary Node in the cluster
    5. Configure the cluster configuration on the Primary Node

    Configure the iSCSI initiator with MPIO on each cluster node

    On each node in the cluster (exhost1 and exhost2):
    Procedure
    1. In the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator, select Discovery > Discover Portal, add the target portal IP address or the DNS name.
    2. Select Discover Portal > Advanced and in the Advanced Settings dialog box set the following for both the primary and secondary local adapters:
      • Local adapter to Microsoft iSCSI Initiator.
      • Initiator IP to the IP address for the local adapter interface on subnet 11.222.123.xxx for the primary local adapter, and to 11.222.224.xxx for the secondary local adapter.

        The host will look for targets on the following portals:

        Address
        Port
        Adapter
        IP address
        11.222.123.156
        3260
        Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
        11.222.123.xxx
        11.222.224.231
        3260
        Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
        11.222.224.xxx
    3. Select Targets > Log On > Connect, select the following in the Connect to Target dialog box:
      • Add this connection to the list of Favorites
      • Enable multi-path (ensure the Windows MPIO feature is installed first)
    4. Select Connect To Target > Advanced and in the Advanced Settings dialog box, set the following:
      • Local adapter to Microsoft iSCSI Initiator.
      • Initiator IP to the IP address for the local adapter interface on subnet 11.222.123.xxx.
      • Target portal IP to 11.222.123.156 / 3260.
    5. Add the secondary session to the existing connection for MPIO:
      1. Select Targets > Connect to Target > Advanced.
      2. In the Advanced Settings dialog box, set the following:
        • Local adapter to Microsoft iSCSI Initiator.
        • Initiator IP to the IP address for the local adapter interface on subnet 11.222.124.xxx.
        • Target portal IP to 11.222.224.231 / 3260.

    Enable MPIO on each cluster node

    On each node in the cluster (exhost1 and exhost2):
    Procedure
    1. Click Start and enter MPIO to launch the control panel applet.
    2. Click the Discover Multi-Path tab, select Add support for iSCSI devices, and click Add.
    3. Reboot the node when prompted to do so.

    Verify the MPIO settings on each cluster node

    On each node in the cluster (exhost1 and exhost2):
    Procedure
    1. After the node finishes rebooting, go to MPIO Properties > MPIO Devices and verify that the MPIO hardware IDs (MSInitiator) for the storage system devices were added.
      Note:  Device Hardware ID MSFT2005iSCSIBusType_0x9 adds support for all iSCSI devices.
    2. Verify the MPIO settings in the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator:
      1. In the Targets tab, select the storage system target and click Properties.
      2. In the Sessions tab, select the identifier for the session, click Devices.
      3. In the Devices tab, for each storage device (cluster_disk1, cluster_disk2, cluster_disk3), do the following:
        • Select the device and click MPIO.
        • In the MPIO tab, select the first connection, click Connections, and verify the following:
          Source Portal
          Target Portal
          11.222.123.123/xxxx
          11.222.123.156/3260
        • In the MPIO tab, select the second connection, click Connections, and verify the following:
          Source Portal
          Target Portal
          11.222.123.224/yyyy
          11.222.224.231/3260

    Present the storage devices to the Primary Node in the cluster

    On the Primary Node in the cluster (exhost1), format each storage device (cluster_disk1, cluster_disk2, cluster_disk3) and assign a respective letter to each partition. In this example, E is assigned to cluster_disk1_ quorum; F is assigned to cluster_disk2; and, G is assigned to cluster_disk3.

    Configure the cluster configuration on the Primary Node

    The steps below follow Microsoft’s best practices for clusters.

    On the Primary Node (exhost1), in Failover Cluster Manager:

    Procedure
    1. Select Create a Cluster... > Add preferred Domain Joined computers (nodes) to the select servers list and create an Access Point for administering the cluster and choose the static cluster IP.

      For example:

      • Domain: app.com
      • Node 1: exhost1.app.com
      • Node 2: exhost2.app.com
      • Cluster Name: ex_cluster1.app.com
      • Network: 11.222.224.0/xx with address 11.222.224.yyy
    2. Configure the network settings:
      1. Select the cluster (ex_cluster1).
      2. Select Networks > Cluster Network # > Properties > Mgmt Network > 11.222.224.x (Cluster Network 3) with the following default settings:
        • Allow cluster network communications on this network
        • Allow clients to connect through this network
      3. Select Networks > Cluster Network # > Properties > Data networks (iscsi) > 11.222.123.x (Cluster Network 1) with the following default settings:
        • Do not allow cluster network communication on this network
      4. Select Networks > Cluster Network # > Properties > Data networks (iscsi) > 11.222.224.x (Cluster Network 2) with the following default settings:
        • Do not allow cluster network communication on this network
    3. Verify dependencies:
      1. Select the cluster (ex_cluster1).
      2. Click Cluster Core Resources and verify the following:
        • In the cluster’s Name:ex_cluster1 Properties dialog box, verify that the dependencies are IP address (11.22.224.x) AND cluster_disk1.
        • In the cluster’s IP Address: 11.222.224.x Properties dialog box, verify that the dependencies is cluster_disk1.
        Note:  The Cluster Disk Witness should always be the Quorum disk cluster_disk1, which is the default setting, but it can be changed.