Second (multiple) iSCSI connection from the same ESXi host to the same FreeNAS, problem.

[petreza]

Wasted several hours trying to establish a second iSCSI connection from the same ESXi host to a new ZVOL (zvol2) hosted by the same FreeNAS server for my homelab.
The Authentication method is Mutual CHAP which works fine for the first ZVOL (zvol1).

On Freenas I did:
- create zvol2
- Portals: created new (#2) with: Mutual CHAP, same Discovery Auth Group as zvol1, same IP, port: 3261 (zvol1 is 3260)
- Initiators: no change - I am connecting from the same ESXi
- Extents: created new, has different serial, uncheck "Enable TPC" - same as zvol1, check "Enabled"
- Targets: crated new, has the new Portal Group ID, Same Initiator, Mutual CHAP, same "Authentication Group Number"
- Associated Targets: made the proper association, has new LUN ID - 1 (zvol1 is 0)
- Authorized Access: no change - am reusing the same Group ID and credentials

On ESXi I did:
- go under the same iSCSI Software Adapter
- try to add "iSCSI Server" under both "Dynamic Discovery" and "Static Discovery" - both did not work.
- I was careful to enter the proper target name "iqn......:target_name" and to use the right port - 3261
- with Static the Targets column increases from 1 to 2 but no new Devices or Paths show up

I assume the problem is with the ESXi configuration because when I remove all Authentication Settings for zvol2, I am able to connect from Windows 10 with Authentication as NONE - the drive shows up under "Manage"
(Mutual CHAP did not work under Windows - it complained that the password was not the right size)

Also, I went to an ESXi2 that has never had an iSCSI connection and was NOT able to connect with either NONE or Mutual CHAP (here I did add a second Initiator, and made the other necessary changes)

Am I missing something?

If it helps:
nc -z IP 3260
connects
nc -z IP 3261
gets stuck

PS. I guess, I'll cross-post at the TrueNAS forums.

 

[dswartz]

truenas firewalling the 3261?

 

[kapone]

Unless I'm missing something...

With ESXI, once you connect it to an ISCSI target, it should "discover" all the devices there (assuming everything is correct on that end). i.e. if Freenas is your ISCSI server, and you have a target configured, with a "device" (zVOL1, I presume?), all you should need to do is add a second "device" on the Freenas end, on the same target.

ESXI should discover this second "device" automatically.

Alternately, if you have a second "target" on the Freenas end, and zVOL2 is configured for that, ESXI should discover this "target" (and any underlying devices) automatically, as long as you used Dynamic discovery. You may have to reboot the ESXI server or start stop iSCSI initiator on the ESXI end.

 

[petreza]

truenas firewalling the 3261?

that was not the issue, but thanks for the advice dswartz, it did not occur to me

 

[petreza]

Unless I'm missing something...

With ESXI, once you connect it to an ISCSI target, it should "discover" all the devices there (assuming everything is correct on that end). i.e. if Freenas is your ISCSI server, and you have a target configured, with a "device" (zVOL1, I presume?), all you should need to do is add a second "device" on the Freenas end, on the same target.

ESXI should discover this second "device" automatically.

Alternately, if you have a second "target" on the Freenas end, and zVOL2 is configured for that, ESXI should discover this "target" (and any underlying devices) automatically, as long as you used Dynamic discovery. You may have to reboot the ESXI server or start stop iSCSI initiator on the ESXI end.

Thanks for the advice, kapone! This helped. I should have RTFM instead of poking around things I don't understand well.
So, I did not have to repeat the whole procedure again. Just add the new zvol (extent) to the same target (a new line under Associated Targets - leave LUN blank - it should auto-increment to 1). That did the trick.
Under VCSA - Storage Adapters now I have: Targets - 1; Devices - 2; Paths - 2;

As a side note: I had a problem authenticating - Mutual Chap - saw the error message in the status bar of FreeNAS. I did not make make any changes to the passwords (only the username). Re-typing the identical passwords under vcsa fixed the issue.