Create NAS/SAN storage with openfiler, work with VMware ESXi as shared storage

– Download the openfiler installation ISO , download link

I have downloaded the Installation ISO image (x86/64).

Basically we need to create open filer as a virtual machine with say 20 GB thin provisioning, and attach another disk/datastore to the virtual machine to configure it as SAN.

– Download and install  the Installation ISO image (x86/64) as a virtual machine, noting fancy here just do a normal installation.

– Once rebooted you get a web interface to login on port 446, https://< ip > :446/

– Login with username: openfiler, and password: password

Network access configuration:

set up network access configuration, enter the Network/Host , who are allowed to access.

System –> Network Access Configuration

Network Access Config
Network Access Config
Network Access Config
Network Access Config

Create a new physical volume

Volumes –> Block devices

Create Physical Volume
Create Physical Volume

Click on Edit devices on the hard disk where we going to create new physical volume, this is the extra hard drive we added to the virtual machine at the beginning. (/dev/sdb)

 

Create Physical Volume
Create Physical Volume

Select Physical volume as your partition type ( assuming that you are not using RAID), and set the mode to Primary, click create.

Create Physical Volume
Create Physical Volume

Create new Volume Group

Let us create a volume group for the physical volumes

Volumes –> Volume groups , enter a group name and select the physical drive and click Add volume

Create volume group
Create volume group

 

Create volume group
Create volume group

Create the Volume

Volume –> Add Volume

Enter Volume Name , Description, required space and select File System block.

Create Volume
Create Volume
Create Volume
Create Volume

Now Enable and Add  iSCSI Target

Services –> iSCSI Target Enable, Start

Start iSCSI target
Start iSCSI target

Volumes –> iSCSI Targets –> Target Configuration –> Add new iSCSI Target

Add new iSCSI target
Add new iSCSI target

Setup the LUN Mapping and allow access to iSCSI target

Setup LUN Mapping
Setup LUN Mapping

 

Allow access to iSCSI target
Allow access to iSCSI target

Now the open filer is ready to use.

In VMware ESXi

Create new VMKernel network adapter to use for iSCSI connection

VMKernel Adapter
VMKernel Adapter
VMKernel Adapter
VMKernel Adapter
VMKernel Adapter
VMKernel Adapter

Click on storage adapter –> Add new

Add storage adapter
Add storage adapter

Click on properties, add the VMkernel switch and the discover the iSCSI target.

Add VMKernel to iSCSI adapter
Add VMKernel to iSCSI adapter
Dynamic discovery
Dynamic discovery

Now your ESXi will show the openfiler as a datastore 🙂

Openfiler datastore
Openfiler datastore

More information about Openfiler:

http://www.openfiler.com/products

 

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