Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V

In this article, we will show you how to install an open source iSCSI SAN application inside Microsoft's Hyper-V virtual machine.

Some virtual infrastructure features require a storage network (SAN). As you know, a real iSCSI SAN device or a Fiber Channel (FC) SAN has a very high cost. While iSCSI is becoming more suitable for small and medium businesses (SMBs), iSCSI SAN devices for testing and for Internet professionals' home networks are still out of reach for most of them. In this article, we will show you how to install an open-source iSCSI SAN application inside Microsoft's Hyper-V virtual machine, besides you don't have to spend an entire computer performing the task. this case. Once the application is installed, you can use it to store your Windows files with the iSCSI initiator, or even more interestingly, and you can use it as a centralized SAN storage for VMware infrastructure testing systems for advanced features like VMotion, Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) and VMware High Availability (VMHA).

What is Openfiler?

Openfiler is an open source SAN device and network attached storage (NAS). It not only provides file sharing options with iSCSI, but also offers FTP, NFS, HTTP, SMB, and so on. You can also download ISO 332 MB installation file or even built VMware images. before.

Once installed and running, you can create disk partitions, apply security features and share your data between NAS or SAN - whatever you choose.

How to run Openfiler inside in Hyper-V?

Before installing Openfiler, you need to download it. You can download Openfiler here. There are many versions of Openfiler available: 32-bit, 64-bit, ISO, VMware ESX Server and Xen virtual devices. Make sure you download the latest version. While VMware ESX Server and Xen virtual devices are provided, no Hyper-V devices are listed.

To install Openfiler inside Hyper-V, download the 64-bit image file because Hyper-V requires a 64-bit CPU.

Next, launch Hyper-V MMC and create a new virtual machine like the one below:

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 1
Figure 1: Creating a new virtual machine in Hyper-V

Name the new virtual machine and specify its location.

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 2
Figure 2: Specify the name and location of the virtual machine

Assign RAM to the virtual machine.

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 3
Figure 3: Assign RAM to the virtual machine

When asked about adding a network interface, you don't need to add an integrated network interface because the Linux virtual machine (VM) won't recognize it. Now, don't connect and we'll add the legacy network adapter later.

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 4
Figure 4: Network configuration

Add a new virtual IDE disk to be used by virtual machines like the Openfiler operating system disk. However, this is not a shared iSCSI disk to place the VMFS (we'll create this disk later).

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 5
Figure 5: Create a new network drive

Map the virtual DVD drive with the ISO image file you downloaded.

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 6
Figure 6: Map the virtual DVD drive

Finally, approve the summary configuration.

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 7
Figure 7: Use summary configuration

If you want to edit the configuration for the virtual machine, click Settings .

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 8
Figure 8: Change the settings for the new Openfiler virtual machine

You can add two new hardware below:

  1. Legacy network adapter
  2. Second IDE virtual hard drive

We start with the legacy network adapter. Click Add Hardware then Legacy Network Adapter .

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 9
Figure 9: Adding a virtual network adapter

Connect the legacy network adapter to your physical network adapter.

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 10
Figure 10: Connecting legacy NICs to physical NICs

Next, you need to add a new IDE disk to the existing IDE controller.

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 11
Figure 11: Adding a new virtual IDE hard drive

You will have to click New and go to the hard disk wizard . You should place a new virtual hard drive with the same location as other virtual drives for this virtual machine. You can create a dynamic or static virtual hard drive of any size to make iSCSI shared partition. When done, your configuration will look like the one shown below:

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 12
Figure 12: Results after creating the virtual hard drive

At this time, the VM configuration for Openfiler has been completed.


Install Openfiler inside Hyper-V
Now that the VM is installed, you can start the VM and go to the console. Since the graphical installation does not work, you need to perform a text installation using the linux text command (see Figure 13 below).

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 13
Figure 13: Installing openfiler in text mode

From here, go to Openfiler installation. You should use all the default settings. Also use a static IP address on the Openfiler server.

Once installed and restarted, you need to configure Openfiler to share the second IDE edition we created with iSCSI.

To do that, follow the steps below:

  1. Set the time zone and configure the Network Time Protocol Server ;
  2. Authenticated network configuration;
  3. Create a partition group and add / dev / hdb ;
  4. Configure iSCSI target by:
    1. Name IQN
    2. Map logical block numbers for partitions
    3. configure network ACL by allowing access to the network we created;
    4. Configure CHAP if you like.

Before connecting your VMware ESX Server or another server, you should test the configuration by connecting the Windows Server or Windows workstation to the new iSCSI server. If the Windows workstation cannot connect to the iSCSI server, VMware ESX Server will never be able to connect to it.

As you can see in Figure 14 below, the example in the article can connect the Windows 2008 Server server to the Openfiler iSCSI server.

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 14
Figure 14: Connected Windows 2008 Server with Openfiler iSCSI SAN Server

Figure 15 below instructs VMware ESX Server in the article to connect to the Openfiler partition.

Instructions for installing iSCSI SAN server in Hyper-V Picture 15
Figure 15: VMware ESX Server connected to Openfiler iSCSI SAN Server

Conclude

A true iSCSI SAN device or Fiber Channel SAN can be quite expensive, but installing an alternative to iSCSI SAN open source, such as Openfiler, inside Hyper-V virtual machine is a great solution. great Openfiler works very well, offers a number of file sharing and storage features, and you don't need to spend an entire physical computer on a real SAN application.

4.1 ★ | 54 Vote

May be interested

  • Enable Hyper-V Manager mode in Windows 8Enable Hyper-V Manager mode in Windows 8
    as we know, the 'birth' of windows 8 has led to a lot of changes in how people manage and work. technically, windows 8 has built-in functionality to manage microsoft virtualization and hypervisor for experienced users, so they won't need to switch to windows 8 server to use hyper-v. client
  • Deny access when managing Hyper-V remote server in WorkgroupDeny access when managing Hyper-V remote server in Workgroup
    typically, when people use the hyper-v management tool on windows vista or windows 7 operating systems, then connect to the remote-controlled windows server 2008 r2 installation computer with the hyper-v role activated, and in case both computers are in workgroup, the system will display the following error ...
  • Install Windows Hyper-V Server 2008Install Windows Hyper-V Server 2008
    in this article, i will show you how to install microsoft hyper-v server 2008 and use the hvconfig command-line tool.
  • How to check if your computer is running Windows 10 Hyper-V?How to check if your computer is running Windows 10 Hyper-V?
    on windows 10, windows 8.1 and windows 8 have added client hyper-v so you can run the guest operating system on the virtual machine. hyper-v is microsoft's hypervisor on windows. it was originally developed for windows server 2008 and then supported by the windows client operating system.
  • Instructions for installing and configuring DNS Server on Windows Server 2016Instructions for installing and configuring DNS Server on Windows Server 2016
    dns configuration is similar to installing it, which means you don't need to be too bothered or ask any administrator to help you do that, because you can do this yourself, with the following instructions are detailed in this article.
  • Instructions for installing SQL Server 2019Instructions for installing SQL Server 2019
    on september 24, microsoft announced the release of sql server 2019 community technical preview (ctp) 2.0. it is very suitable for database professionals to keep up with modern technology.
  • Use Quick Migration to move virtual machines between Hyper-V hostsUse Quick Migration to move virtual machines between Hyper-V hosts
    with quick migration, users can easily move an active virtual machine from a real host system through another system with a minimum downtime, while ensuring performance and performance. necessary stability. by using windows server hyper-v or windows server 2008 with hyper-v, along with quick migration, the manager can fully take the initiative.
  • Instructions for setting up individual FTP Server with FileZillaInstructions for setting up individual FTP Server with FileZilla
    unlike http - designed to forward hyper - text data over tcp connections, standard ftp ensures that the server responds to requests as soon as it receives a signal from the host. not only provides fast and accurate file transfer, but also security, gives users more options in the process of downloading and uploading data ...
  • Instructions to turn off Hyper-V Windows 10 to help VirtualBox run smoothlyInstructions to turn off Hyper-V Windows 10 to help VirtualBox run smoothly
    are you having errors when running virtualbox, vmware due to hyper-v? this feature can slow down your computer and cause virtualization conflicts. this article will help you turn off hyper-v completely in many different ways, from bios, cmd to powershell.
  • Create virtual machines in Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008Create virtual machines in Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008
    after hyper-v is installed, the first thing to do here is to create a virtual machine - virtual machine. in the following article, we will introduce you to some basic steps to do this, with the general implementation process almost just clicking next> next> finish.