VMware GSX Server 3 Administration, Administration Manual

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VMware GSX Server Administration Guide
Using a Virtual Machine as the iSCSI Target
You can use a virtual machine as the iSCSI target. The setup involves at least three
virtual machines. Two virtual machines are the cluster nodes that act as iSCSI initiators,
so you must install the iSCSI initiator software in these virtual machines. The third
virtual machine acts as the iSCSI target. The iSCSI target virtual machine must be
running for clustering to work successfully.
Using a Host as the iSCSI Target
You can use a host on your network as the iSCSI target. Each cluster node (virtual
machine) acts as an iSCSI initiator, so you must install the iSCSI initiator software in
each virtual machine. Then you install the iSCSI target software on the target host.
Creating and Configuring the iSCSI Initiator Virtual Machine
The iSCSI initiator virtual machine is created in the same manner as a regular virtual
machine. Unlike other clustering methods, you do not modify the virtual machine’s
configuration file (
.vmx
) manually in order to enable clustering.
The virtual disk used to store the guest operating system and clustering software for
each virtual machine (node) in the cluster does not have to be a preallocated virtual
disk, nor does it have to be a SCSI virtual disk.
You should configure the virtual machine with at least two virtual network adapters
— one to communicate with other iSCSI initiator nodes and the other to connect to
the iSCSI target and to the Internet. You could optionally configure the virtual
machine with three virtual network adapters — the first to communicate with other
iSCSI initiator nodes, the second to connect to the iSCSI target and the third to the
Internet.
For the virtual network adapter that communicates with the other cluster nodes, you
should configure it to use bridged networking if the cluster nodes are located on
different GSX Server hosts; otherwise, if the nodes are on the same host, you can use
host-only networking.
To create an iSCSI initiator virtual machine, complete the following steps:
1. Log on to your GSX Server host as the user who will own the virtual machine.
2. Launch a VMware Virtual Machine Console and create a new virtual machine (for
information on creating a new virtual machine, see Creating a New Virtual
Machine in the VMware GSX Server Virtual Machine Guide ). Choose the settings
you want (for example, the size of the virtual disk or the amount of memory), but
make sure you specify bridged networking for the virtual machine.
3. Open the virtual machine settings editor. Choose VM > Settings .