asked on

esxi 6.0 iscsi bindings no used paths not visible

I am running an dell r720xd esxi 6.0.0, 15169789 lab. I create a volume on an Equallogic ps6500. on the lab host, set my access policy and added the iscsi initiator. On the host i have 4 nics. 0 an 1 for management. 2 and 3 for vm traffic and iscsi. The host shows the iscsi vmkernal bindings are compliance and after setting dynamic discover for the dell equallogic group IP, it finds the LUN. However it shows the iscsi path as not used and the paths are not visible. whats weird is that i can ping only one of the equllogic NIC's (192.168.100.115) from esxi and not the others nor the group IP. (192.168.100.150). I can ping the iscsi VLAN gateway from the host lab (192.168.100.1). from another host connecting to the same SAN i can ping all. on the lab server iscsi is set to jumbo frames. i have tried to remove the iscsi adapter from the host and reboot/re-add but the same behavior. I have two other hosts that i was able to connect to the LUN with no issues so i know its something with my lab host. Any thoughts on what i may be missing are appreciated.

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

what does VMKPING state, when you use it via each VMKernel Portgroup...

if the group IP is 192.168.100.150 this should be able to communicate between ESXi and SAN.

like...

vmkping -I vmk0 ...

(also make sure Jumbo Frames is enabled throughout the network)

also check SAN for connections from ESXi.

Leigh Kalbli

ASKER

ping on vmk0 to SAN group IP is successful but 1,2,3 fail. I enabled jumbo frames on iscsi adapter, switch (meraki) and equallogic. I am going to attempt to remove the virtual switch and kernel adapters. the SAN does not show active connections from the Lab Host but does from another host i used to test.

[root@esx-lab:~] vmkping -I vmk0 192.168.100.150
PING 192.168.100.150 (192.168.100.150): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.100.150: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=0.581 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.100.150: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=0.813 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.100.150: icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=0.331 ms

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

something is wrong with the controller IPs if you cannot ping them, of communicate with them.

I would start with the basics with a single IP Address and VMKernel Portgroup, is this routed network ? or flat ?

Leigh Kalbli

ASKER

Andrew,
The controller IP's should be fine. I have other volumes on the equallogic and two other hosts connecting. in the lab server i created a vmk on the VSS that the management kernel is on. if i vmkping -I vm0 i can reach all the equallogic IPs. if i vmkping -I vmk1 (iscsi) i cant reach any of the IPs. I looked on the equallogic and ensured that an access policy existed for the i SCSI initiator. it is routed. vmk0 can communicate to the iscsi vlan gw and IPs but no other vmk can. I confirmed at the switch that my ports are tagged with correct vlans.

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

do other vmk ports have the gateway defined?

Leigh Kalbli

ASKER

yes they are using the gateway of the management vmk

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

and can this route get to the Eql SAN?

but it cannot be pinged ?

and therefore I assume no connections can be seen on the Eql SAN, or LUNs are visible in storage devices ?

Leigh Kalbli

ASKER

yes it can route to the eql. I have 4 other hosts that have the same vlan for hypervisor management. i am able to ping the iscsi vlan gateway route from vmk0. other vmk's can ping the gw of the iscsi vlan but not the equallogic IP's.after rescan of HBA it does not show LUNS

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

there is a network issue somewhere here in how this host is configured.

Leigh Kalbli

ASKER

since it is a simple lab, i am going to attempt to reinstall esxi and post back results.

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

membership

This solution is only available to members.

To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.

Start Free Trial

Leigh Kalbli

ASKER

i plan to approach that way and try without chap. break it down to one physical nick etc. will follow up with results over the weekend

Leigh Kalbli

ASKER

Andrew,

I resintalled esxi/patched and built from the ground up. I dont know what the issue was but after the fresh install vmk's could communicate with the EQL group IP.