IBM iSCSI client for Windows NT and Windows 2000 installation and configuration instructions

Frequently asked questions

1. When I enter my target's configuration information and click Enter, a message appears that the target rejected my login attempt. What went wrong?

   This message could indicate one or more of the following problems:

   • Most commonly, there is a discrepancy between the login information configured at the target end and at the client end. Double check your login ID and password, remembering that they are case sensitive.
   • The target device is at capacity, in which case no new client sessions are accepted. Contact your system administrator for help resolving problems with login rejections.
2. When I enter my target's configuration information and click Enter, a message appears that the target could not be connected to. What went wrong?

   This message could indicate one or more of the following problems:

   • The specified IP address or host name is not an iSCSI target device.
   • The specified target device might not be turned on.
   • A network problem could be preventing you from accessing the target device. Check your network connection and try to ping the target. Contact your system administrator for help resolving connectivity problems.
3. How do I rescan for disks on targets that I already have configured?

   Right-click on the IBM iSCSI taskbar status icon, and click Rescan for iSCSI targets and Disks from the pop-up menu. This menu option is useful to search for any disks on targets that might not have been available when your computer first booted or to search for any newly-exported disks on existing targets.

4. What happens to my iSCSI disks if my network becomes inaccessible?

   To iSCSI disks, network problems are equivalent to removing the SCSI cable from a real SCSI disk. In other words, all data transfer between the iSCSI client and the target stops until network connectivity is restored. The most common symptom is error messages from your applications that indicate lost data. For this reason, it is advised to run the iSCSI client over high-availability and high-quality networks.

5. I'm using an iSCSI disk to store an Oracle or DB/2 database, and the database application gives an error if it is started automatically after rebooting the computer. What is wrong?

   The iSCSI client is a driver service that starts automatically after the computer boots. Because it depends on TCP/IP and Ethernet device drivers to be loaded first, the iSCSI client cannot start as early in the boot process as other SCSI drivers. It is possible for other services that depend on iSCSI to be started too soon. Such services or applications must be identified, and steps must be taken to start them after ensuring the iSCSI client is started first. You can use the Event Viewer to identify any problems. The Windows 2000 resource kit provides a utility, AutoExNt, that can be used to solve problems caused by service dependencies. Consult the Windows 2000 Resource Kit documentation for additional information.

6. I set some sharing properties on my iSCSI disk, and they disappeared after rebooting. What is wrong?

   Currently, sharing properties cannot be restored to iSCSI disks automatically because the Microsoft Lanman Server service is started before the iSCSI client. Therefore, sharing properties must be restored manually. To do this, it is advisable to write a script to add the shares each time the computer is rebooted. Another option would be to stop the Lanman Server service and restart it (enter net stop server and net start server from the command prompt) each time after you boot the computer. Another option would be to use the Windows 2000 Resource Kit utility AutoExNt to automate stopping and starting the necessary services. Consult the Windows 2000 Resource Kit documentation for additional information.

7. Why won't the iSCSI client for Windows connect to iSCSI target devices provided by other companies?

   The IETF iSCSI specification currently is not ratified. Because the specification is still changing, it is not possible to guarantee interoperability among different vendors.

8. On Windows 2000, my iSCSI disk is not automatically restored after rebooting. Why not?

   You have created a dynamic disk on the iSCSI drive. According to Microsoft, dynamic disks cannot be restored automatically on iSCSI drives because of how iSCSI works (the drives are not available until late in the boot process). Dynamic disks must be manually restored by reactivating them using the Disk Management tool. For this reason, it is recommended that you use only Basic Disks on iSCSI drives. Consult the Windows 2000 documentation for Basic Disks versus Dynamic Disks for an explanation of the differences between these two types of disks.

9. On Windows 2000, I configured my iSCSI disk for the first time and the computer asked me to reboot. After rebooting, my configuration was lost. What went wrong? (And why was the reboot necessary anyway).

   The configuration was not saved prior to the computer rebooting. Before rebooting the computer, be sure to save your configuration by exiting the IBM iSCSI Configuration Utility. The reboot was necessary because, in some cases, Windows 2000 is not able to dynamically configure the new disk. This is a limitation of Windows 2000 and only occurs when the iSCSI client for Windows is configured for the first time.

10. After installing the IBM iSCSI Client for Windows, a new device appears in Device Manager called "SCSI/RAID Host Controller". What is it?

    This is the IBM iSCSI device driver. It is needed to provide the iSCSI driver services. Do not delete this device or iSCSI will not work on your computer.