2.5.1.4 Configure HBA Ports and iSCSI Initiators

  • Article

Goal

Configure host bus adapter (HBA) ports and iSCSI initiators.

Context of Use

The administrator is setting up a storage server, and in this process, the administrator is required to configure the storage.

Actors

  • Admin Tool: A Microsoft Management Console (MMC) component, which is used by the administrator to configure the storage on the server.

  • Admin Client: The primary actor. The Admin Client is code running on the administrator's computer. The Admin Client implements client-side protocol components and consumes the storage services that are offered by the storage server. The Admin Client's interest is to correctly interpret, execute, and display the results of the commands that are issued by administrator.

  • Disk Management Service: The Disk Management service is the server-side implementation of the protocols specified in [MS-DMRP] and [MS-VDS].

Stakeholders

  • Administrator: The administrator is the person who administers the storage. The administrator is interested in organizing the storage, setting access rights, and enforcing quota-based limits on the storage. The administrator is external to the Storage Services protocols and interacts with the Storage Services protocols through the Admin Client.

Preconditions

The administrator has configured the Disk Management service on the storage server and has the appropriate access privileges to configure the disks and volumes.  

Main success scenario

  1. Trigger: The administrator requests to set up an iSCSI initiator by using the Admin Tool.

  2. The Admin Tool requests that the Admin Client establish a communication channel to the Disk Management service of the Storage Services protocols.

  3. The Admin Client contacts the Disk Management service to configure the iSCSI initiator by using the IVdsServiceIscsi:SetInitiatorSharedSecret() method, as described in [MS-VDS] section 3.4.5.2.8.3.

  4. The Disk Management service configures the requested iSCSI initiator to store configuration information in an implementation-specific manner.

  5. The administrator requests to set up an HBA port by using the Admin Tool.

  6. The Admin Client contacts the Disk Management service to configure HBA ports by using the IVdsHbaPort::SetAllPathStatuses() method, as described in [MS-VDS] section 3.4.5.2.11.2.

  7. The Disk Management service configures the requested HBA ports to store configuration information in an implementation-specific manner.

Postcondition

The required configuration of an HBA port and an iSCSI initiator has finished successfully.

Extensions

If the communication channel for the Virtual Disk Service (VDS) Protocol cannot be established, or it becomes disconnected, the Admin Client attempts to establish a connection multiple times until it fails. The configuration of the HBA ports and the iSCSI initiators depends on when the connection failed.