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Chapter 35
Configuring iSCSI
S e n d d o c u m e n t a t i o n c o m m e n t s t o m d s f e e d b a c k - d o c @ c i s c o . c o m .
Initiator Presentation Modes
Two modes are available to present iSCSI hosts in the Fibre Channel fabric: transparent initiator mode
and proxy initiator mode.
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The Cisco MDS switches support the following iSCSI session limits:
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Transparent Initiator Mode
Each iSCSI host is presented as one virtual Fibre Channel host (that is, one Fibre Channel N port). The
benefit of transparent mode is it allows a finer-level of Fibre Channel access control configuration.
Because of the one-to-one mapping from iSCSI to Fibre Channel, each host can have different zoning or
LUN access control on the Fibre Channel storage device.
When an iSCSI host connects to the IPS module or MPS-14/2 module, a virtual host N port (HBA port)
is created for the host (see
Port WWN.
OL-6973-03, Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release 2.x
In transparent initiator mode, each iSCSI host is presented as one virtual Fibre Channel host. The
benefit of transparent mode is it allows a finer-level of Fibre Channel access control configuration
(similar to managing a "real" Fibre Channel host). Because of the one-to-one mapping from iSCSI
to Fibre Channel, each host can have different zoning or LUN access control on the Fibre Channel
storage device.
In proxy-initiator mode, there is only one virtual Fibre Channel host per one IPS port and all iSCSI
hosts use that to access Fibre Channel targets. In a scenario where the Fibre Channel storage device
requires explicit LUN access control for every host, the static configuration for each iSCSI initiator
can be overwhelming. In such case, using the proxy-initiator mode simplifies the configuration.
The maximum number of iSCSI sessions on a switch is 5000.
The maximum number of iSCSI sessions per IPS port in transparent initiator mode is 500.
The maximum number of iSCSI sessions per IPS port in proxy initiator mode is 250.
The maximum number of concurrent iSCSI sessions allowed per port is 10.
If more than 10 iSCSI sessions try to come up simultaneously on a port, the initiator receives
Note
a temporary error and later retries to create a session.
Figure
35-9). Every Fibre Channel N port requires a unique Node WWN and
Cisco MDS 9000 Family Configuration Guide
Configuring iSCSI
35-11
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