Applies to SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1

22 Ceph iSCSI gateway #

The chapter focuses on administration tasks related to the iSCSI Gateway. For a procedure of deployment refer to Section 8.3.5, “Deploying iSCSI Gateways”.

22.1 `ceph-iscsi` managed targets #

This chapter describes how to connect to ceph-iscsi managed targets from clients running Linux, Microsoft Windows, or VMware.

22.1.1 Connecting to `open-iscsi` #

Connecting to ceph-iscsi backed iSCSI targets with open-iscsi is a two-step process. First the initiator must discover the iSCSI targets available on the gateway host, then it must log in and map the available Logical Units (LUs).

Both steps require that the open-iscsi daemon is running. The way you start the open-iscsi daemon is dependent on your Linux distribution:

On SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES); and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) hosts, run systemctl start iscsid (or service iscsid start if systemctl is not available).
On Debian and Ubuntu hosts, run systemctl start open-iscsi (or service open-iscsi start).

If your initiator host runs SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, refer to https://documentation.suse.com/sles/15-SP3/html/SLES-all/cha-iscsi.html#sec-iscsi-initiator for details on how to connect to an iSCSI target.

For any other Linux distribution supporting open-iscsi, proceed to discover targets on your ceph-iscsi gateway (this example uses iscsi1.example.com as the portal address; for multipath access repeat these steps with iscsi2.example.com):

# iscsiadm -m discovery -t sendtargets -p iscsi1.example.com
192.168.124.104:3260,1 iqn.2003-01.org.linux-iscsi.iscsi.SYSTEM-ARCH:testvol

Then, log in to the portal. If the login completes successfully, any RBD-backed logical units on the portal will immediately become available on the system SCSI bus:

# iscsiadm -m node -p iscsi1.example.com --login
Logging in to [iface: default, target: iqn.2003-01.org.linux-iscsi.iscsi.SYSTEM-ARCH:testvol, portal: 192.168.124.104,3260] (multiple)
Login to [iface: default, target: iqn.2003-01.org.linux-iscsi.iscsi.SYSTEM-ARCH:testvol, portal: 192.168.124.104,3260] successful.

Repeat this process for other portal IP addresses or hosts.

If your system has the lsscsi utility installed, you use it to enumerate available SCSI devices on your system:

lsscsi
[8:0:0:0]    disk    SUSE     RBD              4.0   /dev/sde
[9:0:0:0]    disk    SUSE     RBD              4.0   /dev/sdf

In a multipath configuration (where two connected iSCSI devices represent one and the same LU), you can also examine the multipath device state with the multipath utility:

# multipath -ll
360014050cf9dcfcb2603933ac3298dca dm-9 SUSE,RBD
size=49G features='0' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
|-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
| `- 8:0:0:0 sde 8:64 active ready running
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=enabled
`- 9:0:0:0 sdf 8:80 active ready running

You can now use this multipath device as you would any block device. For example, you can use the device as a Physical Volume for Linux Logical Volume Management (LVM), or you can simply create a file system on it. The example below demonstrates how to create an XFS file system on the newly connected multipath iSCSI volume:

# mkfs -t xfs /dev/mapper/360014050cf9dcfcb2603933ac3298dca
log stripe unit (4194304 bytes) is too large (maximum is 256KiB)
log stripe unit adjusted to 32KiB
meta-data=/dev/mapper/360014050cf9dcfcb2603933ac3298dca isize=256    agcount=17, agsize=799744 blks
         =                       sectsz=512   attr=2, projid32bit=1
         =                       crc=0        finobt=0
data     =                       bsize=4096   blocks=12800000, imaxpct=25
         =                       sunit=1024   swidth=1024 blks
naming   =version 2              bsize=4096   ascii-ci=0 ftype=0
log      =internal log           bsize=4096   blocks=6256, version=2
         =                       sectsz=512   sunit=8 blks, lazy-count=1
realtime =none                   extsz=4096   blocks=0, rtextents=0

Note that XFS being a non-clustered file system, you may only ever mount it on a single iSCSI initiator node at any given time.

If at any time you want to discontinue using the iSCSI LUs associated with a particular target, run the following command:

# iscsiadm -m node -p iscsi1.example.com --logout
Logging out of session [sid: 18, iqn.2003-01.org.linux-iscsi.iscsi.SYSTEM-ARCH:testvol, portal: 192.168.124.104,3260]
Logout of [sid: 18, target: iqn.2003-01.org.linux-iscsi.iscsi.SYSTEM-ARCH:testvol, portal: 192.168.124.104,3260] successful.

As with discovery and login, you must repeat the logout steps for all portal IP addresses or host names.

22.1.1.1 Configuring multipath #

The multipath configuration is maintained on the clients or initiators and is independent of any ceph-iscsi configuration. Select a strategy prior to using block storage. After editing the /etc/multipath.conf, restart multipathd with

# systemctl restart multipathd

For an active-passive configuration with friendly names, add

defaults {
  user_friendly_names yes
}

to your /etc/multipath.conf. After connecting to your targets successfully, run

# multipath -ll
mpathd (36001405dbb561b2b5e439f0aed2f8e1e) dm-0 SUSE,RBD
size=2.0G features='0' hwhandler='0' wp=rw
|-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=active
| `- 2:0:0:3 sdl 8:176 active ready running
|-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=enabled
| `- 3:0:0:3 sdj 8:144 active ready running
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=1 status=enabled
  `- 4:0:0:3 sdk 8:160 active ready running

Note the status of each link. For an active-active configuration, add

defaults {
  user_friendly_names yes
}

devices {
  device {
    vendor "(LIO-ORG|SUSE)"
    product "RBD"
    path_grouping_policy "multibus"
    path_checker "tur"
    features "0"
    hardware_handler "1 alua"
    prio "alua"
    failback "immediate"
    rr_weight "uniform"
    no_path_retry 12
    rr_min_io 100
  }
}

to your /etc/multipath.conf. Restart multipathd and run

# multipath -ll
mpathd (36001405dbb561b2b5e439f0aed2f8e1e) dm-3 SUSE,RBD
size=2.0G features='1 queue_if_no_path' hwhandler='1 alua' wp=rw
`-+- policy='service-time 0' prio=50 status=active
  |- 4:0:0:3 sdj 8:144 active ready running
  |- 3:0:0:3 sdk 8:160 active ready running
  `- 2:0:0:3 sdl 8:176 active ready running

22.1.2 Connecting Microsoft Windows (Microsoft iSCSI initiator) #

To connect to a SUSE Enterprise Storage iSCSI target from a Windows 2012 server, follow these steps:

Open Windows Server Manager. From the Dashboard, select Tools › iSCSI Initiator. The iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog appears. Select the Discovery tab:
Figure 22.1: iSCSI initiator properties #
In the Discover Target Portal dialog, enter the target's host name or IP address in the Target field and click OK:
Figure 22.2: Discover target portal #
Repeat this process for all other gateway host names or IP addresses. When completed, review the Target Portals list:
Figure 22.3: Target portals #
Next, switch to the Targets tab and review your discovered target(s).
Figure 22.4: Targets #
Click Connect in the Targets tab. The Connect To Target dialog appears. Select the Enable Multi-path check box to enable multipath I/O (MPIO), then click OK:
When the Connect to Target dialog closes, select Properties to review the target's properties:
Figure 22.5: iSCSI target properties #
Select Devices, and click MPIO to review the multipath I/O configuration:
Figure 22.6: Device details #

The default Load Balance policy is Round Robin With Subset. If you prefer a pure failover configuration, change it to Fail Over Only.

This concludes the iSCSI initiator configuration. The iSCSI volumes are now available like any other SCSI devices, and may be initialized for use as volumes and drives. Click OK to close the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog, and proceed with the File and Storage Services role from the Server Manager dashboard.

Observe the newly connected volume. It identifies as SUSE RBD SCSI Multi-Path Drive on the iSCSI bus, and is initially marked with an Offline status and a partition table type of Unknown. If the new volume does not appear immediately, select Rescan Storage from the Tasks drop-down box to rescan the iSCSI bus.

Right-click on the iSCSI volume and select New Volume from the context menu. The New Volume Wizard appears. Click Next, highlight the newly connected iSCSI volume and click Next to begin.
Figure 22.7: New volume wizard #
Initially, the device is empty and does not contain a partition table. When prompted, confirm the dialog indicating that the volume will be initialized with a GPT partition table:
Figure 22.8: Offline disk prompt #
Select the volume size. Typically, you would use the device's full capacity. Then assign a drive letter or directory name where the newly created volume will become available. Then select a file system to create on the new volume, and finally confirm your selections with Create to finish creating the volume:
Figure 22.9: Confirm volume selections #

When the process finishes, review the results, then Close to conclude the drive initialization. Once initialization completes, the volume (and its NTFS file system) becomes available like a newly initialized local drive.

22.1.3 Connecting VMware #

To connect to ceph-iscsi managed iSCSI volumes you need a configured iSCSI software adapter. If no such adapter is available in your vSphere configuration, create one by selecting Configuration › Storage Adapters › Add › iSCSI Software initiator.
When available, select the adapter's properties by right-clicking the adapter and selecting Properties from the context menu:
Figure 22.10: iSCSI initiator properties #
In the iSCSI Software Initiator dialog, click the Configure button. Then go to the Dynamic Discovery tab and select Add.
Enter the IP address or host name of your ceph-iscsi iSCSI gateway. If you run multiple iSCSI gateways in a failover configuration, repeat this step for as many gateways as you operate.
Figure 22.11: Add target server #

When you have entered all iSCSI gateways, click OK in the dialog to initiate a rescan of the iSCSI adapter.
When the rescan completes, the new iSCSI device appears below the Storage Adapters list in the Details pane. For multipath devices, you can now right-click on the adapter and select Manage Paths from the context menu:
Figure 22.12: Manage multipath devices #

You should now see all paths with a green light under Status. One of your paths should be marked Active (I/O) and all others simply Active:
Figure 22.13: Paths listing for multipath #
You can now switch from Storage Adapters to the item labeled Storage. Select Add Storage... in the top-right corner of the pane to bring up the Add Storage dialog. Then, select Disk/LUN and click Next. The newly added iSCSI device appears in the Select Disk/LUN list. Select it, then click Next to proceed:
Figure 22.14: Add storage dialog #

Click Next to accept the default disk layout.
In the Properties pane, assign a name to the new datastore, and click Next. Accept the default setting to use the volume's entire space for the datastore, or select Custom Space Setting for a smaller datastore:
Figure 22.15: Custom space setting #

Click Finish to complete the datastore creation.
The new datastore now appears in the datastore list and you can select it to retrieve details. You are now able to use the ceph-iscsi backed iSCSI volume like any other vSphere datastore.
Figure 22.16: iSCSI datastore overview #

22.2 Conclusion #

ceph-iscsi is a key component of SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 that enables access to distributed, highly available block storage from any server or client capable of speaking the iSCSI protocol. By using ceph-iscsi on one or more iSCSI gateway hosts, Ceph RBD images become available as Logical Units (LUs) associated with iSCSI targets, which can be accessed in an optionally load-balanced, highly available fashion.

Since all of ceph-iscsi configuration is stored in the Ceph RADOS object store, ceph-iscsi gateway hosts are inherently without persistent state and thus can be replaced, augmented, or reduced at will. As a result, SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 enables SUSE customers to run a truly distributed, highly-available, resilient, and self-healing enterprise storage technology on commodity hardware and an entirely open source platform.