💻 Proxmox VE Course II-C-3. iSCSI Storage Connection: Configuring a SAN Environment

 

🌐 #Zenith of #Enterprise #Storage in #ProxmoxVE: #Understanding #iSCSI and #SAN #Networks

As the scale of a virtualization environment grows, data transfer speed and stability become key factors determining overall system performance

While the NFS we covered in the last session involved file-level sharing, the #iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) we are learning today is an advanced technology that transfers data at the block level

By utilizing #iSCSI, you can make an external storage device appear as if it were a local hard drive directly plugged into your server

This forms the foundation of a #SAN (Storage Area Network) environment, often called the "flower of virtualization"

In this #lecture, we will dig deep into the #method of connecting Proxmox nodes with external storage to build a high-performance #virtualization infrastructure, along with important precautions

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1. Basic Concepts of #iSCSI and #SAN Environments

To design an efficient system, you must understand how iSCSI differs from general file sharing

A. Advantages of Block-Level Storage

• Unlike file system sharing such as #NFS, iSCSI communicates at the sector level of the disk

  This reduces data overhead and provides high response speeds similar to local disks when operating virtual machines (VMs)

B. Initiator and Target

• Initiator: The entity that uses the storage—in this case, the #ProxmoxVE server

• Target: The storage device (NAS or dedicated SAN storage) that provides the service

C. Availability and Scalability

• Building an iSCSI SAN environment allows multiple Proxmox nodes to access the same block device

  This provides the most stable foundation for implementing Live Migration and High Availability (HA) of VMs

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2. Setting Up the #Storage #Device (#Target)

Before starting the connection, you must create a LUN on your storage device (Synology, QNAP, TrueNAS, etc.)

A. Creating LUN and Target

1. Navigate to the iSCSI menu in your storage manager and create a new LUN (Logical Unit Number)

2. Create an iSCSI Target to map the created LUN to, and verify the IQN (iSCSI Qualified Name)

B. Access Control and Security (ACL)

• For security, set up a whitelist so that only the IQN address of the Proxmox server can access that target

• If additional security is required, you can set up CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) authentication to assign a username and password

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3. Adding and Configuring iSCSI Storage in #ProxmoxVE

Now it's time to integrate external storage into your system via the Proxmox Web GUI

A. Connecting the iSCSI Target (Step 1 for LVM-thin Configuration)

1. Go to 'Datacenter' > 'Storage' > 'Add' and select 'iSCSI'

2. ID: Enter an alias for the storage

3. Portal: Enter the IP address of the storage device

4. Target: Click the 'Scan' button and select the IQN created on the storage

5. Selecting the 'Use LUNs directly' option allows you to use the target directly

B. Layering LVM on Top of iSCSI (Step 2)

• Since iSCSI is a raw block device, it is common to configure LVM on top of it to efficiently manage multiple VM disks

1. Select 'Add' > 'LVM' again

2. Base storage: Select the iSCSI target you just added

3. Volume Group: Specify a new name and create it

4. This allows you to enjoy both the speed of iSCSI and the management convenience of LVM

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4. #Network Design and #Performance Optimization

Since iSCSI is highly dependent on the network, the infrastructure design determines success or failure

A. Dedicated Storage Network (Air-gap)

• As a rule, iSCSI traffic should use physical switches and dedicated NICs (Network Interface Cards) that are completely separated from general web services or internal network traffic

  A congested network can cause storage latency, which may cause the entire system to freeze

B. Multipath Configuration

• This technology connects the storage and server using two or more NICs

  It provides both Fault Tolerance (Failover), ensuring service continues even if one cable is disconnected, and Bandwidth Expansion (Load Balancing)

C. MTU 9000 (Jumbo Frames)

• By increasing the size of the data packets that can be sent at once, you can lower CPU load and increase throughput

  The server, switch, and storage device must all be set to 9000 identically

Configuring a #SAN environment using #ProxmoxVE is no longer the exclusive domain of large enterprises

Through the #iSCSI connection techniques learned today, we hope you take your virtualization data center to the next level

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ProxmoxVE, iSCSI, SAN, StorageConnection, LVM, BlockStorage, VirtualizationPerformance, Multipath, DataCenter, ResourceManagement

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