Dell PowerVault MD32xxi Configuration Guide for VMware ESX4.1 Server Software
Step6: Binding VMkernel Ports to iSCSI Software Initiator
This next step will bind the VMkernel ports, which were configured in Step 4 earlier, to the iSCSI Software
Initiator. If this step is skipped there will only ever be a single connection to the PowerVault SAN. This step
must be done via CLI.
The first thing to do is to note the vmhba# of the iSCSI Software Initiator. This can be seen in the vCenter
GUI on the ESX host under Configuration -> Storage Adapters.
This can also be found by running the following CLI command to discover all SCSI devices including the
iSCSI software adapter:
esxcfg-scsidevs –a
The output will look something like the following:
vmhba0 mptsas link-n/a sas.5001ec90e0ba7c00
(1:0.0) LSI Logic / Symbios Logic LSI1068E
vmhba1 ata_piix link-n/a ide.vmhba1
(0:31.1) Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB IDE Controller
vmhba32 ata_piix link-n/a ide.vmhba32
(0:31.1) Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB IDE Controller
vmhba33 iscsi_vmk link-n/a iscsi.vmhba33
() Software iSCSI
In this example from both the GUI and CLI we can determine that the vmhba# for the iSCSI Software
Initiator is vmhba33. This will be used in the next part. This will differ on various systems based on the
devices installed.
The next piece of information to gather is the vmk# of each of the VMkernel ports. This can be done via
the GUI or CLI.
To determine the vmk# of each VMkernel port from the vCenter GUI navigate to Configuration ->
Networking. From the vSwitch that was created earlier under each VMkernel port, the vmk# will be listed.
NOTE: It is important to recognize that they may not start with vmk0, vMotion ports and other VMkernels
will utilize the same numbers based on the order they are created.
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