Acceptable iSCSI target names.

[diyan9]

Does ESXi limit iSCSI target names which can be used only to IQN and EUI?

When I try to add a static iSCSI target with a name like this:

ny-datastore-3

I get the following error in vCenter (ver 5.5.0, build 1476327):

Operation failed, diagnostics report: iScsiLibException: status(c0000000): Invalid parameter; Message= IMA_AddStaticDiscoveryTarget

The HBA is a Qlogic QMH4062 in an HP ProLiant blade (running VMware ESXi, 5.5.0, 1331820)

[Sajal Debnath]

Hello diyan9,

iSCSI target name is always either in IQN or EUI format. When we configure the target it needs to be in that format only. For example, in creating IQN style

iqn.yyyy-mm.{reversed domain name}:id_string

you need to have different unique id_string for different disks/LUN's but the format is in type only.

While in Dynamic discovery you provide the server IP/ DNS name of the iSCSI server and the ESXi understands the targets in Static discovery you need to specify the server IP or DNS name, port and the target name in the above format only.

For reference you can check below:

iSCSI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

VMware vSphere 4 - ESX and vCenter Server

VMware vSphere 5.1

Hope this helps .

[diyan9]

Thank you sajal1.

I suspected that that might be the case. However, I could not find a definitive statement from VMware explicitly stating that IQN and EUI are the only iSCSI target naming conventions they will allow and that any other target name will produce the uninformative error I was getting.

I appreciate the clarification.

[Sajal Debnath]

Hello diyan9,

You are welcome. As I understand the iSCSI target naming convention is as it is (IQN and EUI). That is the format universally supported. The same works in Linux environments as well. So question is not whether VMware supports it. It is, is there any other official supported format by anyone else? I suppose no. I am yet to see any other official supported Target naming convention. Please let me know if there is any other format.

Hope this clarifies a bit more :smileyhappy: