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Technical white paper | HP StoreVirtual 4000 Storage

Host conguration

The server is typically congured in one of three ways to communicate to iSCSI targets presented by HP StoreVirtual

4000 Storage over the network. The three initiator congurations are:

1. iSCSI Software Initiator with a standard network adapter

2. iSCSI Software Initiator combined with an accelerated network adapter

(often referred to as a TCP/IP ooad engine [TOE])

3. Hardware iSCSI host bus adapters

From a server perspective, network adapters which are used by iSCSI Software Initiators show up as network adapters

and iSCSI HBAs are handled as storage controllers. In either case, HP recommends:

• Two NICs or two iSCSI HBAs installed per server, dedicated to iSCSI storage trac

• Plus additional NICs for other trac types (server cluster network, virtual machine networks, etc.)

• Disable any service or protocol which is not actively used on network adapters dedicated to iSCSI trac (e.g. le and

print sharing protocols)

For iSCSI HBAs, use HP Single Point of Connectivity Knowledge (SPOCK) website to obtain detailed information about

supported HP server and storage product congurations. URL for SPOCK website: hp.com/storage/spock.

For third-party servers, HP does not recommend any particular 10GbE adapter.

Jumbo frames

Like the other components on the network segment, hosts need to be congured with the same MTU size as storage

systems and network switches. When using jumbo frames, make sure that all network adapters used for iSCSI are

properly congured.

Best practices

• For VMware vSphere hosts—set to the same MTU value on Virtual Switches (i.e., vNetwork Standard Switch, vNetwork

Distributed Switch), VMkernel ports, physical network adapters, and virtual NICs of the guest operating system.

• For Microsoft® Windows® Server hosts—enable jumbo frames on network adapters to take advantage of larger MTU

frame sizes. The process of enabling jumbo frames varies based on network adapter and driver. To set jumbo frames in

Windows go to the device manager, select the network interface, then go to the advanced tab, select the jumbo frame

setting and then set the correct MTU size. If virtual machines on Hyper-V should also use jumbo frames for iSCSI, the

virtual switch(es) and network adapter of the virtual machines need to be congured for jumbo frames too.

Flow control

Ideally, ow control on hosts is congured to auto-negotiate the ow control settings with the switch ports (like storage

nodes). If ow control auto-negotiation is not available, enable ow control for sending and receiving.

Best practices

• Hardware-based ow control is recommended on all server network interfaces.

• VMware vSphere hosts have ow control enabled by default; the physical adapters (vmnics) are set to auto negotiate.

• For Microsoft Windows Server hosts, enable ow control on all server network adapters attached to iSCSI segments.

Flow control is enabled by selecting the appropriate network adapter and then by selecting the “Advance Tab.” HP

recommends setting ow control settings to Rx/Tx enabled; this enables network adapters to generate and respond to

ow control frames. Make certain all server network adapters attached to iSCSI segments are congured the same; with

ow control enabled.

HP Storevirtual 4000 White Paper

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