Dell Broadcom NetXtreme Family of Adapters Broadcom NetXtreme II Network Adapt - Page 78

iSCSI Protocol: Broadcom NetXtreme II Network Adapter User Guide Note: The above command is a single continuous command. 1. Burn the Win2008R2Mod.iso file to a DVD. 2. Perform the installation by using the new DVD and provide the network controller drivers during installation. You will receive the iSCSI LUN to complete the installation. iSCSI Crash Dump If you will use the Broadcom iSCSI Crash Dump utility, it is important to follow the installation procedure to install the iSCSI Crash Dump driver. See Using the Installer for more information. iSCSI Offload iSCSI offload is a technology that offloads iSCSI protocol processing overhead from host processors to the iSCSI host bus adapter to increase network performance and throughput while helping to optimize server processor utilization. This section covers Broadcom's iSCSI offload feature for the NetXtreme II family of network adapters. For Linux iSCSI offload, see Linux iSCSI Offload. iSCSI Offload Limitations The bnx2i driver for iSCSI does not operate on a stand-alone PCI device. It shares the same PCI device with the networking driver (bnx2 and bnx2x). The networking driver alone supports layer 2 networking traffic. Offloaded iSCSI operations require both the networking driver and the bnx2i driver. iSCSI operations will be interrupted when the networking driver brings down or resets the device. This scenario requires proper handling by the networking and bnx2i drivers, as well as the userspace iscsid daemon that keeps track of all iSCSI sessions. Offloaded iSCSI connections take up system and on-chip resources that must be freed up before the device can be reset. iscsid running in userspace is generally less predictable, as it can run slowly and take a long time to disconnect and reconnect iSCSI sessions during network reset, especially when the number of connections is large. Broadcom cannot guarantee that iSCSI sessions will always recover in every conceivable scenario when the networking device is repeatedly being reset. Broadcom recommends that administrator-administered network device resets, such as MTU change, ring size change, device shutdown, hot-unplug, and so forth, be kept at a minimum while there are active offloaded iSCSI sessions running on that shared device. On the other hand, link-related changes do not require device reset and are safe to be performed at any time. To help alleviate some of the above issues, install the latest open-iscsi utilities by upgrading your Red Hat Network subscription. Configuring iSCSI Offload With the proper iSCSI offload licensing, you can configure your iSCSI-capable NetXtreme II network adapter to offload iSCSI processing from the host processor. The following process enables your system to take advantage of Broadcom's iSCSI offload feature. Installing Broadcom Drivers and Management Applications Installing the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Configuring Broadcom iSCSI Using BACS Configure Microsoft Initiator to Use Broadcom's iSCSI Offload Installing Broadcom Drivers and Management Applications Install the Windows drivers and management applications. See Installing Windows Drivers and Management Applications. Installing the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator For Windows Server 2008 and later, the iSCSI initiator is included inbox. To download the iSCSI initiator from Microsoft, go to http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=18986 and locate the direct link for your system. Configuring Broadcom iSCSI Using BACS file:///T|/htdocs/NETWORK/BroadCom/71921/NetXtremeII/en/iscsi.htm[9/26/2012 3:29:03 PM]