Please note that it is highly recommended to present the datastores as read-only to the Windows OS as a precaution.
Mounting the disks using iSCSI:
You need to set up the parameter automount disabled in the DISKPART utility on your vRanger server. Once this is done, you can then add the datastores using the Windows iSCSI initiator.
- On your vRanger server, you must have a NIC with a static IP address to be used on your iSCSI network. This network interface should be able to reach the SAN.
- On the vRanger server open up an elevated command prompt and type in DISKPART
- At DISKPART type in automount disable (This is required to prevent Windows from mounting and starting the process to prepare the volumes for Windows)
- Type automount scrub, hit Enter and exit DISKPART.
- Using the static IP of the NIC assigned to the iSCSI network, mask the LUNs on the iSCSI storage array, so that they are presented to your vRanger server.
- Open Control Panel > iSCSI Initiator (if asked to enable choose Yes)
- Click on the Discovery Tab and click on Discover Portal
- Add the IPs of the storage array network adapters where your datastores reside, click OK (if there is more than 1 then you will have to add each one 1 at a time)
- Click Apply
- Now the utility will default to Targets. Listed under here should be the iSCSI targets from your storage. You should be able to choose the ones that contain your datastores and click 'Connect' to join them to your Windows instance. This just makes the connection, it does not mount, modify or change anything on the storage. If you open up Disk Management on your server, you should see the LUNs that have been presented to it.
Mounting the disks using FC connection:
You must perform LUN Zoning and disable the automount in Windows. For this, you must have an HBA dedicated for this purpose in vRanger.
- On the vRanger server open up an elevated command prompt and type in DISKPART
- At DISKPART type in automount disable (This is to prevent Windows from mounting and starting the process to prepare the volumes for Windows)
- Type automount scrub, hit Enter and exit DISKPART.
- Verify and make note of the WWN of the HBA on the vRanger server.
- On your fiber switch, configure the zone to allow the HBA on the vRanger server access to the FC storage array.
- On the storage array, mask the LUNs to allow the OS access to the necessary datastores. It is recommended to present the LUNs to the vRanger server as you have presented them to the ESXi hosts.
- If you open Disk Management on your server, you should see the LUNs that have been presented to the OS.
