Configure iSER Adapters

Configure iSER on your ESXi host, so that the iSCSI framework on the host can use the Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) transport instead of TCP/IP.

When installed on the host, the RDMA-capable adapter appears in vCenter Server as a network adapter (vmnic).

To make the adapter functional, you must enable the VMware iSER component, and then connect the iSER adapter to the RDMA-capable vmnic. You can then configure typical properties, such as targets and CHAP, for the iSER adapter.

The entire setup and configuration process for the iSER adapters involves several steps.

Step	Description
Enable the VMware iSER Adapter	Use the esxcli command to enable the VMware iSER adapter.
Modify General Properties for iSCSI or iSER Adapters	If needed, change the default name and alias assigned to your adapter.
Configure Port Binding for iSCSI or iSER	You must create network connections to bind the iSER engine and the RDMA-capable network adapter. The process of configuring these connections is called port binding. Note: iSER does not support NIC teaming. When configuring port binding, use only one RDMA adapter per vSwitch.
Configure Dynamic or Static Discovery for iSCSI and iSER	Set up the dynamic discovery. With the dynamic discovery, each time the initiator contacts a specified iSER storage system, it sends the SendTargets request to the system. The iSER system responds by supplying a list of available targets to the initiator. In addition to the dynamic discovery method, you can use the static discovery and manually enter information for the targets.
Set Up CHAP for iSCSI or iSER Adapter	If your environment uses the Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP), configure it for your adapter.
Set Up CHAP for Target	You can also configure different CHAP credentials for each discovery address or static target.
Enable Jumbo Frames for Networking	If your environment supports Jumbo Frames, enable them for the adapter.