You need to set up target discovery addresses, so that the iSCSI or iSER storage adapter can determine which storage resource on the network is available for access.

The ESXi system supports these discovery methods:

Dynamic Discovery
Also known as SendTargets discovery. Each time the initiator contacts a specified iSCSI server, the initiator sends the SendTargets request to the server. The server responds by supplying a list of available targets to the initiator. The names and IP addresses of these targets appear on the Static Discovery tab. If you remove a static target added by dynamic discovery, the target might be returned to the list the next time a rescan happens, the storage adapter is reset, or the host is rebooted.
Note: With software and dependent hardware iSCSI, ESXi filters target addresses based on the IP family of the iSCSI server address specified. If the address is IPv4, IPv6 addresses that might come in the SendTargets response from the iSCSI server are filtered out. When DNS names are used to specify an iSCSI server, or when the SendTargets response from the iSCSI server has DNS names, ESXi relies on the IP family of the first resolved entry from DNS lookup.
Static Discovery
In addition to the dynamic discovery method, you can use static discovery and manually enter information for the targets. The iSCSI or iSER adapter uses a list of targets that you provide to contact and communicate with the iSCSI servers.

When you set up static or dynamic discovery, you can only add new iSCSI targets. You cannot change any parameters of an existing target. To make changes, remove the existing target and add a new one.

Prerequisites

Required privilege: Host.Configuration.Storage Partition Configuration

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to the ESXi host.
  2. Click the Configure tab.
  3. Under Storage, click Storage Adapters, and select the adapter (vmhba#) to configure.
  4. Configure the discovery method.
    Discovery Method Description
    Dynamic Discovery
    1. Click Dynamic Discovery and click Add.
    2. Enter the IP address or DNS name of the storage system and click OK.
    3. Rescan the iSCSI adapter.
    After establishing the SendTargets session with the iSCSI system, your host populates the Static Discovery list with all newly discovered targets.
    Note: A dynamically discovered target remains on the list even after it is removed from the array side.
    Static Discovery
    1. Click Static Discovery and click Add.
    2. Enter the target’s information and click OK
    3. Rescan the iSCSI adapter.

What to do next

For other configuration steps you can perform for the iSCSI or iSER storage adapters, see the following topics: