starwind iscsi target for microsoft ... - starwind software · a powerful yet easy to use data...

Rocket Division Software

Technical Reference Series

StarWind iSCSI Target for Microsoft Windows: StarWind and Double-Take

of 68

StarWind iSCSI Target for Microsoft Windows:

StarWind and Double-Take

May 1, 2007


www.RocketDivision.com

Copyright © Rocket Division Software 2001-2007. All rights reserved.


Technical Reference Series

StarWind iSCSI Target for Microsoft Windows: StarWind and Double-Take

of 68

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 7

REFERENCE CONFIGURATION .............................................................. 8

INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION ............................................... 10

PRIMARY STARWIND SERVER INSTALLATION ...................................................................................................... 10

SECONDARY STARWIND SERVER INSTALLATION .................................................................................................. 10

CONFIGURE DOUBLE TAKE AND BEGIN REPLICATION AND MIRRORING .............................................................. 11

CONFIGURE PRIMARY STARWIND SERVER .......................................................................................................... 22

................................................................................................................. 27

CONNECTING AND DISCONNECTING TARGETS .................................................................................................... 34

DATA RECOVERY .................................................................................. 40

RECOVER INDIVIDUAL STARWIND DISK ............................................................................................................... 41

RECOVER ENTIRE STARWIND SERVER BY REPLACEMENT ..................................................................................... 52

RECOVER ENTIRE STARWIND SERVER BY RESTORING .......................................................................................... 63

CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 69

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © Rocket Division Software 2001-2007. All rights reserved. No part of

this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or

otherwise, without the prior written consent of Rocket Division Software.

TRADEMARKS

“StarWind”, “Rocket Division Software” and the StarWind and the Rocket Division

Software logos are trademarks of Rocket Division Software which may be

registered in some jurisdictions. All other trademarks are owned by their

respective owners.

CHANGES

The material in this document is for information only and is subject to change

without notice. While reasonable efforts have been made in the preparation of

this document to assure its accuracy, Rocket Division Software assumes no

liability resulting from errors or omissions in this document, or from the use of

the information contained herein. Rocket Division Software reserves the right to

make changes in the product design without reservation and without notification

to its users.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND SERVICES

If you have questions about installing or using this software, check this and other

documents first - you will find answers to most of your questions here or there. If

you need further assistance, please contact us.

INTRODUCTION

To build and maintain competitiveness in a 24/7 global economy every business

relies on the availability and reliability of their computer systems and especially

the data they create and use to run their businesses. Small-to-medium businesses

(SMBs) are no different – they rely on the data in these critical systems to

promote their business, sell and deliver their products, and to support their

customers. If anything the availability and reliability of data is more critical for

SMBs because they are less able to absorb the high costs and lost productivity the

loss of critical business data represents. Losing even a single day worth of orders,

or email communications with customers, can seriously harm a small business.

In the past, the cost of solutions for better data protection and recovery have

been outside the reach of SMBs. With the availability of a software-based iSCSI

storage area networking solution from Rocket Division Software (StarWind), and

a powerful yet easy to use data replication solution from NSI Software (Double-

Take), businesses of every size can now easily and cost-effectively implement high

availability data storage and protection solutions.

This document contains detailed information regarding the installation and

configuration of Rocket Division Software’s StarWind iSCSI storage networking

solution, and NSI Software’s replication engine Double-Take, to implement a

consolidated storage solution with improved data protection and recoverability.

This document explains the implementation and configuration of StarWind and

Double-Take to provide basis consolidated storage and data

replication/protection capabilities. Other documents are available to demonstrate

more advanced configuration-specific iSCSI storage and data replication solutions.

REFERENCE CONFIGURATION

The diagram below illustrates typical StarWind-based iSCSI storage network

architecture with Double-Take data replication for data protection and

recoverability. In the example shown, StarWind provides block level data storage

services to the File, Exchange and SQL Servers.

Double-Take provides automated data replication services between the Primary

and Secondary StarWind Servers. A separate network segment is used for iSCSI

SAN traffic to ensure high-performance. Depending on data volumes and other

performance parameters, use of the common network segment may be possible.

In the diagram below, the Secondary StarWind Server stores a duplicated copy of

the data residing on the Primary StarWind Server. Data is automatically and

asynchronously replicated from the Primary to Secondary StarWind Server using

Double-Take. Double-Take’s highly efficient replication engine allows the

Secondary StarWind Server to be located at the primary facility or at a remote

disaster recovery site.

In the event of the failure of the Primary StarWind Server the duplicate data

maintained on the Secondary StarWind Server can be used to restore critical

services.

Primary

StarWind Server

with

Double-Take

Exchange Server File Server Web Server

Secondary

StarWind Server

with

Double-Take

iSCSI SAN

Segment

Replication LAN or

WAN Segment

Initiator writes data

Double-Take replicates data

Figure 1. Reference Architecture

INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION

Requirements

Primary StarWind Server

• Operating system: Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server with the

latest service packs installed

• StarWind

• Double-Take 4.4.2

Secondary StarWind Server

Operating system: Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server with the

latest service packs installed

• StarWind

• Double-Take 4.4.2

PRIMARY STARWIND SERVER INSTALLATION

• Install StarWind using the default settings. Refer to the StarWind

Installation Instructions for details. Note: Do not create any StarWind

targets at this point in time.

• Create a directory that will hold all StarWind Disk files. For the purpose of

this document this folder will be referred to as C:\SWDisks.

• Install Double-Take using the default settings. Refer to the 'Double-Take

Getting Started guide' for details.

SECONDARY STARWIND SERVER INSTALLATION

• Install StarWind using the default settings. Refer to the StarWind

Installation Instructions for details. Note: Do not create any StarWind

targets at this point in time.

Open the Services MMC snap-in, by clicking on Start -> All Programs ->

Administrative Tools -> Services

• Set the StarWind service to manual start.

• Stop the StarWind service. Click OK to save the changes.

• Install Double-Take using the default settings. Refer to the 'Double-Take

Getting Started Guide' for details.

CONFIGURE DOUBLE TAKE AND BEGIN REPLICATION AND MIRRORING

Configure Secondary StarWind Server

The Secondary StarWind Server must be configured as a Double-Take target

server in order to receive the replication data. The steps detailed below outline

this process. During the configuration of the target server, a new replication set is

created on both the Primary and Secondary StarWind Servers, making the

Primary StarWind Server replication-ready.

Open the Double-Take console by clicking Start -> All Programs -> Double-Take ->

Management Console

The Double-Take management Console window appears.

Right-click on the Primary StarWind Server (Test1 node).

Select Logon.

At this point the Log on dialog appears.

Specify the Username, Password and Domain and click the OK button to

continue.

Right-click on the Primary StarWind Server node.

Select New -> Replication Set to create a new replication set.

If the above procedure worked, the console window should look like the

screenshot below.

Select the folder where the StarWind Disk files are located (in this case

C:\SWDisks).

Right-click on the replication set name.

Select the Save option to save the replication set.

Drag and drop the replication set onto the Secondary StarWind Server.

The Connection Manager dialog should appear, as shown below.

Ensure that the Route field uses the correct network adapter for replication

traffic.

Select the One-to-One mapping option in order to ensure that Double-Take will

create and store the StarWind Disks files in the same folder on the Secondary

StarWind Server computer, as the primary server.

Next, click the Connect button to start the mirroring and replication process.

The mirroring and replication process should begin, and after a short while when

the process is complete the console should like the screen shot below.

CONFIGURE PRIMARY STARWIND SERVER

Double-Take should now be configured on both the Primary and Secondary

StarWind Servers. The steps below will guide you through the process of

configuring StarWind on the Primary StarWind Server. At the end of this process,

you will have created a StarWind Disk, which will automatically be replicated to

the Secondary StarWind Server.

NOTE: For the replication process to work, you must use file-based StarWind

Disks.

Launch the StarWind console by selecting Start->All Programs->Rocket Division

Software->StarWind->StarWind. After the Starwind console is launched, its icon

will appear in the system tray. Double click on the icon or single click it with the

right mouse button and select the Start Management menu item from the pop-

up menu.

From the Connections tree select the computer you wish to connect to. By

default, there is a single item in the tree (localhost) which represents a loopback

connection. Click the right mouse button over the desired host (computer) and

select the Connect… menu item. You will be prompted to enter the login and

password. Default ones are: test, test. For security reasons it is advised that you

change these credentials later.

Select Connect… menu item to continue.

The Login dialog asking for the User name and the Password input looks like the

one on the image shown below.

Click the OK button to continue.

After you have successfully connected to the StarWind service on the remote

machine, right click the desired host (computer).

Select Add device… menu item to continue.

In the wizard that appears, select Image File device (a brief description of each

option is displayed in the right area of the wizard window). You can display the

online help by clicking the Help button.

Click the Next button to continue.

Select Create new image to create a new hard disk image or Mount existing

image to mount an existing image that you’ve prepared before.


If you have decided to create a new image file please specify the location

(C:\SWDisks) and the name of the image you wish to create. You will also have to

provide the image size in megabytes. Check any additional parameters for the

image you wish to create. Please refer to the online help for details regarding

additional parameters (Flat image file, Compressed and Encrypted).


Image file device has some extra parameters. Refer to the online help for details

regarding additional parameters (Asynchronous mode, Read-only mode , Allow

multiple connections (clustering), and Specify advanced options).


Select a target name; this step is optional. The device will be identified to the

iSCSI initiators connecting to the StarWind over an IP network, with this name.


The final step allows you to check if all of the device parameters are correct. Click

the Back button if any changes are required.


The final screen of the wizard displays information about the recently created

device is (see image below).

Click the Finish button to close the wizard.

If all of the above steps were completed, the StarWind console should look like

the image shown below.

The StarWind Disk file should be replicated to the Secondary StarWind Server by

Double-Take. You can check that this process works by checking the contents of

the C:\SWDisks directory on the Secondary StarWind Server. As you create new

file-based StarWind Disks in C:\SWDisks, on the Primary Server these files will

automatically be replicated to the Secondary StarWind Server by Double-Take.

When application servers (initiators) make changes to their StarWind Disks, these

changes will be replicated by Double-Take, providing real-time continuous data

protection.

CONNECTING AND DISCONNECTING TARGETS

Connecting to the target

Launch the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator application by selecting Start->All

Programs->Microsoft iSCSI Initiator-> Microsoft iSCSI Initiator. Switch to the

Discovery tab and then click the Add button in the Target Portals group.

In the dialog that appears type in the IP address and port of the computer with

StarWind installed.


Switch to the Targets tab. Select the target name from the list.

Click the Log On… button.

The Log On to Target dialog appears.

Click the OK button to connect to the target.

Disconnecting from the target

Launch the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator application by selecting Start->All

Programs->Microsoft iSCSI Initiator-> Microsoft iSCSI Initiator.

Switch to the Targets tab. Select the target name you wish to disconnect from the

list shown.

Click the Details button.

In the dialog that appears, check the session Identifier(s).

And click the Log off… button.

The target will become inactive (disconnected).

DATA RECOVERY

Recovering data from the Secondary StarWind Disk server can be accomplished in

several ways:

� Recover Individual StarWind Disk. Restores an individual StarWind Disk or

a subset of the StarWind Disks.

� Recover Entire StarWind Server by Replacement. Replaces the Primary

StarWind Server with the Secondary StarWind Server.

� Recover Entire StarWind Server by Restoring. Restores all StarWind Disks

data using the duplicate copy residing on the Secondary StarWind Server.

Due to the size of the StarWind Disk files, which could exceed hundreds of

gigabytes, it is highly recommended that you perform the recovering over a high-

speed gigabit network. If the Secondary StarWind Server is located at a remote

location, you may need to relocate the server to the primary site for recovery

purposes.

It is highly recommended that you run an integrity check tool such as chkdsk or

eseutil on the restored StarWind Disk(s) to ensure data consistency after

completing the restoration.

RECOVER INDIVIDUAL STARWIND DISK

Individual StarWind Disks can be recovered by copying the StarWind Disk file

from the Secondary StarWind Server back to the Primary StarWind Server.

Take StarWind Disk Offline

The first step of the restoring the StarWind Disk ensures that the disk is not being

used by any iSCSI initiator during the recovery process. These steps must be

performed on the Primary StarWind Server.

Launch the Start Management console. Select the target, which you wish to

remove. Make sure the status of the StarWind Disk is Idle. If not – you should

disconnect target in the client-side initiator (see previous section for more

information on the required steps).

Right click the target.

Select Remove from the popup menu.

Restore StarWind Disk File

You may now copy the StarWind Disk file from the Secondary StarWind Server

back to the Primary StarWind Server.

Bring StarWind Disk Online

These steps must be performed on the Primary StarWind Server.

Launch the Start Management console. Right click on localhost:3260.

Select Add device.

In the wizard that appears, select Image File device (a brief description of each

option is displayed in the right area of the wizard window). You can display the

online help by clicking the Help button.


Select Mount existing image to mount an existing image that you’ve prepared

before.


Click the “…” button and choose the image file in C:\SWDisks directory. You will

also have to provide the image size in megabytes. Check any additional

parameters for the image you wish to create. Please refer to the online help for

details regarding additional parameters (Asynchronous mode, Allow multiple

connections (clustering), Read-only mode and Specify advanced options).


Select a target name, this step is optional. The device will be identified to the



If everything went fine, the StarWind console should look like the image shown

below.

RECOVER ENTIRE STARWIND SERVER BY REPLACEMENT

In the event that the Primary StarWind Server fails, the entire server can be

physically swapped and replaced by the Secondary StarWind Server. This

approach offers the quickest recovery time but requires the Secondary StarWind

Server to be equipped with similar or better hardware capabilities to avoid

performance degradations.

After the Secondary StarWind Server is setup at the primary location, ensure the

network identities are configured to reflect that of the original Primary StarWind

Server. You will need to recreate each StarWind Disk as follows:

Launch the StarWind console by selecting Start->All Programs->Rocket Division

Software->StarWind->StarWind. After the console is launched its icon appears in

the system tray. Double click the icon with the left mouse button or single click it

with the right mouse button and select Start Management menu item from the

pop-up menu.

From the Connections tree select the localhost:3260 which represents a

loopback connection. Right click the desired host (computer) and select the

Connect… menu item. You will be prompted to enter the login and password.

Default ones are: test, test. For security reasons it is advised that you change

these credentials later.

Select Connect… menu item to continue.

The Login dialog asking for the User name and the Password input looks like the

one on the image shown below.


After you have successfully connected to the StarWind service, right click the

desired host (computer).

Select Add device… menu item to continue.

In the wizard that appears, please select Image File device (a brief description of

each option is displayed in the right area of the wizard window). You can display

the online help by clicking the Help button.


Select Mount existing image to mount an existing image that you’ve prepared

before.


Press the “…” button and choose image file in C:\SWDisks directory. Check any

additional parameters for the image you wish to create. Please refer to the online

help for details regarding additional parameters (Asynchronous mode, Allow

multiple connections (clustering), Read-only mode and Specify advanced

options).


Select a target name, this step is optional. The device will be identified to the



If everything went fine, the StarWind console should look like the image shown

below.

Repeat these steps for all files in C:\SWDisks.

The old Primary StarWind Server can be delegated as the new Secondary

StarWind Server.

RECOVER ENTIRE STARWIND SERVER BY RESTORING

The entire Primary StarWind Server can be recovered using Double-Take to

restore the StarWind Disk files. The steps listed below outline this process. On the

Primary StarWind Server, stop the StarWind service.

Launch Start -> Administrative Tools -> Services find StarWind iSCSI Service node,

right-click and select Stop.

Alternatively you can run net stop starwindservice command from the command

prompt.

Open the Double-Take console selecting Start -> All Programs -> Double-Take ->

Management Console.

Disconnect the replication set.

Open the Restoration Manager which can be found under the Tools menu.

The Restoration Manager dialog appears. Under the Restore From field specify

the Secondary StarWind Server. Under the Restore To field specify the Primary

StarWind Server.

Click the Restore button to start the restoration.

Once the restoration process is completed, reconnect the replication set to

restart the replication.

Click the Connect button to continue.

Start the StarWind service.

Launch Start -> Administrative Tools -> Services find StarWind iSCSI Service node,

right click and select Start.

Alternatively you can run net start starwindservice command from the command

prompt.

CONCLUSION

This document has gone over the steps required to install and configure Starwind

on both the primary and secondary Starwind servers and also the steps required

to install and configure Double-Take on both servers.

The document then explained the various methods to recover the data on the

primary server, in the case of any fatal data loss.

CONTACTS

Support E-mail: [email protected]

Support Forum: www.RocketDivision.com/forum

Support FAQ: www.RocketDivision.com/faq.html

Sales E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +38 067 53 222 33, +38 067 53 222 53

Fax: +38 044 414 8717


04210, Kyiv, Ukraine

Heroes of Stalingrad Str. 18B/Office 21

www.RocketDivision.com

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