Connect the network volume to a dedicated server with Windows OS

Read more about network volumes in the General Product Information for Network volumes guide.

1. Create a SAN network.
2. Connect the network volume to the server.
3. Connect the network volume to the server in the server OS.
4. Configure MPIO.
5. Optional: connect the network volume to another server.
6. Prepare the network volume for operation.

1. Create a SAN network

1. In the Control panel, on the top menu, click Products and select Dedicated Servers.

2. Go to the Network → tab SAN network.

3. Click Add SAN network.

4. Select an availability zone.

5. Enter a subnet address from the private range (10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16) or keep the default subnet. The subnet size must be /20.
   Ensure that the subnet is not used in your infrastructure.

6. Click Create SAN network.

2. Connect the network volume to the server

1. In the Control panel, on the top menu, click Products and select Dedicated Servers.

2. Go to the Network Volumes and Storage section → Network Volumes tab.

3. Open the volume page → Connect to Server tab.

4. In the Server field, click Select.

5. Select the server to which the network volume will be connected.

6. Click Confirm.

7. If you are connecting a network volume to a server with a private network, configure the network:

   7.1. Select a VLAN.

   7.2. Enter the subnet CIDR from the private address range 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12 or 192.168.0.0/16.
   Ensure that the subnet does not overlap with the SAN network you created in step 1 and that you are not using it elsewhere in your infrastructure.

   7.3. Enter the Next hop 1 and Next hop 2 addresses from the selected private subnet.

   7.4. Click Configure.

3. Connect the network volume to the server in the server OS

You can connect a network volume to a server manually or by using a ready-made script generated in the control panel. The script can only be used on Ubuntu OS — see the Connect a network volume to a dedicated Linux server instruction for details.

If your server is using Hyper-V, the network volume will not work. This is because the disk via an iSCSI connection does not support SCSI-3 Persistent Reservations, which are required for Hyper-V to run in Failover Cluster mode.

The process of connecting a network volume in the server OS through a private subnet depends on the number of ports:

• if the server has two local ports, use the instructions for two ports;
• if the server has only one local port or MC-LAG is configured, use the instructions for one port.

SAN network

1. Connect to the server via SSH or via KVM console.

2. Run PowerShell as an administrator.

3. Print the list of network interfaces:

   Get-NetIPInterface

4. Add IP addresses to the network interfaces connected to the SAN switch:

   New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "<eth_name_1>" -IPAddress <ip_address_1> -PrefixLength <mask_1> -DefaultGateway <next_hop_1>
   New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "<eth_name_2>" -IPAddress <ip_address_2> -PrefixLength <mask_2> -DefaultGateway <next_hop_2>

   Specify:

   • <eth_name_1> - the name of the first network interface you obtained in step 3;
   • <ip_address_1> - IP address of the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Port IP address;
   • <mask_1> - destination subnet mask for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_1> - gateway for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway);
   • <eth_name_2> - the name of the second network interface you obtained in step 3;
   • <ip_address_2> - IP address of the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Port IP address;
   • <mask_2> - destination subnet mask for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_2> - gateway for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway).

5. Configure static routes to access iSCSI targets:

   route add <destination_subnet_1> mask <mask_1> <next_hop_1> -p
   route add <destination_subnet_2> mask <mask_2> <next_hop_2> -p

   Specify:

   • <destination_subnet_1> - destination subnet for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <mask_1> - destination subnet mask for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_1> - gateway for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway);
   • <destination_subnet_2> - destination subnet for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <mask_2> - destination subnet mask for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_2> - gateway for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway).

6. Check that the static routes configured in step 5 have been applied:

   route print -4

7. Check that the speed of each interface is at least 10 Gbit/s:

   Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "<eth_name_1>" } | Select-Object -Property Name,LinkSpeed
   Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "<eth_name_2>" } | Select-Object -Property Name,LinkSpeed

   Specify <eth_name_1> and <eth_name_2> - the names of the network interfaces configured in step 4.

8. If the speed is below 10 Gbit/s, create a ticket.

9. Check that the iSCSI target is available:

   ping <iscsi_target_ip_address_1>
   ping <iscsi_target_ip_address_2>

   Specify:

   • <iscsi_target_ip_address_1> - IP address of the first iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 1;
   • <iscsi_target_ip_address_2> - IP address of the second iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 2.

10. Get information about the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service:

    Get-Service MSiSCSI

    The response will show the service status. For example:

    Status   Name               DisplayName
    ------   ----               -----------
    Running  MSiSCSI            Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service

    Here, the Status field shows the current status of the service.

11. If the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service status is Stopped, start it:

    Start-Service MSiSCSI

12. Enable the automatic startup of the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service:

    Set-Service -Name MSiSCSI -StartupType Automatic

13. Set the iSCSI initiator name:

    iscsicli NodeName "<initiator_name>"

    Specify <initiator_name> - iSCSI initiator name. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field Initiator name.

14. Connect the iSCSI target portals:

    New-IscsiTargetPortal -TargetPortalAddress <ip_address_portal_1> -TargetPortalPortNumber 3260 -InitiatorPortalAddress <ip_address_1>
    New-IscsiTargetPortal -TargetPortalAddress <ip_address_portal_2> -TargetPortalPortNumber 3260 -InitiatorPortalAddress <ip_address_2>

    Specify:

    • <iscsi_target_ip_address_1> - IP address of the first iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 1;
    • <ip_address_1> – IP address of the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Port IP address;
    • <iscsi_target_ip_address_2> - IP address of the second iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 2;
    • <ip_address_2> – IP address of the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Port IP address.

15. Configure authentication on the iSCSI target via iSCSI interfaces:

    $iusr="<username>"
    $ipasswd="<password>"
    $sts=$(Get-IscsiTarget | Select-Object -ExpandProperty NodeAddress)
    
    foreach ($st in $sts) {
        $tpaddr=($st -split ":")[-1]
        Connect-IscsiTarget -NodeAddress $st -TargetPortalAddress $tpaddr -TargetPortalPortNumber 3260 -IsPersistent $true -AuthenticationType ONEWAYCHAP -ChapUsername $iusr -ChapSecret $ipasswd
    }

    Specify:

    • <username> - username to authorize the iSCSI initiator. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field Username;
    • <password> - password to authorize the iSCSI initiator. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field Password.

16. Print the list of iSCSI targets:

    Get-IscsiTarget

    The response will show the list of iSCSI targets. For example:

    IsConnected NodeAddress                                                  PSComputerName
    ----------- -----------                                                  --------------
        True    iqn.2001-07.com.ceph:user-target-99999:203.0.113.101
        True    iqn.2001-07.com.ceph:user-target-0398327:203.0.113.102

17. Make sure that for each iSCSI target, the parameter IsConnected is set to True.

18. Check that the network volume has appeared in the list of available disks:

    Get-Disk | Select-Object Number, FriendlyName, SerialNumber, BusType, OperationalStatus

    The response will show the list of disks. For example:

    Number FriendlyName           SerialNumber       BusType  OperationalStatus
    ------ ------------           ------------       -------  -----------------
    0      Samsung SSD 860 EVO    Z3AZNF0N123456     SATA     Online
    1      WDC WD2003FZEX-00Z4SA0 WD-1234567890      SATA     Online
    2      Virtual iSCSI Disk     0001-9A8B-CD0E1234 iSCSI    Online
    3      SanDisk Ultra USB      4C531001230506      USB     Online

    Where:

    • BusType - disk type;
    • 2 - network volume number;
    • OperationalStatus — network volume status, Offline or Online.

19. If the network volume status is Offline, set it to Online:

    Set-Disk -Number <block_storage_number> -IsOffline $false

    Specify <block_storage_number> is the network volume number you obtained in step 18.

20. Initialize the network volume:

    Initialize-Disk -Number <block_storage_number> -PartitionStyle GPT

    Specify <block_storage_number> is the network volume number you obtained in step 18.

21. If you are connecting the network volume to the server for the first time, create and format a partition on the network volume:

    21.1. Create a partition on the network volume:

    New-Partition -DiskNumber <block_storage_number> -UseMaximumSize -AssignDriveLetter

    Specify <block_storage_number> is the network volume number you obtained in step 18.

    21.2. Format the network volume partition to the desired file system:

    • if you are connecting the network volume to only one server, format the network volume partition to the NTFS file system:

      Format-Volume -DriveLetter <volume_letter> -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel "<label>"

      Specify:

      • <volume_letter> - volume letter;
      • <label> - file system (volume) label.

    • if you are connecting one network volume to two or more servers, you must use the ReFS file system in conjunction with CSV (Cluster Shared Volumes) — see the Resilient File System (ReFS) overview in the Microsoft documentation.

Private network: one port

1. Connect to the server via SSH or via KVM console.

2. Run PowerShell as an administrator.

3. Print the list of network interfaces:

   Get-NetIPInterface

4. Add an IP address to the local port network interface:

   New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "<eth_name>" -IPAddress <ip_address> -PrefixLength <mask_1> -DefaultGateway <next_hop_1>
   New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "<eth_name>" -IPAddress <ip_address> -PrefixLength <mask_2> -DefaultGateway <next_hop_2>

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> - name of the private network interface; it is configured on the local port of the network card;
   • <ip_address> - free IP address for the local port on the network card from the private subnet that you configured when connecting the network volume to the server in step 7;
   • <mask_1> - mask of the first destination subnet on the local port of the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_1> - first gateway on the local port on the network card that you configured when connecting the network volume to the server in step 6. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway);
   • <mask_2> - mask of the second destination subnet on the local port of the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_2> - second gateway on the local port on the network card that you configured when connecting the network volume to the server in step 6. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway).

5. Configure static routes to access iSCSI targets:

   route add <destination_subnet_1> mask <mask_1> <next_hop_1> -p
   route add <destination_subnet_2> mask <mask_2> <next_hop_2> -p

   Specify:

   • <destination_subnet_1> - first destination subnet on the local port of the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Destination Subnet;
   • <mask_1> - mask of the first destination subnet. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_1> - first gateway on the local port on the network card that you configured when connecting the network volume to the server in step 6. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway);
   • <destination_subnet_2> - second destination subnet on the local port of the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Destination Subnet;
   • <mask_2> - mask of the second destination subnet. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_2> - second gateway on the local port on the network card that you configured when connecting the network volume to the server in step 6. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway).

6. Check that the static routes configured in step 5 have been applied:

   route print -4

7. Check that the iSCSI targets are available:

   ping <iscsi_target_ip_address_1>
   ping <iscsi_target_ip_address_2>

   Specify:

   • <iscsi_target_ip_address_1> - IP address of the first iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 1;
   • <iscsi_target_ip_address_2> - IP address of the second iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 2.

8. Get information about the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service:

   Get-Service MSiSCSI

   The response will show the service status. For example:

   Status   Name               DisplayName
   ------   ----               -----------
   Running  MSiSCSI            Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service

   Here, the Status field shows the current status of the service.

9. If the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service status is Stopped, start it:

   Start-Service MSiSCSI

10. Enable the automatic startup of the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service:

    Set-Service -Name MSiSCSI -StartupType Automatic

11. Set the iSCSI initiator name:

    iscsicli NodeName "<initiator_name>"

    Specify <initiator_name> - iSCSI initiator name. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field Initiator name.

12. Connect the iSCSI target portals:

    New-IscsiTargetPortal -TargetPortalAddress <ip_address_portal_1> -TargetPortalPortNumber 3260 -InitiatorPortalAddress <ip_address>
    New-IscsiTargetPortal -TargetPortalAddress <ip_address_portal_2> -TargetPortalPortNumber 3260 -InitiatorPortalAddress <ip_address>

    Specify:

    • <iscsi_target_ip_address_1> - IP address of the first iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 1;
    • <ip_address> - private IP address that you assigned to the local port interface in step 4;
    • <iscsi_target_ip_address_2> - IP address of the second iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 2.

13. Configure authentication on the iSCSI target via iSCSI interfaces:

    $iusr="<username>"
    $ipasswd="<password>"
    $sts=$(Get-IscsiTarget | Select-Object -ExpandProperty NodeAddress)
    
    foreach ($st in $sts) {
        $tpaddr=($st -split ":")[-1]
        Connect-IscsiTarget -NodeAddress $st -TargetPortalAddress $tpaddr -TargetPortalPortNumber 3260 -IsPersistent $true -AuthenticationType ONEWAYCHAP -ChapUsername $iusr -ChapSecret $ipasswd
    }

    Specify:

    • <username> - username to authorize the iSCSI initiator. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field Username;
    • <password> - password to authorize the iSCSI initiator. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field Password.

14. Print the list of iSCSI targets:

    Get-IscsiTarget

    The response will show the list of iSCSI targets. For example:

    IsConnected NodeAddress                                                  PSComputerName
    ----------- -----------                                                  --------------
        True    iqn.2001-07.com.ceph:user-target-99999:203.0.113.101
        True    iqn.2001-07.com.ceph:user-target-0398327:203.0.113.102

15. Make sure that for each iSCSI target, the parameter IsConnected is set to True.

16. Check that the network volume has appeared in the list of available disks:

    Get-Disk | Select-Object Number, FriendlyName, SerialNumber, BusType, OperationalStatus

    The response will show the list of disks. For example:

    Number FriendlyName           SerialNumber       BusType  OperationalStatus
    ------ ------------           ------------       -------  -----------------
    0      Samsung SSD 860 EVO    Z3AZNF0N123456     SATA     Online
    1      WDC WD2003FZEX-00Z4SA0 WD-1234567890      SATA     Online
    2      Virtual iSCSI Disk     0001-9A8B-CD0E1234 iSCSI    Online
    3      SanDisk Ultra USB      4C531001230506      USB     Online

    Where:

    • BusType - disk type;
    • 2 - network volume number;
    • OperationalStatus — network volume status, Offline or Online.

17. If the network volume status is Offline, set it to Online:

    Set-Disk -Number <block_storage_number> -IsOffline $false

    Specify <block_storage_number> is the network volume number you obtained in step 16.

18. Initialize the network volume:

    Initialize-Disk -Number <block_storage_number> -PartitionStyle GPT

    Specify <block_storage_number> is the network volume number you obtained in step 16.

19. If you are connecting the network volume to the server for the first time, create and format a partition on the network volume:

    19.1. Create a partition on the network volume:

    New-Partition -DiskNumber <block_storage_number> -UseMaximumSize -AssignDriveLetter

    Specify <block_storage_number> is the network volume number you obtained in step 16.

    19.2. Format the network volume partition to the desired file system:

    • if you are connecting the network volume to only one server, format the network volume partition to the NTFS file system:

      Format-Volume -DriveLetter <volume_letter> -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel "<label>"

      Specify:

      • <volume_letter> - volume letter;
      • <label> - file system (volume) label.

    • if you are connecting one network volume to two or more servers, you must use the ReFS file system in conjunction with CSV (Cluster Shared Volumes) — see the Resilient File System (ReFS) overview in the Microsoft documentation.

Private network: two ports

1. Connect to the server via SSH or via KVM console.

2. Run PowerShell as an administrator.

3. Print the list of network interfaces:

   Get-NetIPInterface

4. Add IP addresses to the network interfaces of the local ports:

   New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "<eth_name_1>" -IPAddress <ip_address_1> -PrefixLength <mask_1> -DefaultGateway <next_hop_1>
   New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "<eth_name_2>" -IPAddress <ip_address_2> -PrefixLength <mask_2> -DefaultGateway <next_hop_2>

   Specify:

   • <eth_name_1> - name of the network interface on the first local port of the network card that you obtained in step 3;
   • <ip_address_1> - free IP address for the first local port from the private subnet that you configured when connecting the network volume to the server in step 7;
   • <mask_1> - destination subnet mask for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_1> - gateway for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway);
   • <eth_name_2> - name of the network interface on the second local port of the network card that you obtained in step 3;
   • <ip_address_2> - free IP address for the second local port from the private subnet that you configured when connecting the network volume to the server in step 7;
   • <mask_2> - destination subnet mask for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_2> - gateway for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway).

5. Configure static routes to access iSCSI targets:

   route add <destination_subnet_1> mask <mask_1> <next_hop_1> -p
   route add <destination_subnet_2> mask <mask_2> <next_hop_2> -p

   Specify:

   • <destination_subnet_1> - destination subnet for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <mask_1> - destination subnet mask for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_1> - gateway for the first port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway);
   • <destination_subnet_2> - destination subnet for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <mask_2> - destination subnet mask for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Static routes for connecting to iSCSI targets → column Destination Subnet;
   • <next_hop_2> - gateway for the second port on the network card. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring network interfaces → column Next hop (gateway).

6. Check that the static routes configured in step 5 have been applied:

   route print -4

7. Check that the iSCSI target is available:

   ping <iscsi_target_ip_address_1>
   ping <iscsi_target_ip_address_2>

   Specify:

   • <iscsi_target_ip_address_1> - IP address of the first iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 1;
   • <iscsi_target_ip_address_2> - IP address of the second iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 2.

8. Get information about the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service:

   Get-Service MSiSCSI

   The response will show the service status. For example:

   Status   Name               DisplayName
   ------   ----               -----------
   Running  MSiSCSI            Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service

   Here, the Status field shows the current status of the service.

9. If the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service status is Stopped, start it:

   Start-Service MSiSCSI

10. Enable the automatic startup of the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service:

    Set-Service -Name MSiSCSI -StartupType Automatic

11. Set the iSCSI initiator name:

    iscsicli NodeName "<initiator_name>"

    Specify <initiator_name> - iSCSI initiator name. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field Initiator name.

12. Connect the iSCSI target portals:

    New-IscsiTargetPortal -TargetPortalAddress <ip_address_portal_1> -TargetPortalPortNumber 3260 -InitiatorPortalAddress <ip_address_1>
    New-IscsiTargetPortal -TargetPortalAddress <ip_address_portal_2> -TargetPortalPortNumber 3260 -InitiatorPortalAddress <ip_address_2>

    Specify:

    • <iscsi_target_ip_address_1> - IP address of the first iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 1;
    • <ip_address_1> - IP address for the first local port from the private subnet that you assigned in step 4;
    • <iscsi_target_ip_address_2> - IP address of the second iSCSI target. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field IP address of the iSCSI target 2;
    • <ip_address_2> - IP address for the second local port from the private subnet that you assigned in step 4;.

13. Configure authentication on the iSCSI target via iSCSI interfaces:

    $iusr="<username>"
    $ipasswd="<password>"
    $sts=$(Get-IscsiTarget | Select-Object -ExpandProperty NodeAddress)
    
    foreach ($st in $sts) {
        $tpaddr=($st -split ":")[-1]
        Connect-IscsiTarget -NodeAddress $st -TargetPortalAddress $tpaddr -TargetPortalPortNumber 3260 -IsPersistent $true -AuthenticationType ONEWAYCHAP -ChapUsername $iusr -ChapSecret $ipasswd
    }

    Specify:

    • <username> - username to authorize the iSCSI initiator. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field Username;
    • <password> - password to authorize the iSCSI initiator. You can view it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → section Network volumes and Storage → tab Network volumes → disk page → block Configuring an iSCSI connection → field Password.

14. Print the list of iSCSI targets:

    Get-IscsiTarget

    The response will show the list of iSCSI targets. For example:

    IsConnected NodeAddress                                                  PSComputerName
    ----------- -----------                                                  --------------
        True    iqn.2001-07.com.ceph:user-target-99999:203.0.113.101
        True    iqn.2001-07.com.ceph:user-target-0398327:203.0.113.102

15. Make sure that for each iSCSI target, the parameter IsConnected is set to True.

16. Check that the network volume has appeared in the list of available disks:

    Get-Disk | Select-Object Number, FriendlyName, SerialNumber, BusType, OperationalStatus

    The response will show the list of disks. For example:

    Number FriendlyName           SerialNumber       BusType  OperationalStatus
    ------ ------------           ------------       -------  -----------------
    0      Samsung SSD 860 EVO    Z3AZNF0N123456     SATA     Online
    1      WDC WD2003FZEX-00Z4SA0 WD-1234567890      SATA     Online
    2      Virtual iSCSI Disk     0001-9A8B-CD0E1234 iSCSI    Online
    3      SanDisk Ultra USB      4C531001230506      USB     Online

    Where:

    • BusType - disk type;
    • 2 - network volume number;
    • OperationalStatus — network volume status, Offline or Online.

17. If the network volume status is Offline, set it to Online:

    Set-Disk -Number <block_storage_number> -IsOffline $false

    Specify <block_storage_number> — the network volume number you obtained in step 16.

18. Initialize the network volume:

    Initialize-Disk -Number <block_storage_number> -PartitionStyle GPT

    Specify <block_storage_number> — the network volume number you obtained in step 16.

19. If you are connecting the network volume to the server for the first time, create and format a partition on the network volume:

    19.1. Create a partition on the network volume:

    New-Partition -DiskNumber <block_storage_number> -UseMaximumSize -AssignDriveLetter

    Specify <block_storage_number> — the network volume number you obtained in step 16.

    19.2. Format the network volume partition to the desired file system:

    • if you are connecting the network volume to only one server, format the network volume partition to the NTFS file system:

      Format-Volume -DriveLetter <volume_letter> -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel "<label>"

      Specify:

      • <volume_letter> — volume letter;
      • <label> — file system (volume) label.

    • if you connect a single network volume to two or more servers, you must use the ReFS file system together with CSV (Cluster Shared Volumes) — see the Resilient File System (ReFS) overview in Microsoft documentation for details.

4. Configure MPIO

MultiPath-IO (MPIO) - Multi-path I/O to improve the fault tolerance of data transfer to a network volume.

1. Disconnect iSCSI sessions:

   $session = Get-IscsiSession

2. Install MPIO components:

   Install-WindowsFeature Multipath-IO

3. Enable MPIO:

   Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName MultiPathIO

4. Get the list of devices that support MPIO:

   mpclaim.exe -e

   The command output will display the devices that support MPIO. For example:

   "Target H/W Identifier   "   Bus Type     MPIO-ed      ALUA Support
   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   "LIO-ORG TCMU device     "   iSCSI        NO           Implicit Only

   Here LIO-ORG TCMU device is the network volume ID.

5. Enable MPIO support for the network volume:

   mpclaim.exe -r -i -d "<block_storage_device>"

   Specify <block_storage_device> — the network volume ID that you obtained in step 4. Note that the ID must be entered with spaces.

6. Check the MPIO status:

   Get-MPIOAvailableHW

   The command output will display the MPIO status for the network volume. For example:

   VendorId ProductId        IsMultipathed   IsSPC3Supported BusType
   -------- ---------        -------------   --------------- -------
   LIO-ORG  TCMU device      True            True            iSCSI

   Here the IsMultipathed field displays the MPIO status.

7. Make sure the mechanism for checking path availability to MPIO devices is enabled:

   (Get-MPIOSetting).PathVerificationState

   The command output will display the status of the MPIO device path availability mechanism. For example:

   Enabled

8. If the MPIO device path availability mechanism is in the Disabled status, enable it:

   Set-MPIOSetting -NewPathVerificationState Enabled

9. Associate the volumes on the network volume with logical partitions in the server OS:

   iscsicli.exe BindPersistentDevices

10. Allow the server OS to access the contents of the network volume volumes:

    iscsicli.exe BindPersistentVolumes

11. Make sure the network volume is registered in the server OS configuration as a persistent device:

    iscsicli.exe ReportPersistentDevices

    The response will contain information about the network volume as a persistent device. For example:

    Persistent Volumes
    "D:\"

    Here D:\ is a volume on the network volume.

5. Optional: connect the network volume to another server

1. Connect the network volume to the server in the control panel.
2. Connect the network volume to the server in the server OS.
3. Configure MPIO.

6. Prepare the network volume for operation

You can format the network volume that you connected to the server to the desired file system:

• ReFS (Resilient File System) is a fault-resilient file system designed to increase data availability, scale for large data sets in workloads, and ensure data integrity with resiliency to corruption. If you are connecting a single network volume to two or more servers, you must use the ReFS file system together with CSV (Cluster Shared Volumes) — see the Resilient File System (ReFS) overview in the official Microsoft documentation;
• a standard file system, for example, NTFS (New Technology File System). Please note that the NTFS file system does not support simultaneous read-write access from multiple servers to avoid data corruption. For shared access from multiple servers, use specialized file systems.