Method and system to configure iSCSI boot intelligently (19-Aug-2009)

Method and system to configure iSCSI boot intelligently

    This invention creates a new facility that could be applied not only to BladeCenter environment but also to stand alone servers.

Solution details:
Figure 1 depicts the architecture of this solution. There are three major components in it: iSNS Server, iSCSI Boot Configuration Manager, IMM(Integrated managemnt module).

Servers

IMM

iSCSI Boot Configuration Manager

Configure iSCSI target to

servers

RS485/IPMI

BIOS

Get/update iSCSI Target info

iSNS Server

iSCSI Target

TCP/IP

iSCSI Target

Figure 1:

A solution to configure iSCSI boot intelligently

iSNS Server: iSCSI targets registe themselves to iSNS server, so it collects the iSCSI target information such as iSCSI target LUN(logic unit number), LUN size, IQN and so on.

iSCSI Boot Configuration Manager: it is the main brain of this solution, it inventories the iSCSI target from iSNS server and maintain a available iSCSI target list. Upon it receives the iSCSI boot request from user, it will search the list and find out the appropriate iSCSI target, then configure to the servers via IPMI command.

IMM: It is the service processor on the servers. It receives the IPMI command from

1

iSCSI Boot Configuration Manager, then automatically flash the parameters and enable iSCSI Boot for servers.

As shown below,

             figure 2 depicts the sequence flow of iSCSI Boot Configuration Manager inventory.

Boot Configuration Manager

(BCM)

iSNS Server

iSCSI Target

Discovery iSNS server by SLP SLP: iSNS server is here DevAttrReg DevAttrRegRsp

 SCNReg SCNRegRsp

View all DDs

Response

Discovery iSNS server by SLP

SLP: iSNS server is here

DevAttrReg

DevAttrRegRsp SCNReg SCNRegRsp

SCN: there is new obj added

 SCNRsp DevAttrQry DevAttrQryRsp

BCM

maintains the target

list got from iSNS Server

Figure 2: Sequence chart of iSCSI Boot Configuration Manager inventory

After iSCSI Boot Configuration manager finished the inventory,

it will get the iSCSI

target information and store them in the iSCSI target list. iSCSI target name (IQN)
iSCSI LUN
iSCSI LUN size
iSCSI LUN state

As shown in figure

3, it depicts the sequence flow of iSCSI boot configuration

2

Boot Configuration Manager

iSNS Server

iSCSI Target

Server A

ove the iscsi target to specific DD

              for Server A DDRegRsp

DDReg: m

SCN: DD/DDS-MBR-ADD SCNRsp

Create a new iSCSI initiator

DevAttrReg

SCN: Object Add SCNRsp

ttrRegRsp: add to specific DD

           for Server A SCNReg
SCNRegRsp

DevA

SCN: there is new obj added SCNRsp

Dow

nload the list of authorized initiators from

the iSNS i.e. those

initiators in the

same DD as the

target

ListRsp

   Update the target info list SCN: udpate the target info

SCNRsp

Configure the iSCSI target to Server A

Figure 3: Sequence chart of iSCSI boot configuration

iSCSI Boot Configuration Manager receives the...