Nvidia SCSI & RAID Devices Driver



IBM IntelliStation
DeveloperIBM
TypeWorkstation
Release date1997(IntelliStation) 2002 (IntelliStation POWER)
DiscontinuedJan 2009
CPUx86 (IntelliStation) IBM POWER or PowerPC (IntelliStation POWER)
Predecessorx86: IBM PC Series POWER: IBM RS/6000 PowerStation
SuccessorLenovo ThinkStation
  1. Nvidia Scsi Usb
  2. Nvidia Scsi Command

The IBM IntelliStation was originally a workstation-class personal computer announced on March 1997 as the follow-on to the IBM PC Series 360 and 365. Certain IntelliStation M Pro Series were near hardware identical to low end IBM Netfinity 1000 Series network servers (with variants in included video cards and SCSI options). In February 2002, POWER processor-based workstations, previously sold directly under the eServer pSeries brand, were also placed under the IntelliStation umbrella.

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The last IntelliStation models were discontinued in January 2009, ending the product line.[1]

IntelliStation Pro[edit]

Nvidia SCSI & RAID Devices Driver

Intel or AMD processor based workstations, discontinued in March 2008.

IntelliStation A Pro[edit]

Type 6224 (March 2004 to July 2005)

  • Dual AMD Opteron Models 244, 246, 248, 250 and 256 (no dual-core support)
  • Up to 16 GB PC3200 memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI or SATA150 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Nvidia Quadro NVS 280
    • Nvidia Quadro FX 1100
    • Nvidia Quadro FX 3000
    • Nvidia Quadro FX 4000

Type 6217 (April 2005 to April 2007)

  • Dual AMD Opteron Models 250, 252, 254, 256 or dual-core Model 275, 280 or 285
  • Up to 16 GB PC3200 memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI or SATA150 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Nvidia Quadro NVS 280
    • Nvidia Quadro NVS 285
    • Nvidia Quadro FX 1400
    • Nvidia Quadro FX 1500
    • Nvidia Quadro FX 3400
    • Nvidia Quadro FX 3500
    • Nvidia Quadro FX 4500
    • Nvidia Quadro FX 4500 X2
    • 3DLabs Wildcat Realizm 800

IntelliStation E Pro[edit]

Type 6893 (June 1998 to June 1999)

  • Intel Pentium II at 350, 400 or 450 MHz (100 MHz FSB)
  • Up to 384 MB PC100 memory
  • Ultra Wide SCSI or ATA HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium II
    • Matrox Millennium G200
    • 3DLabs Permedia 2A

Type 6893 (March 1999 to June 2000)

  • Intel Pentium III at 450, 500, 550 or 600 MHz (100 MHz FSB)
  • Up to 768 MB PC100 memory
  • Ultra Wide SCSI or ATA HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G200
    • Matrox Millennium G400
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL1 graphics adapter
    • Appian J Pro

Type 6867 (November 1999 to November 2000)

  • Intel Pentium III at 600, 667, 733, 866 or 933 MHz (133 MHz FSB)
  • Up to 512 MB RDRAM
  • Ultra-2 SCSI or ATA66 HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G400
    • ELSA GLoria II
    • Appian Gemini
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL1


Type 6836/6846 (October 2000 to January 2002)

  • Intel Pentium III at 800, 866, 933 MHz, or 1 GHz (133 MHz FSB)
  • Up to 1.5 GB PC133 memory
  • Ultra160 SCSI or ATA66 HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • Nvidia GeForce 2 MX


Type 6204/6214 (September 2001 to September 2002)

  • Intel Pentium 4 at 1.6, 1.8, 2.0 or 2.2 GHz
  • Up to 1.5 GB PC133 memory
  • Ultra160 SCSI or ATA100 HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Nvidia GeForce2 EX
    • Nvidia GeForce2 Pro
    • Nvidia Quadro 4 200NVS
    • ATI FireGL 8800

Type 6216/6226 (July 2002 to October 2003)

  • Intel Pentium 4 at 2.0, 2.26, 2.4, 2.67 or 2.8 GHz
  • Up to 2 GB PC2100 memory
  • Ultra160 SCSI or ATA100 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • Nvidia Quadro 4 200NVS
    • Nvidia Quadro 4 280NVS
    • Nvidia Quadro 4 580XGL
    • ATI FireGL 8800

IntelliStation M Pro[edit]

Type 6888 (May 1997 to July 1998)

  • Intel Pentium II at 266 or 300 MHz
  • Up to 512 MB EDO memory
  • Ultra Wide SCSI HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Intergraph Intense3D Pro1000/T video adapter

Type 6898 (October 1997 to October 1998)

  • Dual Intel Pentium II at 233, 266, 300 or 333 MHz
  • Up to 512 MB SDRAM
  • Ultra Wide SCSI or ATA33 HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Intergraph Intense3D Pro2200/4T
    • Intergraph Intense3D Pro2200/GA
    • 3DLabs Permedia 2

Type 6889 (July 1998 to June 1999)

  • Dual Intel Pentium II at 350, 400 or 450 MHz (100 MHz FSB)
  • Up to 1 GB SDRAM
  • Ultra Wide SCSI or ATA HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • 3DLabs Permedia 2A
    • Intergraph Intense3D Pro3400
    • Intergraph Intense3D Pro3400/GA

Type 6889 (March 1999 to June 2000)

  • Dual Intel Pentium III at 450, 500, 550 or 600 MHz (100 MHz FSB)
  • Up to 1 GB SDRAM
  • Ultra Wide SCSI or ATA HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G200
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL1 graphics adapter
    • Appian J Pro

Type 6889 (October 1999 to June 2000)

  • Dual Intel Pentium III at 600, 667, 733, 933 MHz or 1 GHz (133 MHz FSB)
  • Up to 2 GB RDRAM
  • Ultra Wide SCSI or ATA66 HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G400
    • ELSA GLoria II
    • Appian Gemini
    • 3DLabs Intense 3D Wildcat 4110
    • Nvidia GeForce2 MX


Type 6849 (November 2000 to June 2002)

  • Intel Pentium 4 at 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 2.0 or 2.2 GHz
  • Ultra160 SCSI or ATA100 HDD
  • Up to 2 GB RDRAM
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL2
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL4
    • Nvidia Quadro2 MXR
    • Nvidia Quadro2 Pro
    • Nvidia Quadro4 200NVS
    • ATI FireGL 8800
    • 3Dlabs Wildcat III 6110

Type 6850 (July 2001 to January 2003)

IBM 6850 M-Pro
  • Dual Intel Xeon at 1.5, 1.7, 2.0 or 2.8 GHz
  • Ultra160 SCSI or ATA100 HDD
  • Up to 4 GB RDRAM
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL4
    • Nvidia Quadro2 Pro
    • Nvidia Quadro4 200NVS
    • ATI FireGL 8800
    • 3DLabs Wildcat III 6110

Type 6231 (November 2001 to July 2002)

  • Intel Pentium 4 at 1.8 GHz
  • Up to 4 GB RDRAM
  • ATA100 HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL4
    • Nvidia Quadro2 Pro

Type 6233 (November 2001 to July 2002)

  • Intel Xeon at 1.7 GHz
  • Up to 4 GB RDRAM
  • Ultra160 SCSI or ATA100 HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL4
    • Nvidia Quadro2 Pro

Type 6229 (May 2002 to February 2003)

  • Intel Pentium 4 at 2.4, 2.67 or 2.8 GHz
  • Ultra160 SCSI or ATA100 HDD
  • Up to 2 GB RDRAM
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • Nvidia Quadro4 200NVS
    • Nvidia Quadro4 900XGL
    • ATI FireGL 8800
    • 3DLabs Wildcat III 6110

Type 6219 (November 2002 to October 2003)

  • Intel Pentium 4 at 2.4, 2.67, 2.8 or 3.06 GHz
  • Up to 4 GB PC2100 memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI or ATA100 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • Nvidia Quadro4 280NVS
    • Nvidia Quadro4 580XGL
    • Nvidia Quadro4 980XGL
    • 3DLabs Wildcat4 7110

Type 6220/6230 (July 2003 to March 2005)

  • Intel Pentium 4 at 2.8, 3.0, 3.06, 3.2 or 3.4 GHz
  • Up to 4 GB PC2700 memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI, ATA100 or SATA150 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • graphic adapter options:
    • NVIDIA Quadro4 280NVS
    • NVIDIA Quadro4 580XGL
    • NVIDIA Quadro4 980XGL
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 500
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1000
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1100
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 3000

Type 6225 (October 2004 to March 2006)

  • Intel Pentium 4 with Intel 64 (formerly EM64T) at 3.0, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6 or 3.8 GHz
  • Up to 4 GB PC2-3200 memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI or SATA150 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • graphic adapter options:
    • NVIDIA Quadro NVS 280
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1300
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 3400
    • ATI FireGL V3100
    • ATI FireGL V7100
    • 3DLabs Realizm 800

Type 6218 (August 2005)

  • Intel Pentium 4 with Intel 64 (formerly EM64T) at 3.0, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6 and 3.8 GHz or dual-core 3.2 or 3.4 GHz
  • Up to 8 GB PC2-4200 memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI or SATA300 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • graphic adapter options:
    • NVIDIA Quadro NVS 280
    • NVIDIA Quadro NVS 285
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
    • ATI FireGL V3100
    • ATI FireGL V7100
    • 3DLabs Realizm 800

Type 9229 (September 2006)

  • Intel Core 2 Duo with E6300, E6400, E6600, E6700 or Q6600 processor
  • Up to 8 GB PC2-5300 memory
  • 3Gbit SAS or SATA300 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • graphic adapter options:
    • NVIDIA Quadro NVS 285
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 550
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1500
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500

IntelliStation R Pro[edit]

Relabeled IBM eServer xSeries 330 1U rackmount servers. Marketed towards trading floors with very limited floorspace, and wanting central management of the workstations. Remote users could be up to 500ft (152.4 meters) away from the server.

Type 8654 (March 2001 to September 2001) Nonin medical port devices driver download for windows.

  • Intel Pentium III at 1.0 GHz
  • Up to 4 GB ECC SDRAM
  • Ultra160 SCSI or ATA HDD
  • Dual 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • PCI Quad-port Matrox G200 MMS videocard
  • PCI Audio adapter


Type 6851 (August 2001 to July 2002)

  • Intel Pentium III at 1.13 or 1.26 GHz
  • Up to 4 GB ECC SDRAM
  • Ultra160 SCSI or ATA HDD
  • Dual 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • PCI quad-port Matrox G200 MMS videocard
  • PCI audio adapter

IntelliStation Z Pro[edit]

Type 6899 (March 1997 to ??)

  • Dual Intel Pentium Pro at 200 MHz 256kB/512kB L2 cache (66 MHz FSB), Pentium II Overdrive P6T ready
  • Intel 440FX/82371SB chipset with DECPCI-to-PCI bridge (spec. 2.1) and APM 1.1
  • Up to 1 GB EDO memory (4 DIMM, 168 pins)
  • Ultra Wide SCSI HDD (with Adaptec AHA-2940 adapter in PCI slot)
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet (with Intel EtherExpress Pro/100 adapter in PCI slot)
  • Onboard audio Crystal Semiconductor (single chip)
  • 1 shared ISA/PCI connector, 2 dedicated ISA connectors, and 4 dedicated PCI connectors; via Riser
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium II (up to 8MB WRAM)
    • Intergraph Intense3D Pro1000/T video adapter (16MB + 4MB)

Type 6865 (October 1998 to April 2000)

  • Dual Intel Pentium II Xeon at 400, 450, 500 or 550 MHz (100 MHz FSB)
  • Up to 2 GB SDRAM
  • Ultra-2 SCSI HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G200
    • Matrox Millennium G400
    • Intergraph Intense3D Pro3400
    • Intergraph Intense3D Pro3400/GA
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL1
    • 3DLabs Intense 3D Wildcat 4000 (RA and GA)

Type 6866 (January 2000 to March 2002)

  • Dual Intel Pentium III Xeon at 677, 733, 800, 866, 933 MHz, or 1 GHz (133 MHz FSB)
  • Up to 2 GB RDRAM
  • Ultra160 SCSI HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G400
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL1
    • IBM/Diamond Fire GL2
    • ELSA GLoria II
    • 3DLabs Intense 3D Wildcat 4110
    • 3Dlabs Intense 3D Wildcat 4210
    • NVIDIA Quadro2 MXR

Type 6894 (May 2001 to June 2002)

  • Dual IntelItanium at 800 MHz
  • Up to 16 GB SDRAM
  • Ultra160 SCSI HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • Nvidia Quadro2 Pro

Type 6221 (November 2002 to February 2005)

IBM 6221 Z-Pro
  • Dual Intel Xeon at 2.4, 2.67, 2.8 or 3.2 GHz
  • Up to 8 GB PC2100 memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI or ATA100 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • Matrox Millennium G450
    • NVIDIA Quadro4 280NVS
    • NVIDIA Quadro4 980XGL
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1000
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1100
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 3000
    • 3DLabs Wildcat4 7110

Type 6223 (August 2004 to March 2007)

  • Dual Intel Xeon with Intel 64 (formerly EM64T) at 3.0, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6 or 3.8 GHz
  • Up to 16 GB PC2-3200 memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI or ATA100 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • graphic adapter options:
    • NVIDIA Quadro4 NVS280
    • NVIDIA Quadro4 NVS285
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1300
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 3400
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
    • ATI FireGL V7100
    • 3DLabs Wildcat Realizm 800

Type 9228 (June 2006)

  • Dual Intel Xeon Model 5130, 5140, 5150 or 5160
  • Up to 32 GB PC2-5300 memory
  • 3Gbit SAS or SATA300 HDD
  • 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • graphic adapter options:
    • NVIDIA Quadro NVS 285
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 550
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 1500
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500
    • NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
Devices

IntelliStation POWER[edit]

IBM POWER processor based workstations. The POWER 185 and 285 models were the last Power-based workstations from IBM, having been discontinued on 2 January 2009.[1]

IntelliStation POWER 265[edit]

Type 9112-265 (February 2002 to September 2003)

  • Dual POWER3-II processors at 450 MHz
  • Up to 8 GB of memory
  • Ultra160 SCSI HDD
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • GXT135P (PCI-based Matrox G450 with 32 MB)
    • GXT4500P
    • GXT6500P

IntelliStation POWER 275[edit]

Type 9114-275 (June 2003 to February 2006)

Windows

  • Single or Dual Core POWER4+ processors at 1.0 or 1.45 GHz
  • Up to 16 GB of memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI HDD
  • 2 Ethernet ports; one 10/100 Mbit, one 10/100/1000 Mbit
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • GXT135P
    • GXT4500P
    • GXT6500P

IntelliStation POWER 285[edit]

Type 9111-285 (October 2005 to January 2009)

  • Single or Dual Core POWER5+ processor at 1.9 or 2.1 GHz
  • Up to 32 GB of memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI HDD
  • Dual 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • Graphic adapter options:
    • GXT135P
    • GXT4500P
    • GXT6500P

IntelliStation POWER 185[edit]

IBM IntelliStation POWER 185

Type 7047-185 (February 2006 to January 2009)

  • Single or Dual PowerPC 970 processors at 2.5 GHz
  • Up to 8 GB of memory
  • Ultra320 SCSI HDD
  • Dual 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet
  • Sound Card option with Feature Code 8244
  • graphic adapter options:
    • GXT135P
    • GXT4500P
    • GXT6500P

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Preceded by
IBM RS/6000 PowerStation
IBM IntelliStation
1997-2009
Succeeded by
Lenovo ThinkStation
Preceded by
IBM PC Series (365 and 360)

References[edit]

  1. ^ abOfficial IBM Hardware Withdrawal Announcement of IntelliStation POWER 185 and 285.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IBM_IntelliStation&oldid=995426414'

iSCSI stands for Internet Small Computer Systems Interface. iSCSI is a transport layer protocol that works on top of the Transport Control Protocol (TCP). It enables block-level SCSI data transport between the iSCSI initiator and the storage target over TCP/IP networks. iSCSI supports encrypting the network packets, and decrypts upon arrival at the target.

SCSI is a block-based set of commands that connects computing devices to networked storage, including spinning up storage media and data reads/writes.

The protocol uses initiators to send SCSI commands to storage device targets on remote servers. Storage targets may be SAN, NAS, tape, general-purpose servers – both SSD and HDD – LUNs, or others. The protocol allows admins to better utilize shared storage by allowing hosts to store data to remote networked storage, and virtualizes remote storage for applications that require direct attached storage.

The iSCSI protocol plays an important play in many different network configurations.

iSCSI Components

iSCSI Initiator, HBA, or iSOE

These technologies package SCSI commands into network packets and direct them to the storage target. The software-based iSCSI initiator is the least expensive of the options, and is often included in the operating system (OS).

Nvidia Scsi Usb

Host-based adapters (HBA) is a hardware device. HBAs are more expensive than software, but higher performance with more functionality. A hardware alternative is to the full HBA is an iSOE card with an iSCSI offload engine. The engine offloads the initiator operations from the host processor, which frees up CPU cycles on the host servers.

iSCSI Target

iSCSI transports packets across TCP/IP networks. The iSCSI target is the remote storage, which appears to the host system as a local drive. The iSCSI protocol links the hosts and storage over IP networks: LAN, WAN, and Internet.

When the packets arrive at the iSCSI target, the protocol disassembles the packets to present SCSI commands to the operating system. If iSCSI has encrypted the network packet, it decrypts the packet at this stage.

iSCSI Performance

iSCSI performance is highly dependent on underlying technologies like 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) and bridging technology in the data center.

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  • 10 GbE. Ethernet network connection speed has the single largest impact on iSCSI performance. Although smaller networks may run iSCSI protocols over 1 GbE networks, the slower speed is insufficient for mid-sized or enterprise data centers. Admins may increase some performance on a sub-10 GbE network by adding multiple NICs, but a single switch will not boost speed for multiple iSCSI ports. 10 GbE is the recommended speed for an enterprise storage environment. Because it is a wider pipe, there is little call for multiple NICs. Instead, adding server-class network adapters will accelerate iSCSI packets traveling the 10 GbE network.
  • Data center bridging. Bridgingis a set of Ethernet extensions that protect SCSI traffic against data loss. This allows iSCSI to better compete with highly reliable Fiber Channel, which has run over lossless connections for years.
  • Multipathing. Multipathing I/O speeds up iSCSI network packets, and most operating systems support the technology. Typical iSCSI multipathing features assign multiple addresses to a single iSCSI session, which accelerates data transport.
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  • Jumbo frames. These 9000-byte frames relieve congestion on slower Ethernet networks that are not using 10 GbE, which gives a performance boost of about 10-20 percent. Jumbo frames will not give much of a performance boost in 10 GbE, if any.

iSCSI and Fibre Channel: Two Main Approaches to Storage Data Transmission

iSCSI and Fibre Channel (FC) are leading methods of transmitting data to remote storage. In general, FC is a high-performance but expensive storage network that requires specialized admin skill sets. iSCSI is less expensive and simpler to deploy and manage, but has higher latency.

There are additional protocols that merge the two. The best-known include Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP), a tunneling protocol for SAN-to-SAN replication that wraps the FC frame onto the TCP stream; and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) that enables FC SANs to transport data packets over Ethernet networks.

When to Implement iSCSI Over FC

  • When cost is an issue. iSCSI saves on costs over FC because it connects application servers to shared storage without expensive hardware or cabling.
  • When you want to connect many hosts to a single storage target. Oversubscription ratio is the number of hosts that FC or iSCSI will support on a single target device. FC ratios generally support 4:1 up to 20:1, but iSCSI can support many more hosts to a single storage target.
  • When talent is a concern. FC SANs are expensive to deploy and maintain, and require admins with specialized skillsets. An iSCSI SAN runs on existing Ethernet networks, and generalist IT can learn how to install and run them.

iSCSI and Storage Targets

Typical targets include SAN, NAS, tape, and LUNs.

  • SAN presents shared virtual storage pools to multiple servers. For an Ethernet SAN, host servers use iSCSI to transport block-based data to the SAN.
  • NAS supports iSCSI targets. For example, in Windows environments the OS acts as an initiator, so an iSCSI share on a NAS displays as a local drive.
  • Tape. Many tape vendors enable iSCSI support on their tape drives, which allows iSCSI initiators to use the tape drive as its storage target.
  • LUN. A logical unit number uniquely identifies a collection of physical or virtual storage devices. The iSCSI initiator maps to specific iSCSI LUNs as its target. Upon receiving the SCSI network packet, the target serves up its LUNs as available storage.

iSCSI Limitations

Deploying iSCSI is not particularly difficult, especially with software-defined protocols. But configuring the iSCSI initiator and target takes extra steps, and 10 GbE is a necessity for high performance. Additional best practices for supporting traffic loads include running iSCSI traffic on a separate physical network or distinct virtual LAN.

Security is another concern, since iSCSI is vulnerable to packet sniffing. Packet sniffing is a cyberattack where an attacker’s malware or device captures packets moving across a vulnerable network. Admins can take security measures to prevent this, but many storage or generalist admins in smaller companies skip extra security measures in order to simplify iSCSI management.

This is rarely a good plan, since defenses against packet sniffing are easily available. The primary defenses against this attack type is Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) and Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), both specific to iSCSI.

CHAP works by acknowledging a link between the initiator and target. Before the data transmits, CHAP sends a challenge message to the connection requestor. The requestor sends back a value derived from a hash function for the server to authenticate. If the hash values match, the link activates. If it does not, CHAP terminates the connection.

Nvidia Scsi Command

For iSCSI packets running across an Internet network, the IPsec protocol authenticates and encrypts data packets sent over an Internet network. Its primary use is in IPsec mutually authenticates between agents (host-to-host, network-to-network, or network-to-host). The protocol also negotiates encryption and decryption during the session, and supports data-origin and network-level peer authentication, and data integrity validation. Since IPsec is complex to deploy and configure, its primary usage is in VPNs (virtual private networks) transporting highly sensitive data.

Additional iSCSI security measures include using access control lists (ACLs) to control user data access and secure management consoles.