Mixing hyper-v, SET switch, iSCSI and Multipath

Question

Hi Team,

I am configuring hyper-v, SET switch, iSCSI and Multipath all together, in the way I show in the picture.

Please, could you say to me if that configuration is supported?

Thanks Jose Miguel.

Answer 1

Hello Jose,

From your diagram, I see you are configuring a Hyper-V environment with a SET (Switch Embedded Teaming) switch, multiple virtual adapters, physical adapters, and iSCSI with Multipath I/O (MPIO). Here’s a breakdown of the key components based on your diagram and the information provided:

1. SET Switch: You are utilizing a SET switch, which allows you to aggregate multiple NICs (physical adapters) to increase network throughput and provide fault tolerance. MPIO and iSCSI are both compatible with this feature, and Hyper-V supports it.

Virtual Adapters: You have two virtual adapters (Storage 1 and Storage 2), which seem to be mapped to two different iSCSI storage connections. This is consistent with configuring multiple virtual network adapters for different iSCSI storage paths, which is a good practice for load balancing and redundancy.

Physical Adapters (10Gb): You have 10Gb physical network adapters connected to external storage. With SET, these physical NICs are teamed to provide better bandwidth and fault tolerance.

iSCSI & MPIO: The connections from the virtual adapters to external storage (via separate VLANs, based on the red and black lines) seem to imply that you are using MPIO to provide multiple paths to your iSCSI storage targets. This is the correct setup for fault tolerance and load balancing in iSCSI-based storage networks.

Compatibility:

SET and MPIO: Hyper-V supports the use of SET switches alongside MPIO for iSCSI storage. The SET switch does not interfere with iSCSI traffic, and MPIO can still manage the multiple paths to the iSCSI targets.

iSCSI with Multiple Paths: The use of separate paths (or VLANs) for iSCSI traffic, as represented by your diagram, is fully supported. iSCSI works well with MPIO for balancing the load across multiple network paths, increasing performance and redundancy.

Overall:

The configuration you have shown appears to be valid and supported. It aligns with best practices for combining Hyper-V, SET, iSCSI, and MPIO in a high-availability setup. However, make sure that:

1. MPIO is configured properly on the host to recognize the multiple paths.
2. iSCSI initiators are correctly set up to connect to the storage using both paths.
3. Ensure the SET switch is configured in a way that isolates iSCSI traffic appropriately if necessary for security or performance.

I hope I help you,

Vassilis