Disk IO error on Initiator.

Initiator (iSCSI, FCoE, AoE, iSER and NVMe over Fabrics), iSCSI accelerator and RAM disk

Moderators: anton (staff), art (staff), Max (staff), Anatoly (staff)

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KurianOfBorg
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Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:55 am

Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:09 am

I've tried using all combinations of StarWind Target, StarPort Initiator, Microsoft Target and Microsoft Initiator. In all cases the remote disk goes dead shortly after logging in to Windows after a reboot.

After logging in I am able to browse through most of the folders on the disk but many of the folders are empty and the files are missing. With the StarPort Initiator the folders are simply empty. With the Microsoft Initiator it shows an IO error instead.

In both cases the solution is to open Disk Manager and toggle the disk offline & online again. The iSCSI disk is still connected at all times in the Initiator and in Disk Management. It's just that Windows is unable to read the data.

I am running Windows 8 x64 on the client and Windows Server 2012 on the server, both fully updated.
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Anatoly (staff)
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Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:44 am

I`d recommend to stick with the StarWind+MS initiator configuration.

May I sk you what StarWind build and what device type are you running?
Best regards,
Anatoly Vilchinsky
Global Engineering and Support Manager
www.starwind.com
av@starwind.com
KurianOfBorg
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Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:55 am

Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:38 am

I'm currently using StarWind iSCSI SAN v6.0.0 (Build 20130517, [SwSAN], Win64) with the Microsoft Initiator.
The device is a deduplicated disk with deletion support enabled and other parameters left at default. However the problem occurs with the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target as well.
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Anatoly (staff)
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Wed Jun 05, 2013 1:02 pm

Well, the deletion support is an experimental feature (as per record in the target wizard), so there is no wonder why it is not working. Would you be so kind to try to use non-experimental device or device with non-experimental functionality?
Best regards,
Anatoly Vilchinsky
Global Engineering and Support Manager
www.starwind.com
av@starwind.com
KurianOfBorg
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:55 am

Wed Jun 05, 2013 3:22 pm

I also have a regular disk without deduplication (since I store encrypted containers on it there is no point in deduplication or deletion support). I have the same problem of the disk being mounted but unreadable a minute or two after logon. If I manually mount it (or toggle the auto-mounted disk offline & online) then it starts working and continues working till the next reboot. This is happening on both the StarPort Initiator & Microsoft Initiator with both the StarWind Target and Microsoft Software Target.

It looks like some kind of problem in Windows itself with loading this class of device. It may be a problem with another system service such as a firewall starting after boot and causing an interruption in the network etc. I don't know yet.
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anton (staff)
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Wed Jun 05, 2013 4:01 pm

If you can reproduce the issue with MS initiator and target I'd suggest you to open a support case with MS. Because I also have an impression it's either their internal issue or your misconfig (somehow).
KurianOfBorg wrote:I also have a regular disk without deduplication (since I store encrypted containers on it there is no point in deduplication or deletion support). I have the same problem of the disk being mounted but unreadable a minute or two after logon. If I manually mount it (or toggle the auto-mounted disk offline & online) then it starts working and continues working till the next reboot. This is happening on both the StarPort Initiator & Microsoft Initiator with both the StarWind Target and Microsoft Software Target.

It looks like some kind of problem in Windows itself with loading this class of device. It may be a problem with another system service such as a firewall starting after boot and causing an interruption in the network etc. I don't know yet.
Regards,
Anton Kolomyeytsev

Chief Technology Officer & Chief Architect, StarWind Software

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