VmWare/Setup iSCSI

Pre-requisites

Setup done using:

• ESXi host 6.7.0 (13006603)
• TrueNas-12.0-U8.1

ESXi setup

vSwitches

Have (2) vSwitches
(1) vSwitch should be connected to a physical adapter with a real IP address that is resolvable on your network. (ie. management vmknic)
(1) vSwitch should be not be connected to any physical adapters (intranet).

VMkernel NIC

Create a new VMkernel NIC and select the intranet vSwitch as its Port group. Define a static IP address such as:

IP Address: 192.168.0.5
Subnet: 255.255.255.0

TrueNAS setup

Configure NICs

Have (2) physical NICs (vmknics) associated with the VM.
(1) vmknic should be connected to to the vSwitch providing it with a resolvable ip address.
(1) vmknic should be connected to the intranet vSwitch

For the second vmknic (intranet), give it a static internal address such as:

IP Address: 192.168.0.15/24

Note: Make sure to also configure the first vmknic to DHCP, TrueNAS doesnt retain the existing configuration automatically.

Add Zvol to existing pool

on the (3) dots for the pool, from the drop down select `Add Zvol`.
give it a name such as: truenas02.pool02
Specify a size for the pool, do not assign more than 75% of the pool size. (ie. 7.5GB for a 10GB pool)
Use defaults for:

Sync: Inherit (standard)
Compression level: Inherit (lz4)
ZFS Deduplication: Inherit (off)

Create iSCSI

Under sharing select iSCSI and use the wizard.

Step 1: Create or choose block device
Name: truenas02.pool02
Extent Type: Device
Device: pool02/truenas02.pool02
Sharing Platform: VMWare
Step 2: Portal
Portal: Create New
IP Address: 192.168.0.15 Port: 3260
Step 3: Initiators
Leave blank.

Confirm the changes and then save. the Save should prompt you to enable the iSCSI service, if it does not, go to Services set it to Running and Start Automatically