Relationship of WWPNs and iSCSI names for host objects

A host can be created with worldwide port names (WWPNs) or iSCSI names. The WWPN name space and the iSCSI name space within SAN Volume Controller share the same internal SAN Volume Controller resources.

As more iSCSI names are used in host objects, the number of fibre-channel WWPNs that can be used reduces. Similarly if a large number of fibre-channel WWPN-based host objects are used, a smaller number of iSCSI hosts can be defined. The iSCSI name in a host object can take up to a maximum equivalent of four WWPNs depending on the number of I/O groups that the host participates in. This affects the maximum number of hosts that you can configure in a SAN Volume Controller cluster.

Each SAN Volume Controller I/O group can have up to 512 WWPN entries. Assuming, for example, that a host is created by using a single iSCSI IQN, the maximum number of hosts (X) that participate in multiple I/O groups (Y) can be calculated by using X < = 512 / Y.

To create iSCSI hosts with a single iSCSI name in a single I/O group (I/O group 0), enter the following command-line interface (CLI) command:
svctask mkhost -iscsiname iscsi1 -iogrp 0
To create a host with a single iSCSI name in two I/O groups, enter the following command:
svctask mkhost -iscsiname iscsi1 -iogrp 0:1 
To create a host with a single iSCSI name in three I/O groups, enter the following command:
svctask mkhost -iscsiname iscsi1 -iogrp 0:1:2
To create a host with single iSCSI name in four I/O groups, enter the following command:
svctask mkhost -iscsiname iscsi1 
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