This could go under virtualization, networking, or other. I chose other.

I have an Ubuntu 9.10 server running iSCSI. It has two targets: one called RAID and one called RAPTOR.

I connected to it with a different Ubuntu 9.10 server box and filled up the RAID target.

Then I set up an ESXi4v1 box and connected it to the RAPTOR target and made it the primary storage for the VMware server.

Then I set up a virtual Ubuntu 9.10 on that ESXi box (so the VM is hosted on the RAPTOR target) and tried to connect (inside that VM) to the RAID target.

It makes all the network connections on the iSCSI server go on and off repeatedly until I execute "open-iscsi stop" on that VM.

I tried putting both targets on separate NICs and even on completely different subnets with different switches. Same behavior.

Am I doing something wrong? Does this flavor of iSCSI not like multiple targets or initiators?

Update: I set up a physical Ubuntu 9.10 server and connected successfully to the RAID target while ESXi was connected to the RAPTOR target. This is making me think that VMware (at least the version I have) doesn't like a machine being hosted on an iSCSI target while simultaneously connecting to a separate target hosted on the same server. Just for fun, though, tonight I'll create another ESXi box and have one of its guests connect. Thanks for reading!

...Or not. I did this same setup (on a smaller scale) using an Optiplex 745 and a GX280 and it runs fine.

Creating version 7 VMs (no paravirtualization) on a host machine running ESXi 4v1 with a dual Intel M 1000 nic:

Ubuntu Server 9.04 x86 runs open-iscsi "out of the box" but performance is of 10/100 speeds (3MB/s writes). Installing VMWare tools breaks open-iscsi but at least VMWare tools installed perfectly!

Ubuntu Server 9.10 x86 also runs open-iscsi "out of the box" with the same poor performance. Installing VMWare tools got me 60MB/s writes (but VMWare tools kicked lots of warnings during install).

Ubuntu Server 9.10 x64 didn't work at all with open-iscsi no matter what I did.

I didn't mean to turn this into my own personal iSCSI blog but those are my findings.