iSCSI software with the Myri-10G 10-Gigabit Ethernet Driver

iSCSI Software with the
Myri-10G 10-Gigabit Ethernet Driver

Overview | Tuning | Installation | Performance

iSCSI on Myri-10G Software Overview

Internet SCSI (iSCSI) is a standard ratified by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for the use of the SCSI protocol over TCP/IP, the most widely supported and interoperable protocol for computer networks. With the recent advances in the speed and efficiency of TCP/IP stacks and hardware, including 10-Gigabit Ethernet, iSCSI is a valuable option for storage-area networks (SANs).

For Linux iSCSI targets with Myri-10G NICs in 10-Gigabit Ethernet mode, our testing included the UNH Target and the iSCSI Enterprise Target. On Windows we evaluated the WinTarget Software from Stringbean.
For iSCSI initiators with Myri-10G NICs in 10-Gigabit Ethernet mode, we used the open-iscsi Open Source implementation and the UNH Initiator for Linux, and for Windows we used the iSCSI Initiator 2.0 from Microsoft.

As a reference for TCP/IP performance with Myri-10G NICs and Myri10GE software, see this web page of Performance Measurements for Linux and Solaris. Windows performance measurements will be available soon. See also this web page listing of chip sets and motherboards for which Myricom has tested PCI-Express interoperability and performance.

iSCSI TCP/IP tuning

Before installing iSCSI software, we recommend the use of sysctl to tune Myri-10G TCP/IP for iSCSI on both the Initiator and the Target. These settings recommended by open-iscsi.org work well:

    net.ipv4.tcp_timestamps = 0
    net.ipv4.tcp_sack = 0
    net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 10000000 10000000 10000000
    net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 10000000 10000000 10000000
    net.ipv4.tcp_mem = 10000000 10000000 10000000
    net.ipv4.tcp_tw_recycle = 1
    net.ipv4.tcp_tw_reuse = 1
    net.core.rmem_max = 524287
    net.core.wmem_max = 524287
    net.core.rmem_default = 524287
    net.core.wmem_default = 524287
    net.core.optmem_max = 524287
    net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 300000

iSCSI on Myri-10G Installation Instructions

Here are installation instructions on Linux for the UNH and the Open iSCSI software:

Installation instructions for Windows will be available soon.

iSCSI on Myri-10G Testing Results

Here are testing and performance results on Linux for the UNH and Open iSCSI software stacks:

Testing results on Windows will be available soon.

Last updated: 01 June 2006