How to Configure an IB HCA for iSER

An InfiniBand Host Channel Adapter (HCA) is required to take full advantage of the iSCSI Extensions for RDMA (iSER) capabilities. To use iSER, you must configure the HCA on both the target and the initiator.

Note
If you have an exclusive Ethernet network environment you can skip this task.

The following task describes you how to configure the IP address for an InfiniBand HCA, so it can communicate with the target.

Connect the HCA to an InfiniBand switch.
See the vendor documentation for details.
Log in as root on the host (initiator) system.
Configure, or plumb, the target and the initiator for the HCA.
The target and the initiator must be on the same subnet. This example uses ibd0 as the driver.
```
# ifconfig ibd0 plumb
```

Configure the IP address and port combination for the HCA.

# ifconfig ibd0 inet 10.1.190.141 netmask 255.255.255.0 UP

Verify the configuration of the interface.

# ifconfig -a

ibd0: flags=201000842<BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4,CoS> mtu 2044 index 3
        inet 10.1.190.141 netmask ffffff00 broadcast 255.255.255.0
        ipib 0:c:4:6:fe:80:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:3:ba:0:1:0:22:9a

Repeat steps 3-5 for all other HCA hosts on the network.
Log in as root on the target system and repeat these steps.
Use the ping command to verify connectivity on both the target and the initiator.
(Optional) Make these configuration changes persist during system reboots.
a. Follow the instructions in Chapter 2 of the System Administration Guide: Network Interfaces and Network Virtualization.
b. In the /etc/inet/netmasks file, add an entry for the subnet and the netmask. For example, 10.1.190.0 255.255.255.0.

Where to Go Next

How to Configure iSCSI Ports