Aidan Finn, IT Pro

Another hotfix last night, this time for a scenario when communications fail when you try to use the Windows Server 2008 R2 provider package to communicate with a Windows Server 2012 iSCSI target.

You have a Windows Server 2008 or a Windows Server 2008 R2 server that runs applications such as Microsoft SQL Server. You have a Windows Server 2012 server that is configured for the iSCSI Software Target. When you try to use the Windows Server 2008 or the Windows Server 2008 R2 provider package to communicate with the iSCSI target, communications fail.

This problem occurs because the DCOM Remote Protocol is no longer used for the iSCSI Software Target in Windows Server 2012. The WMI interfaces are now used in the provider to communicate with the iSCSI target.

The resolution is to:

To resolve this problem, install a Windows Server 2012-aware provider package on the iSCSI initiator. The new provider package implements the iSCSI Software Target WMI Provider to communicate with the iSCSI target service.

The update, “iSCSI Target Storage Providers (VDS/VSS) for downlevel application servers”, supports installation on Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

EDIT#1:

If you are installing the WS2012-aware provider package on down level operating systems then you really should read this blog post by Jane Yan, paying particular attention to the credential configuration step.  Credit: Andreas Erson.

Copyright Warning

This blog post is the property of Aidan Finn (@joe_elway / http://www.aidanfinn.com) and may not be reused in any manner without prior consent of Aidan Finn. You may quote one paragraph from this blog post if you link to the original blog post.

Related posts:

1. Migrating iSCSI Target 3.3 Settings Before Upgrading W2008 R2 to WS2012
2. A WS2012 Hyper-V Converged Fabric Design With Host And Guest iSCSI Connections
3. KB2754704 – DSM Notifies MPIO On W2008 And W2008 R2 That A Path Is Back Online
4. KB2710487 – Error 1359 & Cluster Service Stops In W2008 or W2008 R2 Failover Cluster
5. KB2710870–No DHCPv4 Address After Restarting Hyper-V VM with Vista, Win7, W2008 or W2008 R2