Synology iSCSI Target limit

[gorak]

I almost zeroed in on my purchase of Synology DS214, but the iSCSI target limit of just 10 targets is holding me back. I'm required to do some extensive VM testing by creating various test scenarios as part of my new job. Can someone tell me the practical difficulties in living with this limit? Has anyone felt the need to create more than 10 iscsi target in real world scenarios?

 

[gorak]

Can anyone pls respond to my above question?

 

[stevech]

I don't think many people here use iSCSI - mostly used in an enterprise setting for inter-NAS backups.

 

[gorak]

Thanks, but just curious. Why is Synology imposing this limit when other vendors are allowing atleast 64 targets?

 

[stevech]

Try that question on the Synology user forum?

 

[gorak]

I did try that. No one seems to be responding

 

[stevech]

likely because virtually no one needs that capability ?

 

[gorak]

May be, but I'm still curious why Synology would put that restriction when other vendors don't...

 

[stevech]

Maybe.. ask them!

 

[shortcut3d]

The iSCSI limit is based on the processor in your NAS. The DS214 is a lower end system so having iSCSI support is great to begin with. 10 targets should not be an issue for a virtual environment if you're fine with the DS214 as your storage. I think you would hit the performance ceiling of the DS214 transfer rate first. Typically, iSCSI is configured for the ESXi hosts in a cluster, not per VM. Your VM disk size can then be scaled to the usage requirements. All modern OSes allow you to expand the disk within their volume management tools. Therefore you do not need many iSCSI targets.

 

[amwg16]

If I'm not mistaken, you should be able to assign multiple LUNs per target. Unless you are planning to use more than 10 devices simultaneously, then I don't think it'll be an issue. Especially for testing, you can delete the targets while leaving the LUNs in tact as you cycle through test machines