I have a strange problem with iSCSI datastores. One of our junion VM administrators configured and added a new iSCSI LUN to a standalone vSphere 5.1 host. All went well, VMFS-5 volume created and VMs deployed.
Now comes the strange part. I need to patch the ESXi host, so I shut down all the VM guests, then reboot the host. When it comes back online, all the VMs show as inaccessible in the vCenter inventory. Strange! So, I look in the storage inventory, and the datastore is marked as inactive. Checking the iSCSI software adapter properties, there are no static or dynamic targets configured, and no iSCSI bindings. It seems the initial iSCSI targets didn't stick correctly, and the reboot has removed the target information and the mounted LUN following a boot storage adapter rescan.
What I'm left with is scant information about the LUN, and need to reconfigure the iSCSI target. Unfortunately, the junior has now left the company, and didn't record the iSCSI target information. Sigh.
Question: How do I find out and mount the iSCSI datastore to recover access to the VMs?
I have been able to ascertain the following from the host:
Storage Device: naa.600d02310007b9c4000000043be19680
Path: vmhba39:C0:T1:L4
Channel: 0
Storage Processor Port: 1
LUN: 4
I also think I have a storage volume ID (8-8-4-12) characters, and a VMFS address.
I've been using 'esxcli storage device/filesystem list' & 'esxcli storage vmfs extent list' etc, and can provide output if necessary / relevant.
Many thanks.