Well, I tested some things (figuring that since there's no important data on there I couldn't mess it up TOO badly), and removed it from windows by removing the drive letter, disconnecting via iSCSI Initiator and then removing everything from the Unraid side.

 

Second question: I have seen that it's possible to increase the size of the LUN on other platforms, like Synology, can it be done here? I currently want to migrate from an old Drobo to the Unraid build, adding more drives from the Drobo as I go along to increase space and make use of them. If I can't increase the size of the LUN though then this really won't work.

Might be a little bit off topic, I noticed that many might be using this iscsi target for kubernetes, with some users naming their targets as k8s. Could anyone share their yaml setup? I have been looking at democratic-csi and as far I understand I would have to use node-manual driver. This might not create new targets automatically as I understand. Great plugin btw!

Hi, like everyone, new to ISCSI World lol I got few question that I need some help

 

1. What is Best to use with ISCSi Block on UnRaid since is not part of the parity? I guess I can't use the LUN Disk in my UnRaid Array!? 

 

Use Raid Software, Raid Hardware (got MegaRaid with fastpath licence on my supermicro 4u server) or SnapRaid if I want to use it like UnRaid Array. 

2. I have another UnRaid Server using the Array on XFS-Encrypted. What would be the best way to turn it into ISCSi? upload on my newer server, format and use disk as Block in ISCSi? or I can just unassign it and put it as disk when creating my target?

3. With Block, can we increase the Size when we add more disk to it? I am confuse about this... google find multiple answer like no its not possible and others say yes is possible... what is the real answer? don't want to screw it up lol

 

4. What is the Write Protect? is it useful for Block using?

 

And also I have a bug on my newer server on UnRaid v6.12.14 -> I am unable to Add devices.

 

In Devices -> I check on the first one and it auto select all the available disk. after I Click on Add/Remove as Selected Button -> got the popup saying Adding Block and few second later it disappear, all selected device return to unselect and can't select them in Initiators.

 

Been able to add them one by one with targetcli only. 

 

With v6.12.4, the GUI to Select all drives work #1 with same plugin version.

 

I tried to reboot the server and redownload the plugin and still same issue. Also tried on another browser. The GUI on v6.12.14 are a littlebit offset compare on 6.12.4 also (see picture)

 

Thanks for Help

Best Regards

master-diagnostics-20250102-0630.zip

Edited January 2, 20251 yr by FTW

19 hours ago, FTW said:

1. What is Best to use with ISCSi Block on UnRaid since is not part of the parity? I guess I can't use the LUN Disk in my UnRaid Array!? 

Just use a disk outside of the Array or Pool since a real block device will always perform better than a FileIO.

 

19 hours ago, FTW said:

2. I have another UnRaid Server using the Array on XFS-Encrypted. What would be the best way to turn it into ISCSi? upload on my newer server, format and use disk as Block in ISCSi? or I can just unassign it and put it as disk when creating my target?

I don't fully understand, what do you mean with that? Do you want to use one server as the Target and one server as the Initiator?

 

19 hours ago, FTW said:

3. With Block, can we increase the Size when we add more disk to it? I am confuse about this... google find multiple answer like no its not possible and others say yes is possible... what is the real answer? don't want to screw it up lol

You always can another Block device to a TPG but a LUN is a LUN and it is not easily possible to increase the size from a FileIO image.

 

19 hours ago, FTW said:

4. What is the Write Protect? is it useful for Block using?

This simply sets the write protect flag and therefore you can't write to the Target.

 

Please also give some background to what you want to do with iSCSI?

Do you want to have one server where all your storage is physically located and distribute that to multiple machines?

 

19 hours ago, FTW said:

And also I have a bug on my newer server on UnRaid v6.12.14 -> I am unable to Add devices.

 

In Devices -> I check on the first one and it auto select all the available disk. after I Click on Add/Remove as Selected Button -> got the popup saying Adding Block and few second later it disappear, all selected device return to unselect and can't select them in Initiators.

 

Been able to add them one by one with targetcli only. 

Maybe @SimonF can help with that.

Thanks ich for answering my question!

 

1 hour ago, ich777 said:

21 hours ago, FTW said:

2. I have another UnRaid Server using the Array on XFS-Encrypted. What would be the best way to turn it into ISCSi? upload on my newer server, format and use disk as Block in ISCSi? or I can just unassign it and put it as disk when creating my target?

I don't fully understand, what do you mean with that? Do you want to use one server as the Target and one server as the Initiator?

 

No, I mean I want to turn this UnRaid array into a Target. Both Server will be a Target

 

1 hour ago, ich777 said:

Please also give some background to what you want to do with iSCSI?

Do you want to have one server where all your storage is physically located and distribute that to multiple machines?

Yeah some kind of that.

one server will be a Storage archive where I will store all the files (ex. for Plex)  and the other one will use for the downloader app (qbit, and others thing, etc).

Accessible between them and my window machine for some random personal stuff to store in them.

 

Thanks

28 minutes ago, FTW said:

one server will be a Storage archive where I will store all the files (ex. for Plex)  and the other one will use for the downloader app (qbit, and others thing, etc).

Okay, if that's the use case then I would recommend not going with iSCSI and rather choose SMB or NFS through UnassignedDevices since this seems like a better choice.

With that you get direct file access where you can still use a Array or Pools of any combination/filesystem.

 

However if you want to still go with iSCSI you should distribute your block devices on your storage machine and then mount the bock devices on the individual servers with the benefit that you an add/remove block devices as you need it.

ok like using mergerFS or any sort of unionFS to merge all the block devices togeter?

 

and how will come the encryption of the block device? is there anything in UnRaid CA I can use to encrypt the block devices?

30 minutes ago, FTW said:

ok like using mergerFS or any sort of unionFS to merge all the block devices togeter?

Just create a Array/Pool with whatever filesystem you want and share that out via NFS.

 

If you still want to use iSCSI then put the individual block devices into an Array/Pool and you are good to go.

 

31 minutes ago, FTW said:

and how will come the encryption of the block device? is there anything in UnRaid CA I can use to encrypt the block devices?

Unraid supports encryption OOB you just have to activate it before you create the Array/Pool.

2 minutes ago, ich777 said:

Unraid supports encryption OOB you just have to activate it before you create the Array/Pool.

oh so that mean I can use the LUN Block Device in my Array/Pool?

1 minute ago, FTW said:

oh so that mean I can use the LUN Block Device in my Array/Pool?

I assume you have the storage Server somewhere else correct?

 

On my test servers I have the iSCSI Initiator plugin installed and mount the individual block devices from my main server which acts as my iSCSI Target.

4 minutes ago, ich777 said:

I assume you have the storage Server somewhere else correct?

yeah so I can use the LUN Block Device in my second server Unraid Array?!

 

but of course that mean this Storage server need to be Online first otherwise the other Array won't start up

 

ok thanks a lot, that will change a bit how I will do my project

29 minutes ago, FTW said:

yeah so I can use the LUN Block Device in my second server Unraid Array?!

Yes, you can use whatever Block Device your iSCSI Target is providing on another server as long as you install the iSCSI Initiator:

 

This is the Target Side (please note that I use FileIO images which I don't recommend since I don't need that much performance on my test servers) :

 

This is the Initiator Side:

 

 

 

29 minutes ago, FTW said:

but of course that mean this Storage server need to be Online first otherwise the other Array won't start up

Yes.

for that use case,

 

do the Array on the second Unraid server where I want to use the Block device in the Array/pool must be Started first for the iSCSi Initiator plugin to be active and connect to the target?

26 minutes ago, FTW said:

do the Array on the second Unraid server where I want to use the Block device in the Array/pool must be Started first for the iSCSi Initiator plugin to be active and connect to the target?

No, since the iSCSI Initiator is a plugin the Array must not be started.

On 1/2/2025 at 11:54 AM, FTW said:

 

I tried to reboot the server and redownload the plugin and still same issue. Also tried on another browser. The GUI on v6.12.14 are a littlebit offset compare on 6.12.4 also (see picture)

This is how it looks on my 6.12.14 test machine, I cannot replicate you issue my is working as expected. Will look at diags to see if I can see any common values that may affect.

 

15 minutes ago, SimonF said:

This is how it looks on my 6.12.14 test machine, I cannot replicate you issue my is working as expected. Will look at diags to see if I can see any common values that may affect.

 

 

Hi, is that can help -> I can only add them by using the CLI and I cannot remove any Devices from the GUI either.

 

By the way, What is the targetcli to remove a block device? I need to remove some block uhuh

 

Thanks a lot

1 hour ago, FTW said:

 

Hi, is that can help -> I can only add them by using the CLI and I cannot remove any Devices from the GUI either.

 

By the way, What is the targetcli to remove a block device? I need to remove some block uhuh

 

Thanks a lot

o- / ......................................................................................................................... [...]

o- backstores .............................................................................................................. [...]

| o- block .................................................................................................. [Storage Objects: 2]

| | o- usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0 [/dev/disk/by-id/usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0 (29.2GiB) write-thru deactivated]

 

root@GUITest:~# targetcli
targetcli shell version 2.1.54
Copyright 2011-2013 by Datera, Inc and others.
For help on commands, type 'help'.

/backstores/block> cd /backstores/block/
/backstores/block> ls
o- block ...................................................................................................... [Storage Objects: 2]
  o- usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0  [/dev/disk/by-id/usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0 (29.2GiB) write-thru deactivated]
  | o- alua ....................................................................................................... [ALUA Groups: 1]
  |   o- default_tg_pt_gp ........................................................................... [ALUA state: Active/optimized]
  o- zfs:vol1 ................................................................. [/dev/zvol/zfs/vol1 (1.0GiB) write-thru deactivated]
    o- alua ....................................................................................................... [ALUA Groups: 1]
      o- default_tg_pt_gp ........................................................................... [ALUA state: Active/optimized]
/backstores/block> delete 
usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0  zfs:vol1                                           
name=                                              save=                                              
/backstores/block> delete usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0 
Deleted storage object usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0.
/backstores/block> exit
Global pref auto_save_on_exit=true
Last 10 configs saved in /etc/target/backup/.
Configuration saved to /etc/target/saveconfig.json
root@GUITest:~# 

 

On 1/3/2025 at 2:06 PM, SimonF said:

o- / ......................................................................................................................... [...]

o- backstores .............................................................................................................. [...]

| o- block .................................................................................................. [Storage Objects: 2]

| | o- usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0 [/dev/disk/by-id/usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0 (29.2GiB) write-thru deactivated]

 

root@GUITest:~# targetcli
targetcli shell version 2.1.54
Copyright 2011-2013 by Datera, Inc and others.
For help on commands, type 'help'.

/backstores/block> cd /backstores/block/
/backstores/block> ls
o- block ...................................................................................................... [Storage Objects: 2]
  o- usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0  [/dev/disk/by-id/usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0 (29.2GiB) write-thru deactivated]
  | o- alua ....................................................................................................... [ALUA Groups: 1]
  |   o- default_tg_pt_gp ........................................................................... [ALUA state: Active/optimized]
  o- zfs:vol1 ................................................................. [/dev/zvol/zfs/vol1 (1.0GiB) write-thru deactivated]
    o- alua ....................................................................................................... [ALUA Groups: 1]
      o- default_tg_pt_gp ........................................................................... [ALUA state: Active/optimized]
/backstores/block> delete 
usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0  zfs:vol1                                           
name=                                              save=                                              
/backstores/block> delete usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0 
Deleted storage object usb-SanDisk_Cruzer_Blade_03026011120223194557-0:0.
/backstores/block> exit
Global pref auto_save_on_exit=true
Last 10 configs saved in /etc/target/backup/.
Configuration saved to /etc/target/saveconfig.json
root@GUITest:~# 

 

Thanks SimonF

jubuttib,

 

To remove the LUNs from Windows:

• Make sure nothing is in use using the drives that you want to remove. No programs running from the drives or files opened from the drive
• Then take them offline in the Disk Management tool
• You can then disconnect them via the iSCSI Initiator tool, but not critical

After you reconfigure your targets, use the iSCSI intiator tool to rediscover the targets. Once discovered, you can bring them online in the Windows Disk Management tool.

Hello,
I'm trying to run games stored on an SSD installed in Unraid from Windows, but I'm encountering some minor issues.

With SMB:
The launch speed is too slow, and there are filename length limitations.

With NFS:
The launch speed is fast and there seem to be almost no filename limitations, but some game MODs don't work properly.

My PC and NAS are directly connected via a 10G network card, and since the SSD is PCIe 5.0, I don't think it's a hardware issue.

So, I'm considering using iSCSI. I'm wondering if it would work the way I’m thinking...
 

The 2TB SSD installed in Unraid already has about 1.9TB of games on it.
This SSD is not part of the array — it's assigned to cache2, and I'm not using it as a cache drive, just for storing games.
 

(1) Is it possible to mount this SSD directly on Windows using iSCSI, without backup the data?

(2) Or do I need to back up the data, allocate a 2TB .IMG file on the SSD, mount that image to Windows via iSCSI, and then move the files back to the iSCSI-mounted drive from Windows?

Edited April 11, 20251 yr by wuwa

On 4/11/2025 at 3:39 PM, wuwa said:

Hello,
I'm trying to run games stored on an SSD installed in Unraid from Windows, but I'm encountering some minor issues.

With SMB:
The launch speed is too slow, and there are filename length limitations.

With NFS:
The launch speed is fast and there seem to be almost no filename limitations, but some game MODs don't work properly.

My PC and NAS are directly connected via a 10G network card, and since the SSD is PCIe 5.0, I don't think it's a hardware issue.

So, I'm considering using iSCSI. I'm wondering if it would work the way I’m thinking...
 

The 2TB SSD installed in Unraid already has about 1.9TB of games on it.
This SSD is not part of the array — it's assigned to cache2, and I'm not using it as a cache drive, just for storing games.
 

(1) Is it possible to mount this SSD directly on Windows using iSCSI, without backup the data?

(2) Or do I need to back up the data, allocate a 2TB .IMG file on the SSD, mount that image to Windows via iSCSI, and then move the files back to the iSCSI-mounted drive from Windows?

What is the drive current formated with, Device can be allocated as block devices but it would need to be a format Windows can read.

7 hours ago, SimonF said:

What is the drive current formated with, Device can be allocated as block devices but it would need to be a format Windows can read.

 

Unfortunately, it's btrfs...
I saw something called WinBtrfs on GitHub, but I don't want to take any risks.
 

So, would this work?
1. Back up the data on the SSD.
2. Should I change the format of the SSD to something Windows can read (like NTFS or exFAT)?
3. Set the IMG size to be the same as the SSD capacity.
4. Mount it to Windows via iSCSI.
5. Move the backed-up files to the IMG from UNRAID/Windows?
 

I'm a bit confused about steps 2, 3, and 5...
Even after asking GPT, the answers seem to vary.
Sorry for asking so many questions, but this is my first time using Unraid as a NAS.

Hi, meet a wireed performance issue, 

I am using the ISCSI target plugin and trying to expose a zvol to windows. The connection between my nas and windows is a 40Gb/s network card. The ZFS pool is built by 8 HDDs with RAIDZ2 and no performance issue occurs while coping data between windows and this ZFS pool via smb (around 500~700mb/s).

 

The problem is that writing speed drops to 0 or a very low speed after a few seconds with full speed, even through for a large single file, and I noticed that there will be a SINGLLE CPU core will have full usage while others remain 0% usage.

 

Here is my ISCSI configuration:

o- / ......................................................................................................................... [...]
  o- backstores .............................................................................................................. [...]
  | o- block .................................................................................................. [Storage Objects: 1]
  | | o- main:new_expansion .......................................... [/dev/zvol/main/new_expansion (10.0TiB) write-thru activated]
  | |   o- alua ................................................................................................... [ALUA Groups: 1]
  | |     o- default_tg_pt_gp ....................................................................... [ALUA state: Active/optimized]
  | o- fileio ................................................................................................. [Storage Objects: 0]
  | o- pscsi .................................................................................................. [Storage Objects: 0]
  | o- ramdisk ................................................................................................ [Storage Objects: 0]
  o- iscsi ............................................................................................................ [Targets: 1]
  | o- iqn.2003-01.org.linux-iscsi.tower.x8664:sn.9cc9a9dacbf0 ........................................................... [TPGs: 1]
  |   o- tpg1 ............................................................................................... [no-gen-acls, no-auth]
  |     o- acls .......................................................................................................... [ACLs: 1]
  |     | o- iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:zhikai-pc .................................................................. [Mapped LUNs: 1]
  |     |   o- mapped_lun0 .................................................................... [lun0 block/main:new_expansion (rw)]
  |     o- luns .......................................................................................................... [LUNs: 1]
  |     | o- lun0 ..................................... [block/main:new_expansion (/dev/zvol/main/new_expansion) (default_tg_pt_gp)]
  |     o- portals .................................................................................................... [Portals: 1]
  |       o- 0.0.0.0:3260 ..................................................................................................... [OK]
  o- loopback ......................................................................................................... [Targets: 0]
  o- vhost ............................................................................................................ [Targets: 0]
  o- xen-pvscsi ....................................................................................................... [Targets: 0]

 

Can you help me to figure out how can i fix this issue.

How can I relink this same fileio if I remove it?

Example: Steam-Library.img

I just want to know because I don't know how to relink the img if I accidentally removed it or I uninstalled the plugin. Thanks

Edited July 9, 2025Jul 9 by sausuke

Forgive me if this question has been answered. I am not willing to poor through the 19 pages on this forum topic, and I have not seen this answer in the other material. is there a max size on the image file? We have currently used this for 18 TB Image size and it has worked Flawlessly. We are needing to expand for backups up to 30 TB. and was wondering if this was ok for a signle image size.

trying to plan out a project. don't like to build a plan and find out that i can't do one of my steps.. makes things tough.