Unable to see iSCSI storage from an ESXi host when using iSCSI

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

When connecting an ESXi host through iSCSI (software or hardware) to a Storage Array, you may experience these symptoms:

• The iSCSI adapter has been added in the ESXI  > Configure  > Storage > Storage Adapters > Configuration >  Add iSCSI Adapter
• The iSCSI Adapter has issue 
  • No targets are visible.
  • LUNs are not visible on the ESXi host
  • A rescan fails to pick up any storage devices.
  • Storage devices are visible from other hosts.

Environment

VMware vSphere 6.x
VMware vSphere 7.x
VMware vSphere 8.x

Cause

This issue occurs when the IQN of the ESXi host is not permitted to access the target. This can occur if:

• Multi-host volume access is not enabled for that volume at Storage level
• The IQN or IP address of the ESXi host is not listed in the Access Control List (ACL) for that volume at Storage level
• CHAP authentication is incorrect 
• The SAN target IP address + target Name ( iSCSI IQN of Storage array ) is entered incorrectly in the Dynamic Discovery tab  ESXI  > Configure  > Storage > Storage Adapters > Select iSCSI Software Adapter > Check window Dynamic Discovery 
• The SAN target IP address + target Name ( iSCSI IQN of Storage array ) is entered incorrectly in the Static Discovery tab ESXI  > Configure  > Storage > Storage Adapters > Select iSCSI Software Adapter > Check window Static Discovery 

Resolution

When the settings are changed, perform a rescan on the ESXi host.

See Performing a rescan of the storage on an ESX/ESXi host for details.

If vobd returns an iSCSI error, please refer to Target information not updated by iSCSI array