ESXi hosts have no paths to specific iSCSI targets

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

ESXi hosts report no paths to some specific iSCSI targets

There are active paths from the hosts to other iSCSI targets

The issue may arise after a network connecitivity issue has been resolved. 

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi (all versions)

Cause

On storage rescan or reboot, login to the iSCSI target fails with iSCSI error 0x0202 which indicates that the iSCSI target is refusing the initator access to that specific target.

/var/log/syslog.log reports

iSCSI login to <iSCSI target IP> failed (Forbidden Target) - Initiator is not allowed access to the given target.

Resolution

• Confirm that the initiators (ESXi hosts) for which iSCSI login is failing are on the access control list (ACL) on the storage array.
  
  
• Confirm that, if CHAP is configured, CHAP authentication details are correct. 
  
  
• Reboot the impacted ESXi hosts 
  
  
• If issue persists, engage your storage vendor investigate the specific reason the iSCSI target is rejecting the connection. 

Additional Information

For more information on iSCSI errors see Target information not updated by iSCSI array.