Cake 18 Install | Iscsi

iSCSI Cake 1.8 is a specialized Windows-based iSCSI target software designed to share server resources—such as disks, partitions, and VMDK files—over a network. Version 1.8 introduced enhanced support for Windows 64-bit systems and refined cache algorithms that allow for on-the-fly settings modification without service restarts. Key Features of iSCSI Cake 1.8

Copy-on-Write (COW): Protects server data by redirecting client write requests to a temporary directory, ensuring the original source remains unchanged.

Broad Compatibility: Supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows (including Windows 2000, XP, and Server editions).

Advanced Storage Support: Handles disks larger than 2TB and allows for the export of VMWare VMDK files as local disks for clients.

Virtualization: Can simulate virtual CD-ROM drives using ISO files and supports Ramdisks for high-performance needs. Installation Guide for iSCSI Cake 1.8 1. Server-Side Installation To set up the server (target), follow these steps:

Download: Obtain the iSCSI Cake V1.8 installer from the official website.

Setup: Run the installation package on your storage server. The software operates as a Windows service and includes a management GUI. Configuration: Open the iSCSI Cake GUI. Add the physical disks or partitions you wish to share. iscsi cake 18 install

Set up the Server Cache in the "Target setup" section to improve read performance for connected clients. 2. Client-Side (Initiator) Configuration

For a Windows client to access the storage, you must configure the iSCSI Initiator: iSCSI Setup in TrueNAS and Windows 10/11

Installing iSCSI Cake 18: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

iSCSI Cake, also known as iSCSI Enterprise Target, is an open-source iSCSI target software that allows you to create a storage server for your network. It provides a reliable and efficient way to share storage resources over IP networks. In this article, we will focus on installing iSCSI Cake 18, a popular version of the software.

System Requirements

Before installing iSCSI Cake 18, ensure your system meets the following requirements:

• Operating System: iSCSI Cake 18 supports various Linux distributions, including CentOS, Ubuntu, and Debian. For this example, we will use CentOS 7.
• Hardware: A server with a multi-core processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a reliable storage system (e.g., a hardware RAID).
• Network: A stable IP network connection.

Downloading and Preparing the Installation Media

1. Download the iSCSI Cake 18 ISO file from the official website or a trusted source.
2. Burn the ISO file to a USB drive or a CD/DVD using a tool like Etcher or Rufus.

Installation Steps

1. Boot from the installation media: Insert the USB drive or CD/DVD and restart your server. Set the BIOS to boot from the installation media.
2. Welcome screen: The iSCSI Cake 18 installer will load. Select your language and keyboard layout.
3. License agreement: Read and accept the license agreement.
4. Networking: Configure your network settings:
   • Hostname: Set a hostname for your iSCSI Cake server.
   • IP address: Assign a static IP address to your server.
   • Netmask: Set the netmask for your network.
   • Gateway: Specify the IP address of your network gateway.
   • DNS: Configure your DNS settings.
5. Storage configuration: Configure your storage settings:
   • Disk selection: Choose the disk(s) you want to use for your iSCSI target.
   • File system: Select a file system (e.g., ext4 or XFS).
   • Mount point: Set the mount point for your iSCSI target.
6. iSCSI target configuration: Configure your iSCSI target settings:
   • Target name: Set a name for your iSCSI target.
   • Target IP address: Specify the IP address of your iSCSI target.
   • Port: Use the default port (TCP 3260) or specify a custom port.
7. User authentication: Configure user authentication:
   • Username: Create a username for iSCSI authentication.
   • Password: Set a password for iSCSI authentication.
8. Installation: The installer will now copy files and configure your system.
9. Reboot: Restart your server.

Post-Installation Steps

1. Login to the iSCSI Cake web interface: Open a web browser and navigate to http://<your-iscsi-cake-ip>:8080. Log in with the username and password you created during installation.
2. Verify iSCSI target configuration: Ensure your iSCSI target is configured correctly and online.
3. Connect to the iSCSI target: Use an iSCSI initiator (e.g., on a Linux client) to connect to your iSCSI target.

Conclusion

Installing iSCSI Cake 18 provides a robust and scalable storage solution for your network. By following these steps, you have successfully installed and configured iSCSI Cake 18. You can now use your iSCSI target to share storage resources with your network clients. iSCSI Cake 1

Additional Resources

• iSCSI Cake official website: https://www.iscsicake.com/
• iSCSI Cake documentation: https://www.iscsicake.com/docs/

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Part 3: Connect using the iSCSI Initiator (Client Side)

1. Open Server Manager on the server that needs to connect to the storage.
2. Click Tools > iSCSI Initiator.
3. In the Target field, enter the IP address of the server you created the target on.
4. Click Quick Connect.
5. Select the discovered target and click Connect.
6. The disk will now appear in Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc), where you must initialize and format it before use.

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Why iSCSI on Cake?

Cake OS (based on FreeBSD) handles iSCSI via ctld (the Common Target Layer daemon). Unlike Linux’s targetcli which feels like a penalty box, Cake’s web UI actually gives you a fighting chance. With ZFS under the hood, you get snapshots, clones, and ARC caching for your LUNs.

Version 18 brought improved ZFS performance and a more responsive middleware layer. Perfect time to jump in.

Step 3: The Extent (The actual storage)

• Click Extents.
• Name: extent-proxmox-01
• Type: ZVOL
• Device: Select the ZVOL you made (tank/proxmox-vm-01).
• Leave Logical Block Size as automatic. Save.

Test 3: Multi-path I/O (Optional "Cake" Layer)

For high availability, install multipath tools:

sudo apt install multipath-tools -y

Configure /etc/multipath.conf and restart services. This adds the final "layer" to your Cake.

5. Network and kernel tweaks (target)

• Ensure IPtables/Firewall allows 3260/tcp:
  • firewall-cmd --add-port=3260/tcp --permanent && firewall-cmd --reload
• Enable IP forwarding only if necessary.
• Tune performance sysctl example:
  • sysctl -w net.core.rmem_max=16777216
  • sysctl -w net.core.wmem_max=16777216
• For SMP and NUMA, ensure device queues aligned; set elevator to none for SSDs:
  • echo none > /sys/block/sdb/queue/scheduler

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Step 2.2: Identify the Storage Backend

List available disks:

lsblk

Assume /dev/sdb is our 100GB disk to share.

4. Configure LIO target (targetcli) — example session

Run targetcli as root:

1. Create block backstore

• For block device:
  • /backstores/block create name=iscsi_bk dev=/dev/vg_iscsi/lv_iscsi
• For fileio:
  • /backstores/fileio create name=iscsi_file file_or_dev=/srv/iscsi/iscsi01.img
• Set queue parameters if needed:
  • /backstores/block/iscsi_bk set attribute queue_depth=128

2. Create target and portal

• Create IQN for target (follow RFC 3720 format): iqn.2026-04.com.example:storage.target01
  • /iscsi create iqn.2026-04.com.example:storage.target01
• Create network portal (bind to specific IP and port 3260):
  • /iscsi/iqn.2026-04.com.example:storage.target01/tpg1/portals create 10.0.0.10 3260

3. Create LUN mapping

• /iscsi/.../tpg1/luns create /backstores/block/iscsi_bk

4. Configure ACLs (initiator IQN) and CHAP

• Add initiator IQN:
  • /iscsi/.../tpg1/acls create iqn.2026-04.com.example:initiator01
• Enable CHAP (node.session.auth)
  • /iscsi/.../tpg1 set attribute authentication=1
  • Set user/password for incoming CHAP:
    • /iscsi/.../tpg1 set auth userid=initiator_user password=StrongPassw0rd
  • For mutual CHAP, set username on ACL:
    • /iscsi/.../tpg1/acls/iqn... set auth userid=target_user password=TargetPass

5. Other TPG attributes

• set generate_node_acls=1 demo_mode_write_protect=0 cache_dynamic_acls=1

6. Save config

• exit will persist to /etc/target/saveconfig.json (targetcli handles save)

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Part 1: Install the iSCSI Target Server Role

1. Open Server Manager.
2. Click Manage > Add Roles and Features.
3. Proceed to the Server Roles section.
4. Expand File and Storage Services > File and iSCSI Services.
5. Check the box for iSCSI Target Server.
6. Click Next and then Install.