10 Synology iSCSI Best Practices

Synology iSCSI storage is a great way to increase storage capacity and performance for businesses. It provides a cost-effective solution for businesses that need to store large amounts of data. However, it is important to follow best practices when setting up and managing a Synology iSCSI storage system.

This article will discuss 10 best practices for setting up and managing a Synology iSCSI storage system. Following these best practices will ensure that your system is secure, reliable, and efficient.

1. Use a dedicated network for iSCSI

When using iSCSI, it’s important to ensure that the network is not congested with other traffic. This can cause latency issues and slow down performance. By dedicating a separate network for iSCSI, you can guarantee that your storage will have the bandwidth it needs to perform optimally.

Additionally, having a dedicated network for iSCSI also helps improve security. Since all of the traffic on this network is related to storage, it reduces the risk of malicious actors gaining access to sensitive data.

2. Enable Jumbo Frames

Jumbo Frames are Ethernet frames with a payload size of more than 1500 bytes. By enabling Jumbo Frames, you can increase the performance of your iSCSI storage by reducing the number of packets that need to be sent and received over the network.

To enable Jumbo Frames on Synology iSCSI, go to Control Panel > Network > Advanced Settings and select “Enable Jumbo Frame”. You will also need to make sure that all other devices in the network support Jumbo Frames as well. Once enabled, you should see an improvement in the performance of your iSCSI storage.

3. Disable TCP Offloading

TCP Offloading is a feature that allows the network adapter to offload certain tasks from the CPU, such as packet segmentation and reassembly. While this can improve performance in some cases, it can also cause issues with iSCSI traffic due to its reliance on precise timing.

To disable TCP Offloading, open the Control Panel of your Synology NAS and navigate to Network > Network Interface. Select the interface you want to configure and click Edit. Under Advanced Settings, uncheck the box for Enable TCP Offloading. Click Apply to save your changes.

4. Create multiple targets and LUNs

Creating multiple targets and LUNs allows you to better manage your storage resources. It also helps improve performance by allowing you to assign different workloads to different targets and LUNs, which can help reduce contention for resources. Additionally, it provides more flexibility when configuring access control lists (ACLs) and quotas.

Finally, creating multiple targets and LUNs makes it easier to back up data since each target and LUN can be backed up separately. This is especially important if you’re using a snapshot-based backup solution, as snapshots are only taken of the targets and LUNs that have been created.

5. Configure MPIO on your client

MPIO stands for Multi-Path Input/Output, and it allows your client to use multiple paths to access the same iSCSI target. This provides redundancy in case one of the paths fails, as well as improved performance by allowing more data to be transferred at once.

To configure MPIO on your client, you’ll need to install the appropriate drivers from Synology’s website. Once installed, open up the MPIO control panel and add the IP addresses of all the iSCSI targets you want to connect to. Finally, select the “Enable” option and click “OK”. Now your client is ready to take advantage of MPIO!

6. Enable CHAP authentication

CHAP authentication is a two-way process that requires both the initiator and target to authenticate each other. This ensures that only authorized users can access the iSCSI storage, which helps protect against unauthorized access or data theft.

To enable CHAP authentication on Synology iSCSI, you’ll need to log into your DiskStation Manager (DSM) web interface and navigate to the Storage tab. From there, select iSCSI Target and then click on the Edit button next to the desired target. On the following page, check the box for Enable CHAP Authentication and enter a username and password. Once done, click Apply to save the changes.

7. Use the most recent DSM version

The latest version of DSM includes the most up-to-date security patches and bug fixes, which can help protect your data from malicious attacks. Additionally, newer versions of DSM often include new features that can improve performance or add additional functionality to your Synology iSCSI setup. Finally, using the most recent DSM version ensures compatibility with other devices and applications, so you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues when setting up a new system.

8. Make sure you have enough RAM

When you use iSCSI, the data is stored in RAM before it’s written to disk. This means that if you don’t have enough RAM, your system will be unable to store all of the data and performance will suffer.

To ensure optimal performance, make sure you have at least 8GB of RAM for every 1TB of storage space. If you’re using a Synology NAS with more than 16TB of storage, then you should consider upgrading to 32GB or even 64GB of RAM.

Additionally, you should also make sure that your network connection is fast enough to handle the amount of data being transferred. A 10Gbps Ethernet connection is recommended for best results.

9. Don’t use RAID 5 or 6

RAID 5 and 6 are both parity-based RAID levels, which means that they use a combination of data striping and parity to provide redundancy.

The problem with these RAID levels is that the parity calculations can be very resource intensive, especially when dealing with large amounts of data. This can lead to degraded performance on your Synology iSCSI storage system.

Instead, it’s best to stick with RAID 0, 1, or 10 for optimal performance. These RAID levels don’t require any parity calculations, so you won’t have to worry about them impacting your performance.

10. Use SSD cache

SSD cache can significantly improve the performance of your iSCSI storage by caching frequently accessed data on a high-speed SSD. This reduces latency and improves read/write speeds, allowing you to get more out of your Synology NAS.

To enable SSD cache, simply go into Storage Manager > iSCSI LUNs > select the target LUN > click Edit > Enable SSD Cache. You’ll then need to specify the size of the cache (up to 32GB) and choose whether to use write-back or write-through mode. Write-back is recommended for most applications as it provides better performance, but if you’re using an application that requires strong data integrity, write-through may be a better option.