Re: iSCSI: Some proposed vendor-specific (X-) keys

["Bob Mastors" <bmastors@allocity.com>]

I like it.
Otherwise the user has to configure the initiator with the target type and
the target with the initiator type.
It is unlikely that this problem will disappear for a long time if ever.
As the threads on the C bit has shown there will be lots of ways to
implement the spec and probably no device will correctly support all possibilities.
I am already putting "if (vendor)" code in my implementation. Maybe in a few
years I will not need it. But until then it would be nice if I could dynamically determine
vendor information for iscsi so the user does not have to configure it.
Bob

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ken Sandars" <ksandars@eurologic.com>
To: "Ips Reflector (E-mail)" <ips@ece.cmu.edu>
Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2002 9:43 AM
Subject: iSCSI: Some proposed vendor-specific (X-) keys


> Hi all,
> 
> Can all you implementers out there consider this proposal please? This is 
> intended to be an aid to interoperability. Obviously once the spec is 
> approved and everyone is fully complient there will be no need for this.
> 
> This proposal is in no means intended to go into the specification (unless 
> people REALLY want it), so feel free to skip this message now ;-)
> 
> I suggest three vendor specific declarative keys which MAY/SHOULD be sent 
> during the login phase (during the operational parameter negotiation stage):
> 
> X-vendor
> X-product
> X-revision
> 
> These all contains strings, eg:
> 
> X-vendor=fredsIscsiShop
> X-product=YetAnotherIscsiTarget
> X-revision=1.003
> 
> These keys follow the SCSI inquiry command fields in terms of names, and are 
> used to identify the iSCSI node's information.
> 
> What does this achieve? I'm looking for an opportunity to provide automated 
> interoperability between systems which are not yet fully complient.
> 
> But I hear you think, "But why don't they just fix them?", and I have to 
> agree.
> 
> However, there are a number of iSCSI products which work wonderfully well 
> already out there (as long as you don't excite one of their quirks). If you 
> find out what you are connecting with during login, you can decide what 
> things you should or shouldn't do with it.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Ken Sandars
> Eurologic Systems Ltd
> ksandars@eurologic.com