How to connect Windows Server to an RPN SAN

Reviewed on 12 August 2024 • Published on 16 July 2021

The RPN SAN is an iSCSI target, it is possible to mount it in Windows Server 2012 or later to use it as a normal disk in the system.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

A Dedibox account logged into the console
A Dedibox dedicated server
An RPN SAN

Launch the Server Manager application of Windows and click Tools > iSCSI Initiator.
Click the Discovery tab to add the SAN server:

Tip

The initiator is not activated by the default on the system start. If you start it for the first time, you are asked if you want to start it during the system start. Click yes to confirm.

Click the Targets tab and select the target you want to connect to. Click Connection to confirm. The target will then be connected to the server as an unformatted disk.
Launch the control panel and click System and Security > Create and format hard disk partitions in the Administrative Tools section.
The disk can be configured from the Storage > Disk Management section of the Computer Management tool. By default, it displays as offline.
Right-click on it and click Online to activate the disk. The system will propose the type of partition table to use for your disk.

Tip

For a 1 TB SAN, keep the default choice. If you have a larger SAN, select GPT, Windows can not handle partitions larger than 2 TB with anything except GPT.

Format the disk with a file system (NTFS). Click Next > Finish to confirm formatting the disk.

Once finished formatting (in about 10 minutes using quick formatting), the hard disk drive should be accessible from the server manager as a regular disk: