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KB ID: 6018

Product: WS5020 IoT 2019 | WS5020 IoT 2025

Configuring the iSCSI Initiator in Windows Server IoT

Last Updated: 08/28/2025

This guide provides the full sequence of steps to connect to a remote iSCSI storage target (e.g., A TeraStation iSCSI volume) and make it available as a local drive in Windows Server.

Prerequisites: You must have the IP address or DNS name of the iSCSI target server.

 

Part 1: Connecting to the iSCSI Target
1. Open the Start Menu and launch Server Manager.

 

2. In the top-right corner of the Server Manager dashboard, click the Tools menu. From the dropdown list, select iSCSI Initiator.

 

3. If this is the first time you have launched the tool, a dialog will appear stating the Microsoft iSCSI service is not running. Click Yes to start the service and enable it to start automatically with the server.

 

4. In the iSCSI Initiator Properties window that opens, click the "Discovery" tab and click Discover Portal....button.

 

5. In the Discover Target Portal dialog box, enter the IP address of your iSCSI target server (e.g., the TeraStation IP). Leave the port number at 3260 (this is the default TCP port for iSCSI) and click OK.
If you get an error, double-check the IP address and try again.



6. The IP address for the iSCSI target should now appear in the list of target portals.

 

7. Now, click the Targets tab. The available target(s) from that portal should appear in the Discovered targets section with a status of Inactive.

 

8. Select the target you wish to use and click Connect.

 

9. A Connect to Target dialog box will open. You can typically leave the default settings. Click OK.
Note: Do not connect to a single target from more than one server. Doing so will result in unrecoverable data corruption!

 

10. The status of the target in the list will now change to Connected. Click OK to close the iSCSI Initiator Properties window. The connection to the storage is now established. 

Now we need make it available to the operating system.

 

Part 2: Configuring the Disk

1. In Server Manager, click File and Storage Services in the left-hand navigation pane.

 

2. Click on the Disks page from the list on the left. You should see your new iSCSI disk listed, likely with a status of Offline.

 

3. Right-click the offline disk and select "Bring Online".

 

4. You may get this warning pop-up. Make sure this disk is not online on another server and click Yes.

 

5. The disk's status will now change to Online, but its partition style will be listed as Unknown.

 

6. Right-click the disk again and select New Volume or you click the link under "VOLUMES". This will launch the New Volume Wizard.

 

7. On the Before you begin screen, click Next.

 

8. On the Server and Disk screen, your new iSCSI disk should be automatically selected. Click Next.
Note: If the cluster role shows as "Clustered", refer to Microsoft documentation for configuring failover clustering in Windows Server and do not continue with this document.

 

9. The following pop-up appears. Click OK.

 

10. On the Size screen, you can specify the volume size. The default is the maximum available space. Leave the default and click Next.

 

11. On the Drive Letter or Folder screen, choose an available drive letter from the dropdown menu (e.g., E:). Click Next.

 

12. In this step you can create a volume label and then click Next to proceed to the confirmation screen.
Note: Unless there is a very specific reason to do so, do not change the allocation unit size!

 

13. Review your selections and click Create.

 

14. The wizard will partition and format the disk. Depending on the size of the volume created, this could take several minutes.

 

15. Once the process is complete, click Close.

16. The disk should now show as "Online" and "GPT". The new drive letter should be listed under "VOLUMES".

Your iSCSI volume is now online, formatted, and accessible in File Explorer with the drive letter you assigned.