RHBA-2009:1368 - Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

An updated iscsi-initiator-utils package that fixes various bugs and adds
support for Chelsio and Broadcom iSCSI cards is now available

Description

The iscsi package provides the server daemon for the iSCSI protocol,
as well as the utility programs used to manage it. iSCSI is a protocol
for distributed disk access using SCSI commands sent over Internet
Protocol networks.

Bugs fixed and enhancements added in this updated package include:

• iscsi-initiator-utils now includes support for Broadcom bnx2 and bnx2x

network interface cards. (BZ#442418)

• iscsi-initiator-utils has been rebased to upstream version 2.0-870. Among

many other changes, this version supports the offload feature of Broadcom
and Chelsio cards. Refer to the changelog included in the package for a
full list of bug fixes and enhancements in this version. Section 5.1.2 of
/usr/share/docs/iscsi-initiator-utils-$version/README contains instructions
to set up ifaces for use with offload cards. (BZ#458203)

• the iscsi-initiator-utils packages place files in the /etc/iscsi

directory but previously, did not list that directory for creation. The
/etc/iscsi directory would therefore be created during the installation
process, but would remain unowned. /etc/iscsi is now listed for creation
and are therefore owned by iscsi-initiator-utils. (BZ#481807)

• when a user-space iSCSI tool invokes an option that is not supported

in the kernel, the tool returns "Iferror -38". Previously, this error
message was presented to users and could mislead them to think that
a problem existed with their iSCSI configuration. The iSCSI tools no longer
present this type of error to users and therefore do not create this
potential misunderstanding. Note that certain combinations of new tools
with old kernels might still present a related "-22" error. (BZ#497940)

• the iSCSI protocol allows targets to redirect initiators during the login

phase. Previously, the code used by the iscsi initiator to parse IPv6
addresses contained faulty logic that caused it to fail to recognize IPv6
addresses as valid when redirected. As a consequence, when operating in an
IPv6 environment, the initiator could not log into targets that use the
login redirect feature, such as Dell EqualLogic targets. The initiator now
parses IPv6 addresses correctly, enabling use of these targets in IPv6
environments. (BZ#500102)

• previously, the cxgb3i driver for Chelsio host bus adapters (HBAs) was

not listed in the iscsi init script. Therefore, iscsi would not load this
driver and therefore could not use the Chelsio HBAs that need this driver.
The cxgb3i driver is now included in the iscsi init script, which enables
the use of these devices. (BZ#505958)

• the iscsi code contained a bad cast of a data structure. This would lead

to a segmentation fault while logging in or out of an iSCSI target. With
the logic now corrected, these segmentation faults do not occur.
(BZ#508782)

• iscsiadm obtains its information about the boot environment from the

iSCSI boot firmware table (IBFT). However, this information does not
include the target portal group tag (TPGT) associated with the boot
target. Iscsiadm would assume that the relevant TPGT should be "1". In
cases where this was correct, the boot process would continue as
intended. In all other cases, iscsiadm would be unable to find the target
necessary for the boot to proceed. This made it impossible to automate
the installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux in environments with multiple
portals on targets and where the portal used for boot did not have TPGT=1.
Iscsiadm no longer assumes a value for the TPGT for the boot portal and
instead relies on the information that it finds in the /var/lib/iscsi
record. This enables iscsiadm to find the correct target automatically,
and therefore makes automated installations possible. (BZ#515806)

Users should upgrade to this updated package, which resolves these issues.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released
errata relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use
the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at
http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/docs/DOC-11259

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 5 ppc
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 i386

Fixes

• BZ - 458203 - Update iscsi tools for RHEL 5.3
• BZ - 497940 - iscsid shows iferror -38
• BZ - 499565 - fw_context.h is no longer present in the src.
• BZ - 500102 - iscsi initiator doesn't login to IPv6 address
• BZ - 505958 - iscsi init script does not load cxgb3i driver
• BZ - 508782 - iscsid/iscsistart segfault due to bad cast of conn_context data
• BZ - 513726 - [Broadcom 5.4 bug] Update Userspace Broadcom uIP iSCSI component

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)