At this point, all limitations listed in my first post have been removed or mitigated. Here is a quick summary of the current status of each resolved/mitigated limitation listed earlier:
- The two NICs are configured in failover mode only, and teamed, meaning two active network connections cannot be established. This is a significant limitation if trying to use the DX4000 as a low-cost centralized storage server for Hyper-V and/or VMware.
By installing the lastest Intel drivers and management tools for the two onboard NICs, it is possible to remove the teaming configuration from the NICs and concomitantly end up with two independent NICs. In my configuration, one NIC has now been dedicated to iSCSI traffic and the other NIC for remote access to the DX4000 via RDP. - Given that the DX4000 ships with WSS 2008 R2 Essentials, iSCSI support otherwise available from Microsoft in non-Essentials versions of WSS, is not provided. This significantly limits the ability of the DX4000 to act as a centralized storage server for Hyper-V and/or VMware. Although theorectically the DX4000 supports NFS, which would allow one method of leveraging the DX4000 in an ESXi environment, out-of-the-box WD documentation and tools do not indicate in any way whatsoever how to install support for and configure NFS, and it does NOT ship with NFS support already configured.
NFS has now been enabled on the DX4000. However, with regard to use with ESXi 5.0, StarWind Sofware’s free iSCSI target software has been installed and configured. The ESXi host, using an iSCSI storage adapter, is connecting over the dedicated iSCSI network to iSCSI targets defined on the DX4000 via the StarWind iSCSI SAN Software. - Although capable of supporting two power sources, the DX4000 only ships with one laptop-style power brick. However, additional DX4000-compatible power bricks are available for about $65 (including shipping and handling).
Second power brick has been ordered and will be installed this week. When installed, testing of automatic power failover will be performed to ensure the additional investment keeps the DX4000 running smoothly. - The DX4000 ships with only 2 GB of RAM installed, which imposes a perceptible limitation on throughput speed. Despite the low cost of RAM today, Western Digital does not provide an officially sanctioned, or described, method of installing additional RAM.
Removed the DX4000 shell, removed the six screws holding the DX4000 motherboard to the top of the interior drive cage, carefully removed the motherboard from the unit, and exposed the single SODIMM (2 GB). Note that there is indeed only a single SODIMM slot, despite CPU-Z indicating otherwise. Replaced the 2 GB SODIMM with a 4GB with same specs, carefully reinserted the vertical PCB extender into the motherboard as I remounted it on top of the drive cage, and finished re-assembling DX4000. Turned on the unit, connected via RDP, and WS 2008 R2 reported 4 GB of RAM in use.
As time permits, I intend to post more detailed instructions and other pertinent information related to each of the above limitation remediations.
As an illustration of the two NICs operating independently, here is a screenshot of Task Manager on the DX4000 with three VMs running on a separate ESXi host using three iSCSI targets hosted on the DX4000:
Technical Odds and Ends 
28 responses to “Hacking the Western Digital Sentinel DX4000 Update 1”
Thanks for the info. I’ve seen several comments about hacking to get Microsoft’s iSCSI and just wanted to reiterate to your readers that the MS target is horribly inferior compared to the included Starwind. I have a used DX4000 (9TB – yes, a 2GB was swapped for a 3GB for some reason) awaiting me at my doorstep tonight. I’ll be sure to try updating the Sentinel OS to the latest version.
Not sure I understand the comment in that I haven’t ever advocated trying to load the Microsoft iSCSI Target onto Windows Storage Server Essentials. Others have found a way to overcome the installer’s refusal to run on WSS Essentials but I have instead always gone with the Starwind iSCSI target. Furthermore, for the past six months or more, Western Digital has provided a newer version of the DX4000 Sentinel OS that includes a pre-installed and licensed copy of Starwind’s iSCSI Target software, so the steps I had to take a year ago are no longer relevant. I was able to upgrade my first DX4000, with the original shipping OS, to the latest WD release (first be sure to uninstall the manually installed Starwind iSCSI target, if you added it like I did). With the integrated iSCSI Target software (UI built into the WSS Essentials dashboard), the DX4000 has become even more compelling.
I don’t understand why you’d want to scrap the leagues-better Starwind iSCSI target over the weak Microsoft one. TheRegister says Starwind is “inarguably the number one reason to buy this NAS”.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/25/review_wd_sentinel_dx4000/page2.html
According to Western Digital, the drives that shp with the DX4000 are more “NAS-grade” rather than off-the-shelf consumer devices. Unlike some NAS enclosures (e.g., from Thecus), the DX4000 is a bit picky about the drives you use. I’ve worked with several such devices and would recommend against the DX4000 for a general purpose NAS enclosure. You might want to look instead at an HP MicroServer. I bought two at a cost of only $290 each and the last time I checked, you could get them on Amazon for about $320 each. These have VGA ports and are meant for you to load an OS on, rather than the DX4000 without any direct video out capability and meant to work only with embedded WSS Essentials. The DX4000 is a nice unit, but not a first choice if you want to load your own OS and drives.
All the best, and if you do go the customization route with the DX4000, please post your results and/or a link to your write-up of your experiences here!
Thanks for getting back to me. I am fairly certain I will get this unit without drives. I’m just wondering if this will be a huge undertaking or if it is simple as an unattend file.
Not recommended. This is not a general purpose server and ships with an embedded version of an OS (Windows Storage Server). With no direct video connection, your ability to recover from any install error that might otherwise leave your system completely unbootable would beg the question, “why bother?” 🙂
There are other more suitable generic and inexpensive ways to build a general-purpose server. Part of what you’re paying for with the DX4000 is a WSS 2008 R2 license, and if you’re not going to use that license, you’d be better served spending less on generic hardware that would give you more flexibility.
…Or any other Windows Server 2012 OS.
How can I install Windows 8 on this?
Thanks for the heads up on this technique. Hadn’t run across that solution when I was initially setting up my iSCSI lab! 🙂
Here’s a web site that describes how to modify the iSCSI target installation to permit installation onto WSS Essentials (and other typically blocked versions of Windows): http://jeffchiu.wordpress.com/2009/07/23/kb-microsoft-iscsi-software-target-3-2-msi-package-hack-for-sku-limitation/
I have not tested the above procedure yet but am providing the link here for completeness (with regard to expanding the utility of the DX4000).
I edited the msi to remove the restrictions. It took about 30 seconds to do it, just Google it. It installed perfectly and works great.