Q. How do I connect to an iSCSI target using Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008?

A. To connect to an iSCSI target using Vista and Server 2008, use the Vista and Server 2008 built-in iSCSI Initiator. Go to the Control Panel and start the iSCSI Initiator applet. Select the “Discovery” tab and click the "Add Portal..." button. Enter the target’s IP address and port information and click “OK.”

Then click the “Targets” tab and a list of the target’s storage devices will display. To connect to a device select it and click "Log on...," which opens the logon dialog and provides an option to automatically connect to the target at startup and enables multipath. The “Advanced” button allows adapter configuration for the iSCSI connection, authentication, and IPSec information.

Click “OK” to complete the connection. Once the target is connected and available you need to assign a volume letter through Disk Management. The first time you start Disk Manager with a new connection and the disk area has not been previously configured, Disk Manager will prompt you to initialize the disk with a particular partition style. You can then create volumes on the disk and format accordingly.