Difference between pages "File:Ataoe.png" and "How to intercept ATA commands using AoE"

Revision as of 08:42, 4 January 2010

ATA over Ethernet (AoE) is a network protocol designed for accessing ATA storage devices over Ethernet networks.

This "How To" explains the process of using ATA over Ethernet protocol to intercept ATA commands from a Linux system (called Linux client) using Wireshark for diagnostic and testing purposes.

Linux server - Linux client configuration

First, make sure that Linux server and Linux client are connected to the same network and can exchange packets with each other.

Server configuration

Make sure that your server has vblade tool installed. Then run the following command:

# vblade 0 0 eth0 /dev/sda

Where:

• eth0 - your network interface;
• /dev/sda - a block device you want to be accessible through a network.

Client configuration

Make sure that your Linux client has aoe tools installed. Then run the following command:

# modprobe aoe

Make sure your vblade device is available on the client by running:

# aoe-stat

The following block devices would be available:

• /dev/etherd/e0.0 - the whole disk (corresponds to /dev/sda on the server);
• /dev/etherd/e0.0p1 - first partition on the disk (corresponds to /dev/sda1 on the server);
• /dev/etherd/e0.0p2 - second partition on the disk (corresponds to /dev/sda2 on the server).

Intercepting ATA commands

Launch Wireshark on a client and start a capture on eth0. You can apply the following display filter to analyse AoE packets only:

eth.type == 0x88a2

Here is a screenshot of grml client running in VirtualBox:

Using grml to capture ATA commands

External Links

• Vblade - ATA over Ethernet