Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: AlmaLinux 9 / Rocky Linux 9
CentOS/RHEL 7 are end of life; these steps are for AlmaLinux 9 / Rocky Linux 9 (Ubuntu/Debian: package targetcli-fb). The LIO target in the Linux kernel, managed with targetcli, shares a disk or file over the network as an iSCSI target.
1. Install and start
dnf install targetcli systemctl enable --now target
2. Create the target
targetcli /backstores/block create disk1 /dev/vdb # a whole disk or LVM volume # or a file: /backstores/fileio create file1 /srv/iscsi/file1.img 20G /iscsi create iqn.2026-09.com.example:target1 /iscsi/iqn.2026-09.com.example:target1/tpg1/luns create /backstores/block/disk1 /iscsi/iqn.2026-09.com.example:target1/tpg1/acls create iqn.2026-09.com.example:client1 saveconfig exit
The ACL name must match the InitiatorName of the client. A portal on all addresses, port 3260, is created automatically. To require a password, set userid and password on the ACL with set auth.
3. Open the firewall
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=iscsi-target firewall-cmd --reload
Check the setup with targetcli ls. The configuration is saved in /etc/target/saveconfig.json and restored at boot. Then connect a client as described in "How to configure iSCSI Initiator (client) in CentOS / RHEL 7?".
Note: Allow port 3260 only from your client servers, and use a private network where possible: iSCSI traffic is not encrypted.
