Tutorial 3: Build a Diskless Workstation (iSCSI sanboot)

⏱ Time: 20 minutes ｜ Level: Advanced ｜ Audience: Scenarios with many diskless workstations (server rooms, labs, thin clients) Prerequisites: PxeLab is running, an iSCSI storage (or a machine that can act as an iSCSI target), and clients that support network boot

The Scenario

Twenty identical machines with no local disks: the system lives on one iSCSI storage, and any machine boots the same system over the network. When one breaks, swap in another — the system on storage stays intact. That's a diskless workstation setup (sanboot).

        iSCSI storage (192.168.1.50)
        iqn.2024-01:disk
              ▲
              │ boot from SAN (no local disk)
  ┌───────────┼────────────┐
  │ client 1   client 2 …   client 20 │
  └───────────────────────┘
        PxeLab supplies boot info

Preparation

An iSCSI target: a LUN on your storage server (example: IP 192.168.1.50, IQN iqn.2024-01:disk)
PxeLab can reach both the iSCSI storage and the clients
Clients support iPXE boot (PxeLab's built-in iPXE supports sanboot — no custom compilation needed)

Step 1: Prepare the iSCSI LUN

Create a LUN on the storage server and install a system into it (or export an existing system disk as a LUN). Note down three things:

Storage server IP (example: 192.168.1.50)
IQN (example: iqn.2024-01:disk)
LUN number (0 by default — the :disk suffix without a LUN number means LUN 0)

Authorize clients on the PxeLab subnet to access this LUN.

Step 2: Create a sanboot boot entry

Go to Basic Config → Boot Menu (Profiles) and create a new boot entry:

Field	Example value
Name	`Diskless Workstation`
Boot type	`sanboot — boot from SAN`
URL	`iscsi:192.168.1.50::::iqn.2024-01:disk`

URL format: iscsi:<storage IP>:<port (empty)>::<IQN>:<LUN> — the example boots iqn.2024-01:disk from 192.168.1.50 on the default port (3260).

Step 3: Route clients to this boot entry

Choose one of:

All machines: make this entry the default menu item (boot menu config → default menu → add this entry)
Specific machines: register the client MAC in Host Management and bind this boot entry (Profile) to it, giving each machine its own boot config

Step 4: Boot a client and verify diskless startup

Power the client on → network boot → PxeLab boot menu → choose Diskless Workstation.

The client boots its system from the iSCSI storage and runs without relying on a local disk.

Common issues in this tutorial

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Boot failure / storage not found	iSCSI target denies the client IP	Check LUN access control (initiator authorization) on the storage side
Wrong IQN or LUN	Typo in the config	Double-check the IQN and LUN number exported by the storage
Concurrent boots behave badly	Multiple clients writing the same LUN	Make the system disk read-only, or use multiple copies / one LUN per machine
Entry missing from the boot menu	Not set as default / no host binding	Re-check Step 3

Going further

Which scenarios suit (or don't suit) sanboot — installer-type ISOs don't; see Boot Architecture & Diskless
Detailed boot entry and host binding config: see Boot Config and Host Management

Tutorial 3: Build a Diskless Workstation (iSCSI sanboot) ​

The Scenario ​

Preparation ​

Step 1: Prepare the iSCSI LUN ​

Step 2: Create a sanboot boot entry ​

Step 3: Route clients to this boot entry ​

Step 4: Boot a client and verify diskless startup ​

Common issues in this tutorial ​

Going further ​