diff --git a/block/iscsi.c b/block/iscsi.c
index 993a86d..abf60ee 100644
--- a/block/iscsi.c
+++ b/block/iscsi.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include <arpa/inet.h>
 #include "qemu-common.h"
 #include "qemu-error.h"
+#include "sysemu.h"
 #include "block_int.h"
 #include "trace.h"
 #include "hw/scsi-defs.h"
@@ -40,6 +41,8 @@
 #include <hw/scsi-defs.h>
 #endif
 
+const char *iscsi_name;
+
 typedef struct IscsiLun {
     struct iscsi_context *iscsi;
     int lun;
@@ -896,23 +899,30 @@ static char *parse_initiator_name(const char *target)
     QemuOptsList *list;
     QemuOpts *opts;
     const char *name = NULL;
+    char *default_name;
+
+    if (asprintf(&default_name, "iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm%s%s",
+                 iscsi_name ? ":" : "",
+                 iscsi_name ? iscsi_name : "") == -1) {
+        default_name = (char *)"iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm";
+    }
 
     list = qemu_find_opts("iscsi");
     if (!list) {
-        return g_strdup("iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm");
+        return g_strdup(default_name);
     }
 
     opts = qemu_opts_find(list, target);
     if (opts == NULL) {
         opts = QTAILQ_FIRST(&list->head);
         if (!opts) {
-            return g_strdup("iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm");
+            return g_strdup(default_name);
         }
     }
 
     name = qemu_opt_get(opts, "initiator-name");
     if (!name) {
-        return g_strdup("iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm");
+        return g_strdup(default_name);
     }
 
     return g_strdup(name);
diff --git a/qemu-doc.texi b/qemu-doc.texi
index 84dad19..2360f7b 100644
--- a/qemu-doc.texi
+++ b/qemu-doc.texi
@@ -734,6 +734,11 @@ Various session related parameters can be set via special options, either
 in a configuration file provided via '-readconfig' or directly on the
 command line.
 
+If the initiator-name is not specified qemu will use a default name
+of 'iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm[:<name>'] where <name> is the name of the
+virtual machine.
+
+
 @example
 Setting a specific initiator name to use when logging in to the target
 -iscsi initiator-name=iqn.qemu.test:my-initiator
diff --git a/qemu-options.hx b/qemu-options.hx
index dc68e15..3335bcc 100644
--- a/qemu-options.hx
+++ b/qemu-options.hx
@@ -1893,6 +1893,11 @@ images for the guest storage. Both disk and cdrom images are supported.
 Syntax for specifying iSCSI LUNs is
 ``iscsi://<target-ip>[:<port>]/<target-iqn>/<lun>''
 
+By default qemu will use the iSCSI initiator-name
+'iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm[:<name>]' but this can also be set from the command
+line or a configuration file.
+
+
 Example (without authentication):
 @example
 qemu-system-i386 -iscsi initiator-name=iqn.2001-04.com.example:my-initiator \
@@ -1922,6 +1927,9 @@ DEF("iscsi", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_iscsi,
     "                iSCSI session parameters\n", QEMU_ARCH_ALL)
 STEXI
 
+iSCSI parameters such as username and password can also be specified via
+a configuration file. See qemu-doc for more information and examples.
+
 @item NBD
 QEMU supports NBD (Network Block Devices) both using TCP protocol as well
 as Unix Domain Sockets.
diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index 8904db1..3320b7a 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -169,6 +169,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 #define MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES 1
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_LIBISCSI
+extern const char *iscsi_name;
+#endif
+
 static const char *data_dir;
 const char *bios_name = NULL;
 enum vga_retrace_method vga_retrace_method = VGA_RETRACE_DUMB;
@@ -3074,6 +3078,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
 			os_set_proc_name(p);
 		     }	
 		 }	
+#ifdef CONFIG_LIBISCSI
+                iscsi_name = qemu_name;
+#endif
                 break;
             case QEMU_OPTION_prom_env:
                 if (nb_prom_envs >= MAX_PROM_ENVS) {