diff --git a/block/block-backend.c b/block/block-backend.c
index 1fb070b4e4..e042544025 100644
--- a/block/block-backend.c
+++ b/block/block-backend.c
@@ -1303,16 +1303,16 @@ int blk_get_flags(BlockBackend *blk)
     }
 }
 
-/* Returns the maximum transfer length, in sectors; guaranteed nonzero */
-int blk_get_max_transfer_length(BlockBackend *blk)
+/* Returns the maximum transfer length, in bytes; guaranteed nonzero */
+uint32_t blk_get_max_transfer(BlockBackend *blk)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs = blk_bs(blk);
-    int max = 0;
+    uint32_t max = 0;
 
     if (bs) {
-        max = bs->bl.max_transfer_length;
+        max = bs->bl.max_transfer;
     }
-    return MIN_NON_ZERO(max, BDRV_REQUEST_MAX_SECTORS);
+    return MIN_NON_ZERO(max, INT_MAX);
 }
 
 int blk_get_max_iov(BlockBackend *blk)
diff --git a/block/io.c b/block/io.c
index 323e822dd4..8ca9d43724 100644
--- a/block/io.c
+++ b/block/io.c
@@ -88,8 +88,8 @@ void bdrv_refresh_limits(BlockDriverState *bs, Error **errp)
             error_propagate(errp, local_err);
             return;
         }
-        bs->bl.opt_transfer_length = bs->file->bs->bl.opt_transfer_length;
-        bs->bl.max_transfer_length = bs->file->bs->bl.max_transfer_length;
+        bs->bl.opt_transfer = bs->file->bs->bl.opt_transfer;
+        bs->bl.max_transfer = bs->file->bs->bl.max_transfer;
         bs->bl.min_mem_alignment = bs->file->bs->bl.min_mem_alignment;
         bs->bl.opt_mem_alignment = bs->file->bs->bl.opt_mem_alignment;
         bs->bl.max_iov = bs->file->bs->bl.max_iov;
@@ -107,12 +107,10 @@ void bdrv_refresh_limits(BlockDriverState *bs, Error **errp)
             error_propagate(errp, local_err);
             return;
         }
-        bs->bl.opt_transfer_length =
-            MAX(bs->bl.opt_transfer_length,
-                bs->backing->bs->bl.opt_transfer_length);
-        bs->bl.max_transfer_length =
-            MIN_NON_ZERO(bs->bl.max_transfer_length,
-                         bs->backing->bs->bl.max_transfer_length);
+        bs->bl.opt_transfer = MAX(bs->bl.opt_transfer,
+                                  bs->backing->bs->bl.opt_transfer);
+        bs->bl.max_transfer = MIN_NON_ZERO(bs->bl.max_transfer,
+                                           bs->backing->bs->bl.max_transfer);
         bs->bl.opt_mem_alignment =
             MAX(bs->bl.opt_mem_alignment,
                 bs->backing->bs->bl.opt_mem_alignment);
@@ -1156,7 +1154,8 @@ int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_readv(BlockDriverState *bs, int64_t sector_num,
     return bdrv_co_do_readv(bs, sector_num, nb_sectors, qiov, 0);
 }
 
-#define MAX_WRITE_ZEROES_BOUNCE_BUFFER 32768
+/* Maximum buffer for write zeroes fallback, in bytes */
+#define MAX_WRITE_ZEROES_BOUNCE_BUFFER (32768 << BDRV_SECTOR_BITS)
 
 static int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_do_pwrite_zeroes(BlockDriverState *bs,
     int64_t offset, int count, BdrvRequestFlags flags)
@@ -1214,7 +1213,7 @@ static int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_do_pwrite_zeroes(BlockDriverState *bs,
 
         if (ret == -ENOTSUP) {
             /* Fall back to bounce buffer if write zeroes is unsupported */
-            int max_xfer_len = MIN_NON_ZERO(bs->bl.max_transfer_length,
+            int max_transfer = MIN_NON_ZERO(bs->bl.max_transfer,
                                             MAX_WRITE_ZEROES_BOUNCE_BUFFER);
             BdrvRequestFlags write_flags = flags & ~BDRV_REQ_ZERO_WRITE;
 
@@ -1225,7 +1224,7 @@ static int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_do_pwrite_zeroes(BlockDriverState *bs,
                 write_flags &= ~BDRV_REQ_FUA;
                 need_flush = true;
             }
-            num = MIN(num, max_xfer_len << BDRV_SECTOR_BITS);
+            num = MIN(num, max_transfer);
             iov.iov_len = num;
             if (iov.iov_base == NULL) {
                 iov.iov_base = qemu_try_blockalign(bs, num);
@@ -1242,7 +1241,7 @@ static int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_do_pwrite_zeroes(BlockDriverState *bs,
             /* Keep bounce buffer around if it is big enough for all
              * all future requests.
              */
-            if (num < max_xfer_len << BDRV_SECTOR_BITS) {
+            if (num < max_transfer) {
                 qemu_vfree(iov.iov_base);
                 iov.iov_base = NULL;
             }
diff --git a/block/iscsi.c b/block/iscsi.c
index 721afb7a74..bde4a04a74 100644
--- a/block/iscsi.c
+++ b/block/iscsi.c
@@ -473,9 +473,10 @@ iscsi_co_writev_flags(BlockDriverState *bs, int64_t sector_num, int nb_sectors,
         return -EINVAL;
     }
 
-    if (bs->bl.max_transfer_length && nb_sectors > bs->bl.max_transfer_length) {
+    if (bs->bl.max_transfer &&
+        nb_sectors << BDRV_SECTOR_BITS > bs->bl.max_transfer) {
         error_report("iSCSI Error: Write of %d sectors exceeds max_xfer_len "
-                     "of %d sectors", nb_sectors, bs->bl.max_transfer_length);
+                     "of %" PRIu32 " bytes", nb_sectors, bs->bl.max_transfer);
         return -EINVAL;
     }
 
@@ -650,9 +651,10 @@ static int coroutine_fn iscsi_co_readv(BlockDriverState *bs,
         return -EINVAL;
     }
 
-    if (bs->bl.max_transfer_length && nb_sectors > bs->bl.max_transfer_length) {
+    if (bs->bl.max_transfer &&
+        nb_sectors << BDRV_SECTOR_BITS > bs->bl.max_transfer) {
         error_report("iSCSI Error: Read of %d sectors exceeds max_xfer_len "
-                     "of %d sectors", nb_sectors, bs->bl.max_transfer_length);
+                     "of %" PRIu32 " bytes", nb_sectors, bs->bl.max_transfer);
         return -EINVAL;
     }
 
@@ -1708,7 +1710,7 @@ static void iscsi_refresh_limits(BlockDriverState *bs, Error **errp)
      * iscsi_open(): iscsi targets don't change their limits. */
 
     IscsiLun *iscsilun = bs->opaque;
-    uint32_t max_xfer_len = iscsilun->use_16_for_rw ? 0xffffffff : 0xffff;
+    uint64_t max_xfer_len = iscsilun->use_16_for_rw ? 0xffffffff : 0xffff;
 
     bs->request_alignment = iscsilun->block_size;
 
@@ -1716,7 +1718,9 @@ static void iscsi_refresh_limits(BlockDriverState *bs, Error **errp)
         max_xfer_len = MIN(max_xfer_len, iscsilun->bl.max_xfer_len);
     }
 
-    bs->bl.max_transfer_length = sector_limits_lun2qemu(max_xfer_len, iscsilun);
+    if (max_xfer_len * iscsilun->block_size < INT_MAX) {
+        bs->bl.max_transfer = max_xfer_len * iscsilun->block_size;
+    }
 
     if (iscsilun->lbp.lbpu) {
         if (iscsilun->bl.max_unmap < 0xffffffff) {
@@ -1739,8 +1743,11 @@ static void iscsi_refresh_limits(BlockDriverState *bs, Error **errp)
     } else {
         bs->bl.pwrite_zeroes_alignment = iscsilun->block_size;
     }
-    bs->bl.opt_transfer_length =
-        sector_limits_lun2qemu(iscsilun->bl.opt_xfer_len, iscsilun);
+    if (iscsilun->bl.opt_xfer_len &&
+        iscsilun->bl.opt_xfer_len < INT_MAX / iscsilun->block_size) {
+        bs->bl.opt_transfer = pow2floor(iscsilun->bl.opt_xfer_len *
+                                        iscsilun->block_size);
+    }
 }
 
 /* Note that this will not re-establish a connection with an iSCSI target - it
diff --git a/block/nbd.c b/block/nbd.c
index bf67c8a70b..f5511ea1d4 100644
--- a/block/nbd.c
+++ b/block/nbd.c
@@ -363,7 +363,7 @@ static int nbd_co_flush(BlockDriverState *bs)
 static void nbd_refresh_limits(BlockDriverState *bs, Error **errp)
 {
     bs->bl.max_discard = NBD_MAX_SECTORS;
-    bs->bl.max_transfer_length = NBD_MAX_SECTORS;
+    bs->bl.max_transfer = NBD_MAX_BUFFER_SIZE;
 }
 
 static int nbd_co_discard(BlockDriverState *bs, int64_t sector_num,
diff --git a/block/raw-posix.c b/block/raw-posix.c
index bef7a671a6..8da2f94ec4 100644
--- a/block/raw-posix.c
+++ b/block/raw-posix.c
@@ -745,8 +745,8 @@ static void raw_refresh_limits(BlockDriverState *bs, Error **errp)
     if (!fstat(s->fd, &st)) {
         if (S_ISBLK(st.st_mode)) {
             int ret = hdev_get_max_transfer_length(s->fd);
-            if (ret >= 0) {
-                bs->bl.max_transfer_length = ret;
+            if (ret > 0 && ret <= BDRV_REQUEST_MAX_SECTORS) {
+                bs->bl.max_transfer = pow2floor(ret << BDRV_SECTOR_BITS);
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/hw/block/virtio-blk.c b/hw/block/virtio-blk.c
index dd94cd4dc7..ae86e944ea 100644
--- a/hw/block/virtio-blk.c
+++ b/hw/block/virtio-blk.c
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ static int multireq_compare(const void *a, const void *b)
 void virtio_blk_submit_multireq(BlockBackend *blk, MultiReqBuffer *mrb)
 {
     int i = 0, start = 0, num_reqs = 0, niov = 0, nb_sectors = 0;
-    int max_xfer_len;
+    uint32_t max_transfer;
     int64_t sector_num = 0;
 
     if (mrb->num_reqs == 1) {
@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ void virtio_blk_submit_multireq(BlockBackend *blk, MultiReqBuffer *mrb)
         return;
     }
 
-    max_xfer_len = blk_get_max_transfer_length(mrb->reqs[0]->dev->blk);
+    max_transfer = blk_get_max_transfer(mrb->reqs[0]->dev->blk);
 
     qsort(mrb->reqs, mrb->num_reqs, sizeof(*mrb->reqs),
           &multireq_compare);
@@ -409,8 +409,9 @@ void virtio_blk_submit_multireq(BlockBackend *blk, MultiReqBuffer *mrb)
              */
             if (sector_num + nb_sectors != req->sector_num ||
                 niov > blk_get_max_iov(blk) - req->qiov.niov ||
-                req->qiov.size / BDRV_SECTOR_SIZE > max_xfer_len ||
-                nb_sectors > max_xfer_len - req->qiov.size / BDRV_SECTOR_SIZE) {
+                req->qiov.size > max_transfer ||
+                nb_sectors > (max_transfer -
+                              req->qiov.size) / BDRV_SECTOR_SIZE) {
                 submit_requests(blk, mrb, start, num_reqs, niov);
                 num_reqs = 0;
             }
diff --git a/hw/scsi/scsi-generic.c b/hw/scsi/scsi-generic.c
index 0cb8568f1f..7a588a7ad4 100644
--- a/hw/scsi/scsi-generic.c
+++ b/hw/scsi/scsi-generic.c
@@ -225,14 +225,14 @@ static void scsi_read_complete(void * opaque, int ret)
     if (s->type == TYPE_DISK &&
         r->req.cmd.buf[0] == INQUIRY &&
         r->req.cmd.buf[2] == 0xb0) {
-        uint32_t max_xfer_len = blk_get_max_transfer_length(s->conf.blk) /
-            (s->blocksize / BDRV_SECTOR_SIZE);
+        uint32_t max_transfer =
+            blk_get_max_transfer(s->conf.blk) / s->blocksize;
 
-        assert(max_xfer_len);
-        stl_be_p(&r->buf[8], max_xfer_len);
+        assert(max_transfer);
+        stl_be_p(&r->buf[8], max_transfer);
         /* Also take care of the opt xfer len. */
-        if (ldl_be_p(&r->buf[12]) > max_xfer_len) {
-            stl_be_p(&r->buf[12], max_xfer_len);
+        if (ldl_be_p(&r->buf[12]) > max_transfer) {
+            stl_be_p(&r->buf[12], max_transfer);
         }
     }
     scsi_req_data(&r->req, len);
diff --git a/include/block/block_int.h b/include/block/block_int.h
index 205715600b..7d2b152779 100644
--- a/include/block/block_int.h
+++ b/include/block/block_int.h
@@ -338,11 +338,14 @@ typedef struct BlockLimits {
      * power of 2, and less than max_pwrite_zeroes if that is set */
     uint32_t pwrite_zeroes_alignment;
 
-    /* optimal transfer length in sectors */
-    int opt_transfer_length;
+    /* optimal transfer length in bytes (must be power of 2, and
+     * multiple of bs->request_alignment), or 0 if no preferred size */
+    uint32_t opt_transfer;
 
-    /* maximal transfer length in sectors */
-    int max_transfer_length;
+    /* maximal transfer length in bytes (need not be power of 2, but
+     * should be multiple of opt_transfer), or 0 for no 32-bit limit.
+     * For now, anything larger than INT_MAX is clamped down. */
+    uint32_t max_transfer;
 
     /* memory alignment so that no bounce buffer is needed */
     size_t min_mem_alignment;
diff --git a/include/sysemu/block-backend.h b/include/sysemu/block-backend.h
index c04af8ea46..2469a1c15b 100644
--- a/include/sysemu/block-backend.h
+++ b/include/sysemu/block-backend.h
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ bool blk_is_available(BlockBackend *blk);
 void blk_lock_medium(BlockBackend *blk, bool locked);
 void blk_eject(BlockBackend *blk, bool eject_flag);
 int blk_get_flags(BlockBackend *blk);
-int blk_get_max_transfer_length(BlockBackend *blk);
+uint32_t blk_get_max_transfer(BlockBackend *blk);
 int blk_get_max_iov(BlockBackend *blk);
 void blk_set_guest_block_size(BlockBackend *blk, int align);
 void *blk_try_blockalign(BlockBackend *blk, size_t size);
diff --git a/qemu-img.c b/qemu-img.c
index 235168646e..046b267420 100644
--- a/qemu-img.c
+++ b/qemu-img.c
@@ -2085,13 +2085,13 @@ static int img_convert(int argc, char **argv)
     }
     out_bs = blk_bs(out_blk);
 
-    /* increase bufsectors from the default 4096 (2M) if opt_transfer_length
+    /* increase bufsectors from the default 4096 (2M) if opt_transfer
      * or discard_alignment of the out_bs is greater. Limit to 32768 (16MB)
      * as maximum. */
     bufsectors = MIN(32768,
-                     MAX(bufsectors, MAX(out_bs->bl.opt_transfer_length,
-                                         out_bs->bl.discard_alignment))
-                    );
+                     MAX(bufsectors,
+                         MAX(out_bs->bl.opt_transfer >> BDRV_SECTOR_BITS,
+                             out_bs->bl.discard_alignment)));
 
     if (skip_create) {
         int64_t output_sectors = blk_nb_sectors(out_blk);