diff --git a/Makefile.target b/Makefile.target
index 8d146c5..fd86eeb 100644
--- a/Makefile.target
+++ b/Makefile.target
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ ifdef CONFIG_SOFTMMU
 obj-y = vl.o monitor.o pci.o machine.o gdbstub.o
 # virtio has to be here due to weird dependency between PCI and virtio-net.
 # need to fix this properly
-obj-y += virtio-blk.o virtio-balloon.o virtio-net.o virtio-console.o virtio-pci.o
+obj-y += virtio-blk.o virtio-balloon.o virtio-net.o virtio-serial-bus.o virtio-console.o virtio-pci.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_KVM) += kvm.o kvm-all.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_ISA_MMIO) += isa_mmio.o
 LIBS+=-lz
diff --git a/hw/pc.c b/hw/pc.c
index 408d6d6..3dbe718 100644
--- a/hw/pc.c
+++ b/hw/pc.c
@@ -1319,15 +1319,6 @@ static void pc_init1(ram_addr_t ram_size,
             pci_create_simple(pci_bus, -1, "lsi53c895a");
         }
     }
-
-    /* Add virtio console devices */
-    if (pci_enabled) {
-        for(i = 0; i < MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES; i++) {
-            if (virtcon_hds[i]) {
-                pci_create_simple(pci_bus, -1, "virtio-console-pci");
-            }
-        }
-    }
 }
 
 static void pc_init_pci(ram_addr_t ram_size,
diff --git a/hw/ppc440_bamboo.c b/hw/ppc440_bamboo.c
index a488240..1ab9872 100644
--- a/hw/ppc440_bamboo.c
+++ b/hw/ppc440_bamboo.c
@@ -108,13 +108,6 @@ static void bamboo_init(ram_addr_t ram_size,
     env = ppc440ep_init(&ram_size, &pcibus, pci_irq_nrs, 1, cpu_model);
 
     if (pcibus) {
-        /* Add virtio console devices */
-        for(i = 0; i < MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES; i++) {
-            if (virtcon_hds[i]) {
-                pci_create_simple(pcibus, -1, "virtio-console-pci");
-            }
-        }
-
         /* Register network interfaces. */
         for (i = 0; i < nb_nics; i++) {
             /* There are no PCI NICs on the Bamboo board, but there are
diff --git a/hw/qdev.c b/hw/qdev.c
index 20f931c..374d2d0 100644
--- a/hw/qdev.c
+++ b/hw/qdev.c
@@ -321,13 +321,9 @@ void qdev_machine_creation_done(void)
 CharDriverState *qdev_init_chardev(DeviceState *dev)
 {
     static int next_serial;
-    static int next_virtconsole;
+
     /* FIXME: This is a nasty hack that needs to go away.  */
-    if (strncmp(dev->info->name, "virtio", 6) == 0) {
-        return virtcon_hds[next_virtconsole++];
-    } else {
-        return serial_hds[next_serial++];
-    }
+    return serial_hds[next_serial++];
 }
 
 BusState *qdev_get_parent_bus(DeviceState *dev)
diff --git a/hw/virtio-console.c b/hw/virtio-console.c
index 57f8f89..a14133b 100644
--- a/hw/virtio-console.c
+++ b/hw/virtio-console.c
@@ -1,143 +1,109 @@
 /*
- * Virtio Console Device
+ * Virtio Console and Generic Port Devices
  *
- * Copyright IBM, Corp. 2008
+ * Copyright Red Hat, Inc. 2009
  *
  * Authors:
- *  Christian Ehrhardt <ehrhardt@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
+ *  Amit Shah <amit.shah@redhat.com>
  *
  * This work is licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL, version 2.  See
  * the COPYING file in the top-level directory.
- *
  */
 
-#include "hw.h"
 #include "qemu-char.h"
-#include "virtio.h"
-#include "virtio-console.h"
-
+#include "virtio-serial.h"
 
-typedef struct VirtIOConsole
-{
-    VirtIODevice vdev;
-    VirtQueue *ivq, *ovq;
+typedef struct VirtConsole {
+    VirtIOSerialPort port;
     CharDriverState *chr;
-} VirtIOConsole;
+} VirtConsole;
 
-static VirtIOConsole *to_virtio_console(VirtIODevice *vdev)
-{
-    return (VirtIOConsole *)vdev;
-}
 
-static void virtio_console_handle_output(VirtIODevice *vdev, VirtQueue *vq)
+/* Callback function that's called when the guest sends us data */
+static size_t flush_buf(VirtIOSerialPort *port, const uint8_t *buf, size_t len)
 {
-    VirtIOConsole *s = to_virtio_console(vdev);
-    VirtQueueElement elem;
-
-    while (virtqueue_pop(vq, &elem)) {
-        ssize_t len = 0;
-        int d;
-
-        for (d = 0; d < elem.out_num; d++) {
-            len += qemu_chr_write(s->chr, (uint8_t *)elem.out_sg[d].iov_base,
-                                  elem.out_sg[d].iov_len);
-        }
-        virtqueue_push(vq, &elem, len);
-        virtio_notify(vdev, vq);
-    }
-}
+    VirtConsole *vcon = DO_UPCAST(VirtConsole, port, port);
 
-static void virtio_console_handle_input(VirtIODevice *vdev, VirtQueue *vq)
-{
+    return qemu_chr_write(vcon->chr, buf, len);
 }
 
-static uint32_t virtio_console_get_features(VirtIODevice *vdev)
-{
-    return 0;
-}
 
-static int vcon_can_read(void *opaque)
+/* Readiness of the guest to accept data on a port */
+static int chr_can_read(void *opaque)
 {
-    VirtIOConsole *s = (VirtIOConsole *) opaque;
-
-    if (!virtio_queue_ready(s->ivq) ||
-        !(s->vdev.status & VIRTIO_CONFIG_S_DRIVER_OK) ||
-        virtio_queue_empty(s->ivq))
-        return 0;
-
-    /* current implementations have a page sized buffer.
-     * We fall back to a one byte per read if there is not enough room.
-     * It would be cool to have a function that returns the available byte
-     * instead of checking for a limit */
-    if (virtqueue_avail_bytes(s->ivq, TARGET_PAGE_SIZE, 0))
-        return TARGET_PAGE_SIZE;
-    if (virtqueue_avail_bytes(s->ivq, 1, 0))
-        return 1;
-    return 0;
-}
+    VirtConsole *vcon = opaque;
 
-static void vcon_read(void *opaque, const uint8_t *buf, int size)
-{
-    VirtIOConsole *s = (VirtIOConsole *) opaque;
-    VirtQueueElement elem;
-    int offset = 0;
-
-    /* The current kernel implementation has only one outstanding input
-     * buffer of PAGE_SIZE. Nevertheless, this function is prepared to
-     * handle multiple buffers with multiple sg element for input */
-    while (offset < size) {
-        int i = 0;
-        if (!virtqueue_pop(s->ivq, &elem))
-                break;
-        while (offset < size && i < elem.in_num) {
-            int len = MIN(elem.in_sg[i].iov_len, size - offset);
-            memcpy(elem.in_sg[i].iov_base, buf + offset, len);
-            offset += len;
-            i++;
-        }
-        virtqueue_push(s->ivq, &elem, size);
-    }
-    virtio_notify(&s->vdev, s->ivq);
+    return virtio_serial_guest_ready(&vcon->port);
 }
 
-static void vcon_event(void *opaque, int event)
+/* Send data from a char device over to the guest */
+static void chr_read(void *opaque, const uint8_t *buf, int size)
 {
-    /* we will ignore any event for the time being */
+    VirtConsole *vcon = opaque;
+
+    virtio_serial_write(&vcon->port, buf, size);
 }
 
-static void virtio_console_save(QEMUFile *f, void *opaque)
+static void chr_event(void *opaque, int event)
 {
-    VirtIOConsole *s = opaque;
+    VirtConsole *vcon = opaque;
 
-    virtio_save(&s->vdev, f);
+    switch (event) {
+    case CHR_EVENT_OPENED: {
+        virtio_serial_open(&vcon->port);
+        break;
+    }
+    case CHR_EVENT_CLOSED:
+        virtio_serial_close(&vcon->port);
+        break;
+    }
 }
 
-static int virtio_console_load(QEMUFile *f, void *opaque, int version_id)
+/* Virtio Console Ports */
+static int vcon_initfn(VirtIOSerialDevice *dev)
 {
-    VirtIOConsole *s = opaque;
-
-    if (version_id != 1)
-        return -EINVAL;
-
-    virtio_load(&s->vdev, f);
+    VirtIOSerialPort *port = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerialPort, dev, &dev->qdev);
+    VirtConsole *vcon = DO_UPCAST(VirtConsole, port, port);
+
+    port->info = dev->info;
+
+    /*
+     * We're not interested in data the guest sends while nothing is
+     * connected on the host side. Just ignore it instead of saving it
+     * for later consumption
+     */
+    port->cache_buffers = 0;
+
+    /* Tell the guest we're a console so it attaches us to an hvc console */
+    port->is_console = true;
+
+    /*
+     * For console devices, a tty is spawned on /dev/hvc0 and our
+     * /dev/vconNN will never be opened. Set this here.
+     */
+    port->guest_connected = true;
+
+    if (vcon->chr) {
+        qemu_chr_add_handlers(vcon->chr, chr_can_read, chr_read, chr_event,
+                              vcon);
+    }
     return 0;
 }
 
-VirtIODevice *virtio_console_init(DeviceState *dev)
+static VirtIOSerialPortInfo virtcon_info = {
+    .qdev.name     = "virtconsole",
+    .qdev.size     = sizeof(VirtConsole),
+    .init          = vcon_initfn,
+    .have_data     = flush_buf,
+    .qdev.props = (Property[]) {
+        DEFINE_PROP_CHR("chardev", VirtConsole, chr),
+        DEFINE_PROP_STRING("name", VirtConsole, port.name),
+        DEFINE_PROP_END_OF_LIST(),
+    },
+};
+
+static void virtcon_register(void)
 {
-    VirtIOConsole *s;
-    s = (VirtIOConsole *)virtio_common_init("virtio-console",
-                                            VIRTIO_ID_CONSOLE,
-                                            0, sizeof(VirtIOConsole));
-    s->vdev.get_features = virtio_console_get_features;
-
-    s->ivq = virtio_add_queue(&s->vdev, 128, virtio_console_handle_input);
-    s->ovq = virtio_add_queue(&s->vdev, 128, virtio_console_handle_output);
-
-    s->chr = qdev_init_chardev(dev);
-    qemu_chr_add_handlers(s->chr, vcon_can_read, vcon_read, vcon_event, s);
-
-    register_savevm("virtio-console", -1, 1, virtio_console_save, virtio_console_load, s);
-
-    return &s->vdev;
+    virtio_serial_port_qdev_register(&virtcon_info);
 }
+device_init(virtcon_register)
diff --git a/hw/virtio-console.h b/hw/virtio-console.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 84d0717..0000000
--- a/hw/virtio-console.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Virtio Console Support
- *
- * Copyright IBM, Corp. 2008
- *
- * Authors:
- *  Christian Ehrhardt <ehrhardt@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
- *
- * This work is licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL, version 2.  See
- * the COPYING file in the top-level directory.
- *
- */
-#ifndef _QEMU_VIRTIO_CONSOLE_H
-#define _QEMU_VIRTIO_CONSOLE_H
-
-/* The ID for virtio console */
-#define VIRTIO_ID_CONSOLE 3
-
-#endif
diff --git a/hw/virtio-pci.c b/hw/virtio-pci.c
index e07a2a7..cee15b7 100644
--- a/hw/virtio-pci.c
+++ b/hw/virtio-pci.c
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ static int virtio_blk_exit_pci(PCIDevice *pci_dev)
     return virtio_exit_pci(pci_dev);
 }
 
-static int virtio_console_init_pci(PCIDevice *pci_dev)
+static int virtio_serial_init_pci(PCIDevice *pci_dev)
 {
     VirtIOPCIProxy *proxy = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOPCIProxy, pci_dev, pci_dev);
     VirtIODevice *vdev;
@@ -477,7 +477,7 @@ static int virtio_console_init_pci(PCIDevice *pci_dev)
         proxy->class_code != PCI_CLASS_OTHERS)          /* qemu-kvm  */
         proxy->class_code = PCI_CLASS_COMMUNICATION_OTHER;
 
-    vdev = virtio_console_init(&pci_dev->qdev);
+    vdev = virtio_serial_init(&pci_dev->qdev);
     if (!vdev) {
         return -1;
     }
@@ -551,9 +551,9 @@ static PCIDeviceInfo virtio_info[] = {
         },
         .qdev.reset = virtio_pci_reset,
     },{
-        .qdev.name = "virtio-console-pci",
+        .qdev.name = "virtio-serial-pci",
         .qdev.size = sizeof(VirtIOPCIProxy),
-        .init      = virtio_console_init_pci,
+        .init      = virtio_serial_init_pci,
         .exit      = virtio_exit_pci,
         .qdev.props = (Property[]) {
             DEFINE_PROP_HEX32("class", VirtIOPCIProxy, class_code, 0),
diff --git a/hw/virtio-serial-bus.c b/hw/virtio-serial-bus.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f8281b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hw/virtio-serial-bus.c
@@ -0,0 +1,785 @@
+/*
+ * A bus for connecting virtio serial and console ports
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2009 Red Hat, Inc.
+ *
+ * Author(s):
+ *  Amit Shah <amit.shah@redhat.com>
+ *
+ * Some earlier parts are:
+ *  Copyright IBM, Corp. 2008
+ * authored by
+ *  Christian Ehrhardt <ehrhardt@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
+ *
+ * This work is licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL, version 2.  See
+ * the COPYING file in the top-level directory.
+ */
+
+#include "monitor.h"
+#include "qemu-queue.h"
+#include "sysbus.h"
+#include "virtio.h"
+#include "virtio-serial.h"
+
+/* The virtio-serial bus on top of which the ports will ride as devices */
+struct VirtIOSerialBus {
+    BusState qbus;
+    VirtIOSerial *vser;
+};
+
+struct VirtIOSerial {
+    VirtIODevice vdev;
+    VirtQueue *ivq, *ovq;
+
+    VirtIOSerialBus *bus;
+
+    VirtIOSerialPort* ports[MAX_VIRTIO_SERIAL_PORTS];
+    struct virtio_console_config config;
+
+    uint32_t guest_features;
+};
+
+/* This struct holds individual buffers received for each port */
+typedef struct VirtIOSerialPortBuffer {
+    QTAILQ_ENTRY(VirtIOSerialPortBuffer) next;
+
+    uint8_t *buf;
+
+    size_t len; /* length of the buffer */
+
+    /*
+     * The size of one write request as issued by the guest. The
+     * buffer could be split in this list but using the size value in
+     * the first buffer for each write we can identify complete
+     * writes
+     */
+    size_t size;
+} VirtIOSerialPortBuffer;
+
+
+static VirtIOSerialPort *get_port_from_id(VirtIOSerial *vser, uint32_t id)
+{
+    if (id > vser->config.nr_active_ports) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    return vser->ports[id];
+}
+
+static uint32_t get_id_from_port(VirtIOSerialPort *port)
+{
+    return port->id;
+}
+
+static bool use_multiport(VirtIOSerial *vser)
+{
+    return vser->guest_features & (1 << VIRTIO_CONSOLE_F_MULTIPORT);
+}
+
+static bool is_internal(uint32_t flags)
+{
+    return flags & VIRTIO_CONSOLE_ID_INTERNAL;
+}
+
+
+static size_t write_to_port(VirtIOSerialPort *port,
+                            const uint8_t *buf, size_t size, uint32_t flags)
+{
+    VirtQueue *vq = port->vser->ivq;
+    VirtQueueElement elem;
+    size_t offset = 0;
+    size_t len = 0;
+
+    if (!virtio_queue_ready(vq)) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    if (!use_multiport(port->vser) && is_internal(flags)) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    while (offset < size) {
+        struct virtio_console_header header;
+        int i, header_len;
+
+        header_len = use_multiport(port->vser) ? sizeof(header) : 0;
+
+        if (!virtqueue_pop(vq, &elem)) {
+            break;
+        }
+        if (elem.in_sg[0].iov_len < header_len) {
+            /* We can't even store our port number in this buffer. Bug? */
+            qemu_error("virtio-serial: size %zd less than expected\n",
+                    elem.in_sg[0].iov_len);
+            exit(1);
+        }
+        header.id = get_id_from_port(port);
+        header.flags = flags;
+        memcpy(elem.in_sg[0].iov_base, &header, header_len);
+
+        for (i = 0; offset < size && i < elem.in_num; i++) {
+            len = MIN(elem.in_sg[i].iov_len - header_len, size - offset);
+
+            memcpy(elem.in_sg[i].iov_base + header_len, buf + offset, len);
+            offset += len;
+            header_len = 0;
+        }
+        header_len = use_multiport(port->vser) ? sizeof(header) : 0;
+        virtqueue_push(vq, &elem, len + header_len);
+    }
+    virtio_notify(&port->vser->vdev, vq);
+    return offset;
+}
+
+static void send_control_event(VirtIOSerialPort *port,
+                               struct virtio_console_control *cpkt)
+{
+    write_to_port(port, (uint8_t *)cpkt, sizeof(*cpkt),
+                  VIRTIO_CONSOLE_ID_INTERNAL);
+}
+
+
+static bool has_complete_data(VirtIOSerialPort *port)
+{
+    VirtIOSerialPortBuffer *buf;
+    size_t len, size;
+
+    len = 0;
+    size = 0;
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(buf, &port->unflushed_buffer_head, next) {
+        if (!buf->size && buf == QTAILQ_FIRST(&port->unflushed_buffer_head)) {
+            /* We have a buffer that's lost its way; just flush it */
+            return true;
+        }
+        if (size && buf->size) {
+            /* Start of the next write request */
+            return true;
+        }
+        if (buf->size) {
+            size = buf->size;
+        }
+        len += buf->len;
+        if (len == size) {
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+    return false;
+}
+
+static void flush_queue(VirtIOSerialPort *port)
+{
+    VirtIOSerialPortBuffer *buf, *buf2;
+    uint8_t *outbuf;
+    size_t outlen, outsize;
+
+    /*
+     * If a device is interested in buffering packets till it's
+     * opened, cache the data the guest sends us till a connection is
+     * established.
+     */
+    if (!port->host_connected && port->cache_buffers) {
+        return;
+    }
+    while (!QTAILQ_EMPTY(&port->unflushed_buffer_head)) {
+        if (!has_complete_data(port)) {
+            break;
+        }
+        buf = QTAILQ_FIRST(&port->unflushed_buffer_head);
+        if (!buf->size) {
+            /*
+             * This is a buf that didn't get consumed as part of a
+             * previous data stream. Bad thing, shouldn't
+             * happen. But let's handle it nonetheless
+             */
+            pthread_mutex_lock(&port->buffer_list_lock);
+            QTAILQ_REMOVE(&port->unflushed_buffer_head, buf, next);
+            port->nr_bytes -= buf->len;
+            pthread_mutex_unlock(&port->buffer_list_lock);
+            if (port->host_connected) {
+                port->info->have_data(port, buf->buf, buf->len);
+            }
+            qemu_free(buf->buf);
+            qemu_free(buf);
+            continue;
+        }
+        outlen = 0;
+        outsize = buf->size;
+        outbuf = qemu_mallocz(outsize);
+        QTAILQ_FOREACH_SAFE(buf, &port->unflushed_buffer_head, next, buf2) {
+            memcpy(outbuf + outlen, buf->buf, buf->len);
+            outlen += buf->len;
+            pthread_mutex_lock(&port->buffer_list_lock);
+            QTAILQ_REMOVE(&port->unflushed_buffer_head, buf, next);
+            port->nr_bytes -= buf->len;
+            pthread_mutex_unlock(&port->buffer_list_lock);
+            qemu_free(buf->buf);
+            qemu_free(buf);
+
+            if (outlen == outsize) {
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        if (port->host_connected) {
+            port->info->have_data(port, outbuf, outlen);
+        }
+        qemu_free(outbuf);
+    }
+    if (port->host_throttled && port->nr_bytes < port->byte_limit) {
+        struct virtio_console_control cpkt;
+
+        port->host_throttled = false;
+        cpkt.event = VIRTIO_CONSOLE_THROTTLE_PORT;
+        cpkt.value = false;
+        send_control_event(port, &cpkt);
+    }
+}
+
+/* Functions for use inside qemu to open and read from/write to ports */
+int virtio_serial_open(VirtIOSerialPort *port)
+{
+    struct virtio_console_control cpkt;
+
+    /* Don't allow opening an already-open port */
+    if (port->host_connected) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    /* Send port open notification to the guest */
+    port->host_connected = true;
+    cpkt.event = VIRTIO_CONSOLE_PORT_OPEN;
+    cpkt.value = 1;
+    send_control_event(port, &cpkt);
+
+    /* Flush any buffers that were cached while the port was closed */
+    if (port->cache_buffers && port->info->have_data) {
+        flush_queue(port);
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+int virtio_serial_close(VirtIOSerialPort *port)
+{
+    struct VirtIOSerialPortBuffer *buf, *buf2;
+    struct virtio_console_control cpkt;
+
+    port->host_connected = false;
+    cpkt.event = VIRTIO_CONSOLE_PORT_OPEN;
+    cpkt.value = 0;
+    send_control_event(port, &cpkt);
+
+    if (!port->cache_buffers) {
+        pthread_mutex_lock(&port->buffer_list_lock);
+        QTAILQ_FOREACH_SAFE(buf, &port->unflushed_buffer_head, next, buf2) {
+            QTAILQ_REMOVE(&port->unflushed_buffer_head, buf, next);
+            qemu_free(buf->buf);
+            qemu_free(buf);
+        }
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&port->buffer_list_lock);
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+/* Individual ports/apps call this function to write to the guest. */
+size_t virtio_serial_write(VirtIOSerialPort *port, const uint8_t *buf, size_t size)
+{
+    if (!port || !port->host_connected || !port->guest_connected) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    return write_to_port(port, buf, size, false);
+}
+
+/*
+ * Readiness of the guest to accept data on a port.
+ * Returns max. data the guest can receive
+ */
+size_t virtio_serial_guest_ready(VirtIOSerialPort *port)
+{
+    VirtQueue *vq = port->vser->ivq;
+    size_t size, header_len;
+
+    if (use_multiport(port->vser)) {
+        header_len = sizeof(struct virtio_console_header);
+    } else {
+        header_len = 0;
+    }
+    if (!virtio_queue_ready(vq) ||
+        !(port->vser->vdev.status & VIRTIO_CONFIG_S_DRIVER_OK) ||
+        virtio_queue_empty(vq)) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    if (use_multiport(port->vser) && !port->guest_connected) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    size = TARGET_PAGE_SIZE;
+    if (virtqueue_avail_bytes(vq, size, 0)) {
+        return size - header_len;
+    }
+    size = header_len + 1;
+    if (virtqueue_avail_bytes(vq, size, 0)) {
+        return size - header_len;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+
+/* Guest wants to notify us of some event */
+static void handle_control_message(VirtIOSerialPort *port,
+                                   struct virtio_console_control *cpkt)
+{
+    uint8_t *buffer;
+    size_t buffer_len;
+
+    switch(cpkt->event) {
+    case VIRTIO_CONSOLE_PORT_OPEN:
+        port->guest_connected = cpkt->value;
+        if (cpkt->value && port->info->guest_open) {
+            /* Send the guest opened notification if an app is interested */
+            port->info->guest_open(port);
+        }
+        if (!cpkt->value && port->info->guest_close) {
+            /* Send the guest closed notification if an app is interested */
+            port->info->guest_close(port);
+        }
+        break;
+    case VIRTIO_CONSOLE_PORT_NAME:
+        if (port->name) {
+            buffer_len = sizeof(*cpkt) + strlen(port->name) + 1;
+            buffer = qemu_malloc(buffer_len);
+
+            memcpy(buffer, cpkt, sizeof(*cpkt));
+            memcpy(buffer + sizeof(*cpkt), port->name, strlen(port->name));
+            buffer[buffer_len - 1] = 0;
+
+            write_to_port(port, buffer, buffer_len, VIRTIO_CONSOLE_ID_INTERNAL);
+            qemu_free(buffer);
+        }
+        /*
+         * Now that we know the guest asked for the port name, we're
+         * sure the guest has initialised whatever state is necessary
+         * for this port. Now's a good time to let the guest know if
+         * this port is a console port so that the guest can hook it
+         * up to hvc.
+         */
+        if (port->is_console) {
+            cpkt->event = VIRTIO_CONSOLE_CONSOLE_PORT;
+            cpkt->value = true;
+            send_control_event(port, cpkt);
+        }
+        /*
+         * We also want to signal to the guest whether or not the port
+         * is set to caching the buffers when disconnected.
+         */
+        if (port->cache_buffers) {
+            cpkt->event = VIRTIO_CONSOLE_CACHE_BUFFERS;
+            cpkt->value = true;
+            send_control_event(port, cpkt);
+        }
+        /*
+         * If any limit for guest throttling has been specified, send
+         * it out to the guest. The guest accepts this limit only in MBs.
+         */
+        if (port->guest_byte_limit) {
+            cpkt->event = VIRTIO_CONSOLE_BUFFER_LIMIT;
+            cpkt->value = port->guest_byte_limit / (1024 * 1024);
+            send_control_event(port, cpkt);
+        }
+        /*
+         * When the guest has asked us for this information it means
+         * the guest is all setup and has its virtqueues
+         * initialised. If some app is interested in knowing about
+         * this event, let it know
+         */
+        if (port->info->guest_ready) {
+            port->info->guest_ready(port);
+        }
+        break;
+    case VIRTIO_CONSOLE_THROTTLE_PORT:
+        /*
+         * Just manipulating the guest_connected value is sufficient.
+         * We use this value only to check if guest is ready to accept
+         * any data we have to send
+         */
+        port->guest_connected = !cpkt->value;
+        break;
+    }
+}
+
+/*
+ * Guest wrote something to some port.
+ *
+ * Flush the data in the entire chunk that we received rather than
+ * splitting it into multiple buffers. VNC clients don't consume split
+ * buffers
+ */
+static void handle_output(VirtIODevice *vdev, VirtQueue *vq)
+{
+    VirtIOSerial *vser;
+    VirtQueueElement elem;
+
+    vser = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerial, vdev, vdev);
+
+    while (virtqueue_pop(vq, &elem)) {
+        VirtIOSerialPort *port;
+        VirtIOSerialPortBuffer *buf;
+        struct virtio_console_header header;
+        int header_len;
+
+        if (use_multiport(vser)) {
+            header_len = sizeof(header);
+
+            memcpy(&header, elem.out_sg[0].iov_base, header_len);
+            port = get_port_from_id(vser, header.id);
+        } else {
+            header_len = 0;
+            port = get_port_from_id(vser, 0);
+        }
+        if (!port) {
+            goto next_buf;
+        }
+        /*
+         * A port may not have any handler registered for consuming the
+         * data that the guest sends or it may not have a chardev associated
+         * with it. Just ignore the data in that case
+         */
+        if (!is_internal(header.flags) && !port->info->have_data) {
+            goto next_buf;
+        }
+        /* The guest always sends only one sg */
+        buf = qemu_mallocz(sizeof(*buf));
+        buf->len = elem.out_sg[0].iov_len - header_len;
+        buf->buf = qemu_mallocz(buf->len);
+        memcpy(buf->buf, elem.out_sg[0].iov_base + header_len, buf->len);
+
+        if (use_multiport(vser) && is_internal(header.flags)) {
+            handle_control_message(port,
+                                   (struct virtio_console_control *)buf->buf);
+            qemu_free(buf->buf);
+            qemu_free(buf);
+            goto next_buf;
+        }
+        pthread_mutex_lock(&port->buffer_list_lock);
+        QTAILQ_INSERT_TAIL(&port->unflushed_buffer_head, buf, next);
+        port->nr_bytes += buf->len;
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&port->buffer_list_lock);
+        if (use_multiport(vser)) {
+            /*
+             * Only the first buffer in a stream will have this
+             * set. This will help us identify the first buffer and
+             * the remaining buffers in the stream based on length
+             */
+            buf->size = header.size;
+        } else {
+            /* We always want to flush all the buffers in this case */
+            buf->size = buf->len;
+        }
+        if (!port->host_throttled && port->byte_limit &&
+	    port->nr_bytes >= port->byte_limit) {
+            struct virtio_console_control cpkt;
+
+            port->host_throttled = true;
+            cpkt.event = VIRTIO_CONSOLE_THROTTLE_PORT;
+            cpkt.value = true;
+            send_control_event(port, &cpkt);
+        }
+        flush_queue(port);
+    next_buf:
+        virtqueue_push(vq, &elem, elem.out_sg[0].iov_len);
+    }
+    virtio_notify(vdev, vq);
+}
+
+static void handle_input(VirtIODevice *vdev, VirtQueue *vq)
+{
+}
+
+static uint32_t get_features(VirtIODevice *vdev)
+{
+    return 1 << VIRTIO_CONSOLE_F_MULTIPORT;
+}
+
+static void set_features(VirtIODevice *vdev, uint32_t features)
+{
+    VirtIOSerial *vser;
+
+    vser = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerial, vdev, vdev);
+    vser->guest_features = features;
+}
+
+/* Guest requested config info */
+static void get_config(VirtIODevice *vdev, uint8_t *config_data)
+{
+    VirtIOSerial *vser;
+
+    vser = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerial, vdev, vdev);
+    memcpy(config_data, &vser->config, sizeof(struct virtio_console_config));
+}
+
+static void set_config(VirtIODevice *vdev, const uint8_t *config_data)
+{
+    struct virtio_console_config config;
+
+    memcpy(&config, config_data, sizeof(config));
+}
+
+/*
+ * These booleans from the per-port struct are packed into a byte
+ * for optimising save/load
+ */
+#define GUEST_CONN    (1 << 0)
+#define HOST_THROTTLE (1 << 1)
+
+static void virtio_serial_save(QEMUFile *f, void *opaque)
+{
+    VirtIOSerial *s = opaque;
+    VirtIOSerialPort *port;
+    unsigned int i, nr_bufs;
+
+    /* The virtio device */
+    virtio_save(&s->vdev, f);
+    /* The config space */
+    qemu_put_be16s(f, &s->config.cols);
+    qemu_put_be16s(f, &s->config.rows);
+    qemu_put_be32s(f, &s->config.nr_active_ports);
+
+    /* Items in struct VirtIOSerial */
+    qemu_put_be32s(f, &s->guest_features);
+
+    /*
+     * Items in struct VirtIOSerialPort
+     */
+    for (i = 0; i < s->config.nr_active_ports; i++) {
+        uint8_t port_bools = 0;
+        VirtIOSerialPortBuffer *buf;
+
+        port = get_port_from_id(s, i);
+        if (!port) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        /*
+         * We put the port number because we may not have an active
+         * port at id 0 that's reserved for a console port.
+         */
+        qemu_put_be32s(f, &i);
+        qemu_put_be64s(f, &port->byte_limit);
+        qemu_put_be64s(f, &port->nr_bytes);
+        qemu_put_be64s(f, &port->guest_byte_limit);
+        if (port->guest_connected) {
+            port_bools |= GUEST_CONN;
+        }
+        if (port->host_throttled) {
+            port_bools |= HOST_THROTTLE;
+        }
+        qemu_put_byte(f, port_bools);
+
+        /* All the pending buffers from active ports */
+        nr_bufs = 0;
+        QTAILQ_FOREACH(buf, &port->unflushed_buffer_head, next) {
+            nr_bufs++;
+        }
+        qemu_put_be32s(f, &nr_bufs);
+        if (!nr_bufs) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        QTAILQ_FOREACH(buf, &port->unflushed_buffer_head, next) {
+            qemu_put_be64s(f, &buf->len);
+            qemu_put_be64s(f, &buf->size);
+            qemu_put_buffer(f, buf->buf, buf->len);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+static int virtio_serial_load(QEMUFile *f, void *opaque, int version_id)
+{
+    VirtIOSerial *s = opaque;
+    VirtIOSerialPort *port;
+    unsigned int i;
+
+    if (version_id > 2) {
+        return -EINVAL;
+    }
+    /* The virtio device */
+    virtio_load(&s->vdev, f);
+
+    if (version_id < 2) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    /* The config space */
+    qemu_get_be16s(f, &s->config.cols);
+    qemu_get_be16s(f, &s->config.rows);
+    s->config.nr_active_ports = qemu_get_be32(f);
+
+    /* Items in struct VirtIOSerial */
+    qemu_get_be32s(f, &s->guest_features);
+
+    /*
+     * If no virtconsole port specified, the src won't send any
+     * port-specific information for port 0
+     */
+    if (get_port_from_id(s, 0)) {
+        i = 0;
+    } else {
+        i = 1;
+    }
+    /* Items in struct VirtIOSerialPort */
+    for (; i < s->config.nr_active_ports; i++) {
+        VirtIOSerialPortBuffer *buf;
+        uint32_t id;
+        unsigned int nr_bufs;
+        uint8_t port_bools;
+
+        id = qemu_get_be32(f);
+        port = get_port_from_id(s, id);
+
+        port->byte_limit = qemu_get_be64(f);
+        port->nr_bytes   = qemu_get_be64(f);
+        port->guest_byte_limit = qemu_get_be64(f);
+        port_bools = qemu_get_byte(f);
+        if (port_bools & GUEST_CONN) {
+            port->guest_connected = true;
+        }
+        if (port_bools & HOST_THROTTLE) {
+            port->host_throttled = true;
+        }
+        /* All the pending buffers from active ports */
+        qemu_get_be32s(f, &nr_bufs);
+        if (!nr_bufs) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        for (; nr_bufs; nr_bufs--) {
+            buf = qemu_malloc(sizeof(*buf));
+
+            qemu_get_be64s(f, &buf->len);
+            qemu_get_be64s(f, &buf->size);
+            buf->buf = qemu_malloc(buf->len);
+            qemu_get_buffer(f, buf->buf, buf->len);
+            QTAILQ_INSERT_TAIL(&port->unflushed_buffer_head, buf, next);
+        }
+        /*
+         * Applications might have internal state they track when they
+         * receive a guest_open() callback. Apps could also open a
+         * connection to this core in that case. So if the guest was
+         * open at the time of migration, send a guest_open callback
+         */
+        if (port->guest_connected && port->info->guest_open) {
+            port->info->guest_open(port);
+        }
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+static void virtser_bus_print(Monitor *mon, DeviceState *qdev, int indent);
+
+static struct BusInfo virtser_bus_info = {
+    .name      = "virtio-serial-bus",
+    .size      = sizeof(VirtIOSerialBus),
+    .print_dev = virtser_bus_print,
+};
+
+static VirtIOSerialBus *virtser_bus_new(DeviceState *dev)
+{
+    VirtIOSerialBus *bus;
+
+    bus = FROM_QBUS(VirtIOSerialBus, qbus_create(&virtser_bus_info, dev, NULL));
+    bus->qbus.allow_hotplug = 1;
+
+    return bus;
+}
+
+static void virtser_bus_print(Monitor *mon, DeviceState *qdev, int indent)
+{
+    VirtIOSerialDevice *dev = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerialDevice, qdev, qdev);
+    VirtIOSerialPort *port = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerialPort, dev, &dev->qdev);
+
+    monitor_printf(mon, "%*s id: %u, name: %s, is_console: %d, "
+                   "guest_connected: %d, host_connected: %d, "
+                   "host_throttled: %d, cache_buffers: %d\n",
+                   indent, "", port->id, port->name, port->is_console,
+                   port->guest_connected, port->host_connected,
+                   port->host_throttled, port->cache_buffers);
+    monitor_printf(mon, "%*s byte_limit: %zu, nr_bytes: %zu, "
+                   "guest_byte_limit: %zu\n",
+                   indent, "", port->byte_limit, port->nr_bytes,
+                   port->guest_byte_limit);
+}
+
+static int virtser_port_qdev_init(DeviceState *qdev, DeviceInfo *base)
+{
+    VirtIOSerialDevice *dev = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerialDevice, qdev, qdev);
+    VirtIOSerialPortInfo *info = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerialPortInfo, qdev, base);
+    VirtIOSerialPort *port = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerialPort, dev, &dev->qdev);
+    VirtIOSerialBus *bus = DO_UPCAST(VirtIOSerialBus, qbus, qdev->parent_bus);
+    int ret;
+
+    port->vser = bus->vser;
+
+    if (port->vser->config.nr_active_ports == MAX_VIRTIO_SERIAL_PORTS) {
+        qemu_error("virtio-serial-bus: Maximum device limit reached\n");
+        return -1;
+    }
+    dev->info = info;
+
+    ret = info->init(dev);
+    if (ret) {
+        return ret;
+    }
+    QTAILQ_INIT(&port->unflushed_buffer_head);
+    pthread_mutex_init(&port->buffer_list_lock, NULL);
+
+    if (port->is_console && !port->vser->ports[0]) {
+        /*
+         * This is the first console port we're seeing so put it up at
+         * location 0. This is done for backward compatibility (old
+         * kernel, new qemu).
+         */
+        port->id = 0;
+    } else {
+        port->id = port->vser->config.nr_active_ports++;
+    }
+    port->vser->ports[port->id] = port;
+    /* Send an update to the guest about this new port added */
+    virtio_notify_config(&port->vser->vdev);
+
+    return ret;
+}
+
+void virtio_serial_port_qdev_register(VirtIOSerialPortInfo *info)
+{
+    info->qdev.init = virtser_port_qdev_init;
+    info->qdev.bus_info = &virtser_bus_info;
+    qdev_register(&info->qdev);
+}
+
+VirtIODevice *virtio_serial_init(DeviceState *dev)
+{
+    VirtIOSerial *s;
+
+    s = (VirtIOSerial *)virtio_common_init("virtio-serial",
+                                            VIRTIO_ID_CONSOLE,
+                                            sizeof(struct virtio_console_config),
+                                            sizeof(VirtIOSerial));
+
+    s->vdev.get_features = get_features;
+    s->vdev.set_features = set_features;
+    s->vdev.get_config = get_config;
+    s->vdev.set_config = set_config;
+
+    /* Add queue for host to guest transfers */
+    s->ivq = virtio_add_queue(&s->vdev, 128, handle_input);
+    /* Add queue for guest to host transfers */
+    s->ovq = virtio_add_queue(&s->vdev, 128, handle_output);
+
+    /*
+     * Register for the savevm section with the virtio-console name
+     * to preserve backward compat
+     */
+    register_savevm("virtio-console", -1, 2, virtio_serial_save,
+                    virtio_serial_load, s);
+
+    /* Spawn a new virtio-serial bus on which the ports will ride as devices */
+    s->bus = virtser_bus_new(dev);
+    s->bus->vser = s;
+
+    /*
+     * Reserve location 0 for a console port for backward compat
+     * (old kernel, new qemu)
+     */
+    s->config.nr_active_ports = 1;
+
+    return &s->vdev;
+}
diff --git a/hw/virtio-serial.h b/hw/virtio-serial.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea36630
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hw/virtio-serial.h
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+/*
+ * Virtio Serial / Console Support
+ *
+ * Copyright IBM, Corp. 2008
+ * Copyright Red Hat, Inc. 2009
+ *
+ * Authors:
+ *  Christian Ehrhardt <ehrhardt@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
+ *  Amit Shah <amit.shah@redhat.com>
+ *
+ * This work is licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL, version 2.  See
+ * the COPYING file in the top-level directory.
+ *
+ */
+#ifndef _QEMU_VIRTIO_SERIAL_H
+#define _QEMU_VIRTIO_SERIAL_H
+
+#include <pthread.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include "qdev.h"
+
+/* == Interface shared between the guest kernel and qemu == */
+
+/* The ID for virtio console / serial ports */
+#define VIRTIO_ID_CONSOLE 3
+
+/* Invalid port number */
+#define VIRTIO_CONSOLE_BAD_ID		(~(uint32_t)0)
+
+/* Features supported */
+#define VIRTIO_CONSOLE_F_MULTIPORT	1
+
+struct virtio_console_config
+{
+    /*
+     * These two fields are used by VIRTIO_CONSOLE_F_SIZE which
+     * isn't implemented here yet
+     */
+    uint16_t cols;
+    uint16_t rows;
+
+    uint32_t nr_active_ports;
+} __attribute__((packed));
+
+struct virtio_console_control
+{
+    uint16_t event;
+    uint16_t value;
+};
+
+struct virtio_console_header {
+    uint32_t id; /* Port id */
+    uint32_t flags; /* Some message between host and guest */
+    uint32_t size; /* Size that's sent with the first buffer of each stream */
+} __attribute__((packed));
+
+/* Messages between host and guest */
+#define VIRTIO_CONSOLE_ID_INTERNAL	(1 << 0)
+
+/* Some events for the internal messages (control packets) */
+#define VIRTIO_CONSOLE_PORT_OPEN	0
+#define VIRTIO_CONSOLE_PORT_NAME	1
+#define VIRTIO_CONSOLE_CONSOLE_PORT	2
+#define VIRTIO_CONSOLE_CACHE_BUFFERS	3
+#define VIRTIO_CONSOLE_THROTTLE_PORT	4
+#define VIRTIO_CONSOLE_BUFFER_LIMIT	5
+
+/* == In-qemu interface == */
+
+/* Max. virtio console ports per device */
+#define MAX_VIRTIO_SERIAL_PORTS		64
+
+typedef struct VirtIOSerial VirtIOSerial;
+typedef struct VirtIOSerialBus VirtIOSerialBus;
+typedef struct VirtIOSerialPort VirtIOSerialPort;
+typedef struct VirtIOSerialPortInfo VirtIOSerialPortInfo;
+
+typedef struct VirtIOSerialDevice {
+    DeviceState qdev;
+    VirtIOSerialPortInfo *info;
+} VirtIOSerialDevice;
+
+/*
+ * This is the state that's shared between all the ports.  Some of the
+ * state is configurable via command-line options. Some of it can be
+ * set by individual devices in their initfn routines. Some of the
+ * state is set by the generic qdev device init routine.
+ */
+struct VirtIOSerialPort {
+    DeviceState dev;
+    VirtIOSerialPortInfo *info;
+
+    /*
+     * This field gives us the virtio device as well as the qdev bus
+     * that we are associated with
+     */
+    VirtIOSerial *vser;
+
+    /*
+     * This name is sent to the guest and exported via sysfs.
+     * The guest could create symlinks based on this information.
+     * The name is in the reverse fqdn format, like org.qemu.console.0
+     */
+    char *name;
+
+    /*
+     * This list holds buffers pushed by the guest in case the guest
+     * sent incomplete messages or the host connection was down and
+     * the device requested to cache the data.
+     */
+    QTAILQ_HEAD(, VirtIOSerialPortBuffer) unflushed_buffer_head;
+
+    /*
+     * This lock protects the unflushed_buffer_head list
+     */
+    pthread_mutex_t buffer_list_lock;
+
+    /*
+     * This id helps identify ports between the guest and the host.
+     * The guest sends a "header" with this id with each data packet
+     * that it sends and the host can then find out which associated
+     * device to send out this data to
+     */
+    uint32_t id;
+
+    /*
+     * Each port can specify the limit on number of bytes that can be
+     * outstanding in the unread buffers. This is to prevent any OOM
+     * situtation if a rogue process on the guest keeps injecting
+     * data.
+     */
+    size_t byte_limit;
+
+    /*
+     * The number of bytes we have queued up in our unread queue
+     */
+    size_t nr_bytes;
+
+    /*
+     * Per-port limit to restrict the outstanding buffers for the guest
+     */
+    size_t guest_byte_limit;
+
+    /*
+     * This boolean, when set, means "queue data that gets sent to
+     * this port when the host is not connected". The queued data, if
+     * any, is then sent out to the port when the host connection is
+     * opened.
+     */
+    int cache_buffers;
+
+    /* Identify if this is a port that binds with hvc in the guest */
+    bool is_console;
+
+    /* Is the corresponding guest device open? */
+    bool guest_connected;
+    /* Is this device open for IO on the host? */
+    bool host_connected;
+    /* Have we sent a throttle message to the guest? */
+    bool host_throttled;
+};
+
+
+struct VirtIOSerialPortInfo {
+    DeviceInfo qdev;
+    /*
+     * The per-port (or per-app) init function that's called when a
+     * new device is found on the bus.
+     */
+    int (*init)(VirtIOSerialDevice *dev);
+
+    /* Callbacks for guest events */
+        /*
+	 * Guest opened device. This could be invoked even when an
+	 * application thinks the guest is open. This can happen if
+	 * the host is migrated to another machine when the connection
+	 * was open and is called from the destination machine if
+	 * there's any app-specific initialisation to be done in such
+	 * a case.
+	 */
+    void (*guest_open)(VirtIOSerialPort *port);
+       /* Guest closed device */
+    void (*guest_close)(VirtIOSerialPort *port);
+
+    /* Guest is now ready to accept data (virtqueues set up) */
+    void (*guest_ready)(VirtIOSerialPort *port);
+    /*
+     * Guest wrote some data to the port. This data is handed over to
+     * the app via this callback. The data is not maintained anymore
+     * after the callback returns. This means the app has to ensure it
+     * read all the data and consumes it.
+     *
+     * If an app needs to have the data for a longer time, it's upto
+     * the app to cache it.
+     */
+    size_t (*have_data)(VirtIOSerialPort *port, const uint8_t *buf, size_t len);
+};
+
+/* Interface to the virtio-serial bus */
+
+/*
+ * Individual ports/apps should call this function to register the port
+ * with the virtio-serial bus
+ */
+void virtio_serial_port_qdev_register(VirtIOSerialPortInfo *info);
+/*
+ * Open a connection to the port
+ *   Returns 0 on success (always)
+ */
+int virtio_serial_open(VirtIOSerialPort *port);
+/*
+ * Close the connection to the port
+ *   Returns 0 on successful close, or, if buffer caching is disabled,
+ * -EAGAIN if there's some uncosued data for the app.
+ */
+int virtio_serial_close(VirtIOSerialPort *port);
+/*
+ * Send data to Guest
+ */
+size_t virtio_serial_write(VirtIOSerialPort *port, const uint8_t *buf,
+			   size_t size);
+/*
+ * Query whether a guest is ready to receive data.
+ */
+size_t virtio_serial_guest_ready(VirtIOSerialPort *port);
+
+#endif
diff --git a/hw/virtio.h b/hw/virtio.h
index 0f9be7d..a9601a2 100644
--- a/hw/virtio.h
+++ b/hw/virtio.h
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ void virtio_bind_device(VirtIODevice *vdev, const VirtIOBindings *binding,
 /* Base devices.  */
 VirtIODevice *virtio_blk_init(DeviceState *dev, DriveInfo *dinfo);
 VirtIODevice *virtio_net_init(DeviceState *dev);
-VirtIODevice *virtio_console_init(DeviceState *dev);
+VirtIODevice *virtio_serial_init(DeviceState *dev);
 VirtIODevice *virtio_balloon_init(DeviceState *dev);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/qemu-options.hx b/qemu-options.hx
index 20aa242..ca4d353 100644
--- a/qemu-options.hx
+++ b/qemu-options.hx
@@ -1635,10 +1635,14 @@ ETEXI
 
 DEF("virtioconsole", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_virtiocon, \
     "-virtioconsole c\n" \
-    "                set virtio console\n")
+    "                define virtio console\n")
 STEXI
 @item -virtioconsole @var{c}
 Set virtio console.
+
+This option is maintained for backward compatibility.
+
+Please use @code{-device virtconsole} for the new way of invocation
 ETEXI
 
 DEF("show-cursor", 0, QEMU_OPTION_show_cursor, \
diff --git a/sysemu.h b/sysemu.h
index 763861d..9129728 100644
--- a/sysemu.h
+++ b/sysemu.h
@@ -226,12 +226,6 @@ extern CharDriverState *serial_hds[MAX_SERIAL_PORTS];
 
 extern CharDriverState *parallel_hds[MAX_PARALLEL_PORTS];
 
-/* virtio consoles */
-
-#define MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES 1
-
-extern CharDriverState *virtcon_hds[MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES];
-
 #define TFR(expr) do { if ((expr) != -1) break; } while (errno == EINTR)
 
 #ifdef HAS_AUDIO
diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index eb2744e..c1e880e 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -180,6 +180,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 /* Maximum number of monitor devices */
 #define MAX_MONITOR_DEVICES 10
 
+#define MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES 1
+
 static const char *data_dir;
 const char *bios_name = NULL;
 /* Note: drives_table[MAX_DRIVES] is a dummy block driver if none available
@@ -215,7 +217,6 @@ static int no_frame = 0;
 int no_quit = 0;
 CharDriverState *serial_hds[MAX_SERIAL_PORTS];
 CharDriverState *parallel_hds[MAX_PARALLEL_PORTS];
-CharDriverState *virtcon_hds[MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES];
 #ifdef TARGET_I386
 int win2k_install_hack = 0;
 int rtc_td_hack = 0;
@@ -4752,6 +4753,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
     const char *parallel_devices[MAX_PARALLEL_PORTS];
     int parallel_device_index;
     const char *virtio_consoles[MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES];
+    CharDriverState *virtcon_hds[MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES];
     int virtio_console_index;
     const char *loadvm = NULL;
     QEMUMachine *machine;
@@ -4828,8 +4830,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
         parallel_devices[i] = NULL;
     parallel_device_index = 0;
 
-    for(i = 0; i < MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES; i++)
+    for (i = 0; i < MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES; i++) {
         virtio_consoles[i] = NULL;
+        virtcon_hds[i] = NULL;
+    }
     virtio_console_index = 0;
 
     monitor_devices[0] = "vc:80Cx24C";
@@ -5799,20 +5803,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
         }
     }
 
-    for(i = 0; i < MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES; i++) {
-        const char *devname = virtio_consoles[i];
-        if (devname && strcmp(devname, "none")) {
-            char label[32];
-            snprintf(label, sizeof(label), "virtcon%d", i);
-            virtcon_hds[i] = qemu_chr_open(label, devname, NULL);
-            if (!virtcon_hds[i]) {
-                fprintf(stderr, "qemu: could not open virtio console '%s': %s\n",
-                        devname, strerror(errno));
-                exit(1);
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
     module_call_init(MODULE_INIT_DEVICE);
 
     if (watchdog) {
@@ -5853,6 +5843,41 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
     if (qemu_opts_foreach(&qemu_device_opts, device_init_func, NULL, 1) != 0)
         exit(1);
 
+    /*
+     * This code is left for the old -virtconsole cmd line arg support.
+     * For using the other serial ports, use -device virtconsole and
+     * -device virtserialport
+     *
+     * If / when -virtioconsole gets deprecated, this may be safely removed
+     */
+    for (i = 0; i < MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES; i++) {
+        const char *devname = virtio_consoles[i];
+        QemuOpts *opts;
+
+        if (!devname) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        opts = qemu_opts_create(&qemu_device_opts, NULL, 0);
+        qemu_opt_set(opts, "driver", "virtio-serial-pci");
+        qdev_device_add(opts);
+
+        qemu_opt_set(opts, "driver", "virtconsole");
+
+        if (strcmp(devname, "none")) {
+            char label[32];
+            snprintf(label, sizeof(label), "virtcon%d", i);
+            virtcon_hds[i] = qemu_chr_open(label, devname, NULL);
+            if (!virtcon_hds[i]) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "qemu: could not open virtio console '%s': %s\n",
+                        devname, strerror(errno));
+                exit(1);
+            }
+            qemu_opt_set(opts, "chardev", label);
+        }
+        qdev_device_add(opts);
+    }
+
+
     if (!display_state)
         dumb_display_init();
     /* just use the first displaystate for the moment */
@@ -5941,14 +5966,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
         }
     }
 
-    for(i = 0; i < MAX_VIRTIO_CONSOLES; i++) {
-        const char *devname = virtio_consoles[i];
-        if (virtcon_hds[i] && devname) {
-            if (strstart(devname, "vc", 0))
-                qemu_chr_printf(virtcon_hds[i], "virtio console%d\r\n", i);
-        }
-    }
-
     if (gdbstub_dev && gdbserver_start(gdbstub_dev) < 0) {
         fprintf(stderr, "qemu: could not open gdbserver on device '%s'\n",
                 gdbstub_dev);
