diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/iotests.py b/tests/qemu-iotests/iotests.py
index 335e6feb70..00be68eca3 100644
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/iotests.py
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/iotests.py
@@ -1131,6 +1131,13 @@ def _verify_formats(required_formats: Sequence[str] = ()) -> None:
     if usf_list:
         notrun(f'formats {usf_list} are not whitelisted')
 
+
+def _verify_virtio_blk() -> None:
+    out = qemu_pipe('-M', 'none', '-device', 'help')
+    if 'virtio-blk' not in out:
+        notrun('Missing virtio-blk in QEMU binary')
+
+
 def supports_quorum():
     return 'quorum' in qemu_img_pipe('--help')
 
@@ -1308,6 +1315,7 @@ def execute_setup_common(supported_fmts: Sequence[str] = (),
     _verify_cache_mode(supported_cache_modes)
     _verify_aio_mode(supported_aio_modes)
     _verify_formats(required_fmts)
+    _verify_virtio_blk()
 
     return debug
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a380bbfa12..291ea19f2e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -236,7 +236,6 @@ distclean: clean
 	rm -f config-host.mak config-host.h*
 	rm -f tests/tcg/config-*.mak
 	rm -f config-all-disas.mak config.status
-	rm -f tests/qemu-iotests/common.env
 	rm -f roms/seabios/config.mak roms/vgabios/config.mak
 	rm -f qemu-plugins-ld.symbols qemu-plugins-ld64.symbols
 	rm -f *-config-target.h *-config-devices.mak *-config-devices.h
diff --git a/tests/check-block.sh b/tests/check-block.sh
index e4f37905be..f86cb863de 100755
--- a/tests/check-block.sh
+++ b/tests/check-block.sh
@@ -73,10 +73,11 @@ cd tests/qemu-iotests
 
 # QEMU_CHECK_BLOCK_AUTO is used to disable some unstable sub-tests
 export QEMU_CHECK_BLOCK_AUTO=1
+export PYTHONUTF8=1
 
 ret=0
 for fmt in $format_list ; do
-    ./check -makecheck -$fmt $group || ret=1
+    ${PYTHON} ./check -makecheck -$fmt $group || ret=1
 done
 
 exit $ret
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/check b/tests/qemu-iotests/check
index 952762d5ed..5190dee82e 100755
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/check
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/check
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
 #
-# Copyright (C) 2009 Red Hat, Inc.
-# Copyright (c) 2000-2002,2006 Silicon Graphics, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
+# Configure environment and run group of tests in it.
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2020-2021 Virtuozzo International GmbH
 #
 # This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 # modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
@@ -14,967 +15,129 @@
 #
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-#
-#
-# Control script for QA
-#
-
-status=0
-needwrap=true
-try=0
-n_bad=0
-bad=""
-notrun=""
-casenotrun=""
-interrupt=true
-makecheck=false
-
-_init_error()
-{
-    echo "check: $1" >&2
-    exit 1
-}
-
-if [ -L "$0" ]
-then
-    # called from the build tree
-    source_iotests=$(dirname "$(readlink "$0")")
-    if [ -z "$source_iotests" ]
-    then
-        _init_error "failed to obtain source tree name from check symlink"
-    fi
-    source_iotests=$(cd "$source_iotests"; pwd) || _init_error "failed to enter source tree"
-    build_iotests=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"; pwd)
-else
-    # called from the source tree
-    source_iotests=$PWD
-    # this may be an in-tree build (note that in the following code we may not
-    # assume that it truly is and have to test whether the build results
-    # actually exist)
-    build_iotests=$PWD
-fi
-
-build_root="$build_iotests/../.."
-
-# we need common.env
-if ! . "$build_iotests/common.env"
-then
-    _init_error "failed to source common.env (make sure the qemu-iotests are run from tests/qemu-iotests in the build tree)"
-fi
-
-# we need common.config
-if ! . "$source_iotests/common.config"
-then
-    _init_error "failed to source common.config"
-fi
-
-_full_imgfmt_details()
-{
-    if [ -n "$IMGOPTS" ]; then
-        echo "$IMGFMT ($IMGOPTS)"
-    else
-        echo "$IMGFMT"
-    fi
-}
-
-_full_platform_details()
-{
-    os=$(uname -s)
-    host=$(hostname -s)
-    kernel=$(uname -r)
-    platform=$(uname -m)
-    echo "$os/$platform $host $kernel"
-}
-
-_full_env_details()
-{
-    cat <<EOF
-QEMU          -- "$QEMU_PROG" $QEMU_OPTIONS
-QEMU_IMG      -- "$QEMU_IMG_PROG" $QEMU_IMG_OPTIONS
-QEMU_IO       -- "$QEMU_IO_PROG" $QEMU_IO_OPTIONS
-QEMU_NBD      -- "$QEMU_NBD_PROG" $QEMU_NBD_OPTIONS
-IMGFMT        -- $FULL_IMGFMT_DETAILS
-IMGPROTO      -- $IMGPROTO
-PLATFORM      -- $FULL_HOST_DETAILS
-TEST_DIR      -- $TEST_DIR
-SOCK_DIR      -- $SOCK_DIR
-SOCKET_SCM_HELPER -- $SOCKET_SCM_HELPER
-
-EOF
-}
-
-# $1 = prog to look for
-set_prog_path()
-{
-    p=$(command -v $1 2> /dev/null)
-    if [ -n "$p" -a -x "$p" ]; then
-        type -p "$p"
-    else
-        return 1
-    fi
-}
-
-if [ -z "$TEST_DIR" ]; then
-        TEST_DIR=$PWD/scratch
-fi
-mkdir -p "$TEST_DIR" || _init_error 'Failed to create TEST_DIR'
-
-tmp_sock_dir=false
-if [ -z "$SOCK_DIR" ]; then
-    SOCK_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
-    tmp_sock_dir=true
-fi
-mkdir -p "$SOCK_DIR" || _init_error 'Failed to create SOCK_DIR'
-
-diff="diff -u"
-verbose=false
-debug=false
-group=false
-xgroup=false
-imgopts=false
-showme=false
-sortme=false
-expunge=true
-have_test_arg=false
-cachemode=false
-aiomode=false
-
-tmp="${TEST_DIR}"/$$
-rm -f $tmp.list $tmp.tmp $tmp.sed
-
-export IMGFMT=raw
-export IMGFMT_GENERIC=true
-export IMGPROTO=file
-export IMGOPTS=""
-export CACHEMODE="writeback"
-export AIOMODE="threads"
-export QEMU_IO_OPTIONS=""
-export QEMU_IO_OPTIONS_NO_FMT=""
-export CACHEMODE_IS_DEFAULT=true
-export VALGRIND_QEMU=
-export IMGKEYSECRET=
-export IMGOPTSSYNTAX=false
-
-# Save current tty settings, since an aborting qemu call may leave things
-# screwed up
-STTY_RESTORE=
-if test -t 0; then
-    STTY_RESTORE=$(stty -g)
-fi
-
-for r
-do
-
-    if $group
-    then
-        # arg after -g
-        group_list=$(sed -n <"$source_iotests/group" -e 's/$/ /' -e "/^[0-9][0-9][0-9].* $r /"'{
-s/ .*//p
-}')
-        if [ -z "$group_list" ]
-        then
-            echo "Group \"$r\" is empty or not defined?"
-            exit 1
-        fi
-        [ ! -s $tmp.list ] && touch $tmp.list
-        for t in $group_list
-        do
-            if grep -s "^$t\$" $tmp.list >/dev/null
-            then
-                :
-            else
-                echo "$t" >>$tmp.list
-            fi
-        done
-        group=false
-        continue
-
-    elif $xgroup
-    then
-        # arg after -x
-        # Populate $tmp.list with all tests
-        awk '/^[0-9]{3,}/ {print $1}' "${source_iotests}/group" > $tmp.list 2>/dev/null
-        group_list=$(sed -n <"$source_iotests/group" -e 's/$/ /' -e "/^[0-9][0-9][0-9].* $r /"'{
-s/ .*//p
-}')
-        if [ -z "$group_list" ]
-        then
-            echo "Group \"$r\" is empty or not defined?"
-            exit 1
-        fi
-        numsed=0
-        rm -f $tmp.sed
-        for t in $group_list
-        do
-            if [ $numsed -gt 100 ]
-            then
-                sed -f $tmp.sed <$tmp.list >$tmp.tmp
-                mv $tmp.tmp $tmp.list
-                numsed=0
-                rm -f $tmp.sed
-            fi
-            echo "/^$t\$/d" >>$tmp.sed
-            numsed=$(expr $numsed + 1)
-        done
-        sed -f $tmp.sed <$tmp.list >$tmp.tmp
-        mv $tmp.tmp $tmp.list
-        xgroup=false
-        continue
-
-    elif $imgopts
-    then
-        IMGOPTS="$r"
-        imgopts=false
-        continue
-    elif $cachemode
-    then
-        CACHEMODE="$r"
-        CACHEMODE_IS_DEFAULT=false
-        cachemode=false
-        continue
-    elif $aiomode
-    then
-        AIOMODE="$r"
-        aiomode=false
-        continue
-    fi
-
-    xpand=true
-    case "$r"
-    in
-
-        -\? | -h | --help)        # usage
-            echo "Usage: $0 [options] [testlist]"'
-
-common options
-    -v                  verbose
-    -d                  debug
-
-image format options
-    -raw                test raw (default)
-    -bochs              test bochs
-    -cloop              test cloop
-    -parallels          test parallels
-    -qcow               test qcow
-    -qcow2              test qcow2
-    -qed                test qed
-    -vdi                test vdi
-    -vpc                test vpc
-    -vhdx               test vhdx
-    -vmdk               test vmdk
-    -luks               test luks
-    -dmg                test dmg
-
-image protocol options
-    -file               test file (default)
-    -rbd                test rbd
-    -sheepdog           test sheepdog
-    -nbd                test nbd
-    -fuse               test fuse
-    -ssh                test ssh
-    -nfs                test nfs
-
-other options
-    -xdiff              graphical mode diff
-    -nocache            use O_DIRECT on backing file
-    -misalign           misalign memory allocations
-    -n                  show me, do not run tests
-    -o options          -o options to pass to qemu-img create/convert
-    -c mode             cache mode
-    -i mode             AIO mode
-    -makecheck          pretty print output for make check
-
-testlist options
-    -g group[,group...]        include tests from these groups
-    -x group[,group...]        exclude tests from these groups
-    NNN                        include test NNN
-    NNN-NNN                    include test range (eg. 012-021)
-'
-            exit 0
-            ;;
-
-        -raw)
-            IMGFMT=raw
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -bochs)
-            IMGFMT=bochs
-            IMGFMT_GENERIC=false
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -cloop)
-            IMGFMT=cloop
-            IMGFMT_GENERIC=false
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -parallels)
-            IMGFMT=parallels
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -qcow)
-            IMGFMT=qcow
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -qcow2)
-            IMGFMT=qcow2
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -luks)
-            IMGOPTSSYNTAX=true
-            IMGFMT=luks
-            IMGKEYSECRET=123456
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -dmg)
-            IMGFMT=dmg
-            IMGFMT_GENERIC=false
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -qed)
-            IMGFMT=qed
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -vdi)
-            IMGFMT=vdi
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -vmdk)
-            IMGFMT=vmdk
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -vpc)
-            IMGFMT=vpc
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -vhdx)
-            IMGFMT=vhdx
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -file)
-            IMGPROTO=file
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -rbd)
-            IMGPROTO=rbd
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -sheepdog)
-            IMGPROTO=sheepdog
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -nbd)
-            IMGPROTO=nbd
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -fuse)
-            IMGPROTO=fuse
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -ssh)
-            IMGPROTO=ssh
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -nfs)
-            IMGPROTO=nfs
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -nocache)
-            CACHEMODE="none"
-            CACHEMODE_IS_DEFAULT=false
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -misalign)
-            QEMU_IO_OPTIONS="$QEMU_IO_OPTIONS --misalign"
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -valgrind)
-            VALGRIND_QEMU='y'
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -g)        # -g group ... pick from group file
-            group=true
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-
-        -xdiff)        # graphical diff mode
-            xpand=false
-
-            if [ ! -z "$DISPLAY" ]
-            then
-                command -v xdiff >/dev/null 2>&1 && diff=xdiff
-                command -v gdiff >/dev/null 2>&1 && diff=gdiff
-                command -v tkdiff >/dev/null 2>&1 && diff=tkdiff
-                command -v xxdiff >/dev/null 2>&1 && diff=xxdiff
-            fi
-            ;;
-        -makecheck)   # makecheck friendly output
-            makecheck=true
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-        -n)        # show me, don't do it
-            showme=true
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-        -o)
-            imgopts=true
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-        -c)
-            cachemode=true
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-        -i)
-            aiomode=true
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-        -T)        # deprecated timestamp option
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-        -v)
-            verbose=true
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-        -d)
-            debug=true
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-        -x)        # -x group ... exclude from group file
-            xgroup=true
-            xpand=false
-            ;;
-        '[0-9][0-9][0-9] [0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]')
-            echo "No tests?"
-            status=1
-            exit $status
-            ;;
-
-        [0-9]*-[0-9]*)
-            eval $(echo $r | sed -e 's/^/start=/' -e 's/-/ end=/')
-            ;;
-
-        [0-9]*-)
-            eval $(echo $r | sed -e 's/^/start=/' -e 's/-//')
-            end=$(echo [0-9][0-9][0-9] [0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9] | sed -e 's/\[0-9]//g' -e 's/  *$//' -e 's/.* //')
-            if [ -z "$end" ]
-            then
-                echo "No tests in range \"$r\"?"
-                status=1
-                exit $status
-            fi
-            ;;
-
-        *)
-            start=$r
-            end=$r
-            ;;
-
-    esac
-
-    # get rid of leading 0s as can be interpreted as octal
-    start=$(echo $start | sed 's/^0*//')
-    end=$(echo $end | sed 's/^0*//')
-
-    if $xpand
-    then
-        have_test_arg=true
-        awk </dev/null '
-BEGIN        { for (t='$start'; t<='$end'; t++) printf "%03d\n",t }' \
-        | while read id
-        do
-            if grep -s "^$id\( \|\$\)" "$source_iotests/group" >/dev/null
-            then
-                # in group file ... OK
-                echo $id >>$tmp.list
-            else
-                if [ -f expunged ] && $expunge && egrep "^$id([         ]|\$)" expunged >/dev/null
-                then
-                    # expunged ... will be reported, but not run, later
-                    echo $id >>$tmp.list
-                else
-                    # oops
-                    if [ "$start" == "$end" -a "$id" == "$end" ]
-                    then
-                        echo "$id - unknown test"
-                        exit 1
-                    else
-                        echo "$id - unknown test, ignored"
-                    fi
-                fi
-            fi
-        done || exit 1
-    fi
-
-done
-
-# Set qemu-io cache mode with $CACHEMODE we have
-QEMU_IO_OPTIONS="$QEMU_IO_OPTIONS --cache $CACHEMODE"
-# Set qemu-io aio mode with $AIOMODE we have
-QEMU_IO_OPTIONS="$QEMU_IO_OPTIONS --aio $AIOMODE"
-
-QEMU_IO_OPTIONS_NO_FMT="$QEMU_IO_OPTIONS"
-if [ "$IMGOPTSSYNTAX" != "true" ]; then
-    QEMU_IO_OPTIONS="$QEMU_IO_OPTIONS -f $IMGFMT"
-fi
-
-# Set default options for qemu-img create -o if they were not specified
-if [ "$IMGFMT" == "qcow2" ] && ! (echo "$IMGOPTS" | grep "compat=" > /dev/null); then
-    IMGOPTS=$(_optstr_add "$IMGOPTS" "compat=1.1")
-fi
-if [ "$IMGFMT" == "luks" ] && ! (echo "$IMGOPTS" | grep "iter-time=" > /dev/null); then
-    IMGOPTS=$(_optstr_add "$IMGOPTS" "iter-time=10")
-fi
-if [ "$IMGFMT" == "vmdk" ] && ! (echo "$IMGOPTS" | grep "zeroed_grain=" > /dev/null); then
-    IMGOPTS=$(_optstr_add "$IMGOPTS" "zeroed_grain=on")
-fi
-
-if [ -z "$SAMPLE_IMG_DIR" ]; then
-        SAMPLE_IMG_DIR="$source_iotests/sample_images"
-fi
-
-export TEST_DIR
-export SOCK_DIR
-export SAMPLE_IMG_DIR
-
-if [ -s $tmp.list ]
-then
-    # found some valid test numbers ... this is good
-    :
-else
-    if $have_test_arg
-    then
-        # had test numbers, but none in group file ... do nothing
-        touch $tmp.list
-    else
-        # no test numbers, do everything from group file
-        sed -n -e '/^[0-9][0-9][0-9]*/s/^\([0-9]*\).*/\1/p' <"$source_iotests/group" >$tmp.list
-    fi
-fi
-
-# should be sort -n, but this did not work for Linux when this
-# was ported from IRIX
-#
-list=$(sort $tmp.list)
-rm -f $tmp.list $tmp.tmp $tmp.sed
-
-if [ -z "$QEMU_PROG" ]
-then
-    if [ -x "$build_iotests/qemu" ]; then
-        export QEMU_PROG="$build_iotests/qemu"
-    elif [ -x "$build_root/qemu-system-${qemu_arch}" ]; then
-        export QEMU_PROG="$build_root/qemu-system-${qemu_arch}"
-    else
-        pushd "$build_root" > /dev/null
-        for binary in qemu-system-*
-        do
-            if [ -x "$binary" ]
-            then
-                export QEMU_PROG="$build_root/$binary"
-                break
-            fi
-        done
-        popd > /dev/null
-        [ "$QEMU_PROG" = "" ] && _init_error "qemu not found"
-    fi
-fi
-export QEMU_PROG="$(type -p "$QEMU_PROG")"
-
-export QEMU_OPTIONS="-nodefaults -display none -accel qtest"
-case "$QEMU_PROG" in
-    *qemu-system-arm|*qemu-system-aarch64)
-        export QEMU_OPTIONS="$QEMU_OPTIONS -machine virt"
-        ;;
-    *qemu-system-avr)
-        export QEMU_OPTIONS="$QEMU_OPTIONS -machine mega2560"
-        ;;
-    *qemu-system-rx)
-        export QEMU_OPTIONS="$QEMU_OPTIONS -machine gdbsim-r5f562n8"
-        ;;
-    *qemu-system-tricore)
-        export QEMU_OPTIONS="-$QEMU_OPTIONS -machine tricore_testboard"
-        ;;
-esac
-
-if [ -z "$QEMU_IMG_PROG" ]; then
-    if [ -x "$build_iotests/qemu-img" ]; then
-        export QEMU_IMG_PROG="$build_iotests/qemu-img"
-    elif [ -x "$build_root/qemu-img" ]; then
-        export QEMU_IMG_PROG="$build_root/qemu-img"
-    else
-        _init_error "qemu-img not found"
-    fi
-fi
-export QEMU_IMG_PROG="$(type -p "$QEMU_IMG_PROG")"
-
-if [ -z "$QEMU_IO_PROG" ]; then
-    if [ -x "$build_iotests/qemu-io" ]; then
-        export QEMU_IO_PROG="$build_iotests/qemu-io"
-    elif [ -x "$build_root/qemu-io" ]; then
-        export QEMU_IO_PROG="$build_root/qemu-io"
-    else
-        _init_error "qemu-io not found"
-    fi
-fi
-export QEMU_IO_PROG="$(type -p "$QEMU_IO_PROG")"
-
-if [ -z $QEMU_NBD_PROG ]; then
-    if [ -x "$build_iotests/qemu-nbd" ]; then
-        export QEMU_NBD_PROG="$build_iotests/qemu-nbd"
-    elif [ -x "$build_root/qemu-nbd" ]; then
-        export QEMU_NBD_PROG="$build_root/qemu-nbd"
-    else
-        _init_error "qemu-nbd not found"
-    fi
-fi
-export QEMU_NBD_PROG="$(type -p "$QEMU_NBD_PROG")"
-
-if [ -z "$QSD_PROG" ]; then
-    if [ -x "$build_iotests/qemu-storage-daemon" ]; then
-        export QSD_PROG="$build_iotests/qemu-storage-daemon"
-    elif [ -x "$build_root/storage-daemon/qemu-storage-daemon" ]; then
-        export QSD_PROG="$build_root/storage-daemon/qemu-storage-daemon"
-    else
-        _init_error "qemu-storage-daemon not found"
-    fi
-fi
-export QSD_PROG="$(type -p "$QSD_PROG")"
-
-if [ -x "$build_iotests/socket_scm_helper" ]
-then
-    export SOCKET_SCM_HELPER="$build_iotests/socket_scm_helper"
-fi
-
-python_usable=false
-if $PYTHON -c 'import sys; sys.exit(0 if sys.version_info >= (3,6) else 1)'
-then
-    # Our python framework also requires virtio-blk
-    if "$QEMU_PROG" -M none -device help | grep -q virtio-blk >/dev/null 2>&1
-    then
-        python_usable=true
-    else
-        python_unusable_because="Missing virtio-blk in QEMU binary"
-    fi
-else
-    python_unusable_because="Unsupported Python version"
-fi
-
-default_machine=$($QEMU_PROG -machine help | sed -n '/(default)/ s/ .*//p')
-default_alias_machine=$($QEMU_PROG -machine help | \
-   sed -n "/(alias of $default_machine)/ { s/ .*//p; q; }")
-if [[ "$default_alias_machine" ]]; then
-    default_machine="$default_alias_machine"
-fi
-
-export QEMU_DEFAULT_MACHINE="$default_machine"
-
-TIMESTAMP_FILE=check.time-$IMGPROTO-$IMGFMT
-
-_wallclock()
-{
-    date "+%H %M %S" | awk '{ print $1*3600 + $2*60 + $3 }'
-}
-
-_wrapup()
-{
-    if $showme
-    then
-        :
-    elif $needwrap
-    then
-        if [ -f $TIMESTAMP_FILE -a -f $tmp.time ]
-        then
-            cat $TIMESTAMP_FILE $tmp.time \
-            | awk '
-        { t[$1] = $2 }
-END        { if (NR > 0) {
-            for (i in t) print i " " t[i]
-          }
-        }' \
-            | sort -n >$tmp.out
-            mv $tmp.out $TIMESTAMP_FILE
-        fi
-
-        if [ -f $tmp.expunged ]
-        then
-            notrun=$(wc -l <$tmp.expunged | sed -e 's/  *//g')
-            try=$(expr $try - $notrun)
-            list=$(echo "$list" | sed -f $tmp.expunged)
-        fi
-
-        echo "" >>check.log
-        date >>check.log
-        echo $list | fmt | sed -e 's/^/    /' >>check.log
-        $interrupt && echo "Interrupted!" >>check.log
-
-        if [ ! -z "$notrun" ]
-        then
-            echo "Not run:$notrun"
-            echo "Not run:$notrun" >>check.log
-        fi
-        if [ ! -z "$casenotrun" ]
-        then
-            echo "Some cases not run in:$casenotrun"
-            echo "Some cases not run in:$casenotrun" >>check.log
-        fi
-        if [ ! -z "$n_bad" -a $n_bad != 0 ]
-        then
-            echo "Failures:$bad"
-            echo "Failed $n_bad of $try iotests"
-            echo "Failures:$bad" | fmt >>check.log
-            echo "Failed $n_bad of $try iotests" >>check.log
-        else
-            echo "Passed all $try iotests"
-            echo "Passed all $try iotests" >>check.log
-        fi
-        needwrap=false
-    fi
-
-    if test -n "$STTY_RESTORE"; then
-        stty $STTY_RESTORE
-    fi
-    rm -f "${TEST_DIR}"/*.out "${TEST_DIR}"/*.err "${TEST_DIR}"/*.time
-    rm -f "${TEST_DIR}"/check.pid "${TEST_DIR}"/check.sts
-    rm -f $tmp.*
-
-    if $tmp_sock_dir
-    then
-        rm -rf "$SOCK_DIR"
-    fi
-}
-
-trap "_wrapup; exit \$status" 0 1 2 3 15
-
-# Report the test start and results. For makecheck we want to pretty
-# print the whole report at the end of the execution.
-# args: $seq, $starttime, $lasttime
-_report_test_start()
-{
-    if ! $makecheck; then
-        if [ -n "$3" ]; then
-            local lasttime=" (last: $3s)"
-        fi
-        printf "%-8s %-10s [%s]            %4s%-14s\r" "$1" "..." "$2" "..." "$lasttime"
-    fi
-}
-# args:$seq $status $starttime $lasttime $thistime $details
-_report_test_result()
-{
-    local status lasttime thistime
-    if $makecheck; then
-        if [ -n "$2" ] && [ "$2" != "pass" ]; then
-            status=" [$2]"
-        fi
-        printf "  TEST    iotest-$IMGFMT: %s%s\n" "$1" "$status"
-        return
-    fi
-
-    if [ -n "$4" ]; then
-        lasttime=" (last: $4s)"
-    fi
-    if [ -n "$5" ]; then
-        thistime=" $5s"
-    fi
-    case "$2" in
-        "pass")     status=$(printf "\e[32m%-10s\e[0m" "$2") ;;
-        "fail")     status=$(printf "\e[1m\e[31m%-10s\e[0m" "$2") ;;
-        "not run")  status=$(printf "\e[33m%-10s\e[0m" "$2") ;;
-        *)          status=$(printf "%-10s" "$2") ;;
-    esac
-
-    printf "%-8s %s [%s] [%s] %4s%-14s %s\n" "$1" "$status" "$3" "$(date '+%T')" "$thistime" "$lasttime" "$6"
-}
-
-[ -f $TIMESTAMP_FILE ] || touch $TIMESTAMP_FILE
-
-FULL_IMGFMT_DETAILS=$(_full_imgfmt_details)
-FULL_HOST_DETAILS=$(_full_platform_details)
-
-if ! $makecheck; then
-    _full_env_details
-fi
-
-seq="check"
-
-[ -n "$TESTS_REMAINING_LOG" ] && echo $list > $TESTS_REMAINING_LOG
-
-for seq in $list
-do
-    err=false       # error flag
-    printdiff=false # show diff to reference output?
-    status=""       # test result summary
-    results=""      # test result details
-    thistime=""     # time the test took
-
-    if [ -n "$TESTS_REMAINING_LOG" ] ; then
-        sed -e "s/$seq//" -e 's/  / /' -e 's/^ *//' $TESTS_REMAINING_LOG > $TESTS_REMAINING_LOG.tmp
-        mv $TESTS_REMAINING_LOG.tmp $TESTS_REMAINING_LOG
-        sync
-    fi
-
-    lasttime=$(sed -n -e "/^$seq /s/.* //p" <$TIMESTAMP_FILE)
-    starttime=$(date "+%T")
-    _report_test_start $seq $starttime $lasttime
-
-    if $showme
-    then
-        status="not run"
-    elif [ -f expunged ] && $expunge && egrep "^$seq([         ]|\$)" expunged >/dev/null
-    then
-        status="not run"
-        results="expunged"
-        rm -f $seq.out.bad
-        echo "/^$seq\$/d" >>$tmp.expunged
-    elif [ ! -f "$source_iotests/$seq" ]
-    then
-        status="not run"
-        results="no such test?"
-        echo "/^$seq\$/d" >>$tmp.expunged
-    else
-        # really going to try and run this one
-        #
-        rm -f $seq.out.bad
-        rm -f core $seq.notrun
-        rm -f $seq.casenotrun
-
-        start=$(_wallclock)
-
-        if [ "$(head -n 1 "$source_iotests/$seq")" == "#!/usr/bin/env python3" ]; then
-            if $python_usable; then
-                run_command="$PYTHON $seq"
-            else
-                run_command="false"
-                echo "$python_unusable_because" > $seq.notrun
-            fi
-        else
-            run_command="./$seq"
-        fi
-        export OUTPUT_DIR=$PWD
-        if $debug; then
-            (cd "$source_iotests";
-            MALLOC_PERTURB_=${MALLOC_PERTURB_:-$(($RANDOM % 255 + 1))} \
-                    $run_command -d 2>&1 | tee $tmp.out)
-        else
-            (cd "$source_iotests";
-            MALLOC_PERTURB_=${MALLOC_PERTURB_:-$(($RANDOM % 255 + 1))} \
-                    $run_command >$tmp.out 2>&1)
-        fi
-        sts=$?
-        stop=$(_wallclock)
-
-        if [ -f core ]
-        then
-            mv core $seq.core
-            status="fail"
-            results="[dumped core] $seq.core"
-            err=true
-        fi
-
-        if [ -f $seq.notrun ]
-        then
-            # overwrites timestamp output
-            status="not run"
-            results="$(cat $seq.notrun)"
-        else
-            if [ $sts -ne 0 ]
-            then
-                status="fail"
-                results=$(printf %s "[failed, exit status $sts]")
-                err=true
-            fi
-
-            reference="$source_iotests/$seq.out"
-            reference_machine="$source_iotests/$seq.$QEMU_DEFAULT_MACHINE.out"
-            if [ -f "$reference_machine" ]; then
-                reference="$reference_machine"
-            fi
-
-            reference_format="$source_iotests/$seq.out.$IMGFMT"
-            if [ -f "$reference_format" ]; then
-                reference="$reference_format"
-            fi
-
-            if [ "$CACHEMODE" = "none" ]; then
-                [ -f "$source_iotests/$seq.out.nocache" ] && reference="$source_iotests/$seq.out.nocache"
-            fi
-
-            if [ ! -f "$reference" ]
-            then
-                status="fail"
-                results="no qualified output"
-                err=true
-            else
-                if diff -w "$reference" $tmp.out >/dev/null 2>&1
-                then
-                    if ! $err; then
-                        status="pass"
-                        thistime=$(expr $stop - $start)
-                        echo "$seq $thistime" >>$tmp.time
-                    fi
-                else
-                    mv $tmp.out $seq.out.bad
-                    status="fail"
-                    results="output mismatch (see $seq.out.bad)"
-                    printdiff=true
-                    err=true
-                fi
-            fi
-        fi
-        if [ -f $seq.casenotrun ]
-        then
-            cat $seq.casenotrun
-            casenotrun="$casenotrun $seq"
-        fi
-    fi
-
-    # come here for each test, except when $showme is true
-    #
-    _report_test_result $seq "$status" "$starttime" "$lasttime" "$thistime" "$results"
-    case "$status" in
-        "pass")
-            try=$(expr $try + 1)
-            ;;
-        "fail")
-            try=$(expr $try + 1)
-            if $makecheck; then
-                _full_env_details
-            fi
-            if $printdiff; then
-                $diff -w "$reference" "$PWD"/$seq.out.bad
-            fi
-            bad="$bad $seq"
-            n_bad=$(expr $n_bad + 1)
-            quick=false
-            ;;
-        "not run")
-            notrun="$notrun $seq"
-            ;;
-    esac
-
-    seq="after_$seq"
-done
 
-interrupt=false
-status=$(expr $n_bad)
-exit
+import os
+import sys
+import argparse
+from findtests import TestFinder
+from testenv import TestEnv
+from testrunner import TestRunner
+
+
+def make_argparser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
+    p = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Test run options")
+
+    p.add_argument('-n', '--dry-run', action='store_true',
+                   help='show me, do not run tests')
+    p.add_argument('-makecheck', action='store_true',
+                   help='pretty print output for make check')
+
+    p.add_argument('-d', dest='debug', action='store_true', help='debug')
+    p.add_argument('-misalign', action='store_true',
+                   help='misalign memory allocations')
+    p.add_argument('--color', choices=['on', 'off', 'auto'],
+                   default='auto', help="use terminal colors. The default "
+                   "'auto' value means use colors if terminal stdout detected")
+
+    g_env = p.add_argument_group('test environment options')
+    mg = g_env.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
+    # We don't set default for cachemode, as we need to distinguish default
+    # from user input later.
+    mg.add_argument('-nocache', dest='cachemode', action='store_const',
+                    const='none', help='set cache mode "none" (O_DIRECT), '
+                    'sets CACHEMODE environment variable')
+    mg.add_argument('-c', dest='cachemode',
+                    help='sets CACHEMODE environment variable')
+
+    g_env.add_argument('-i', dest='aiomode', default='threads',
+                       help='sets AIOMODE environment variable')
+
+    p.set_defaults(imgfmt='raw', imgproto='file')
+
+    format_list = ['raw', 'bochs', 'cloop', 'parallels', 'qcow', 'qcow2',
+                   'qed', 'vdi', 'vpc', 'vhdx', 'vmdk', 'luks', 'dmg']
+    g_fmt = p.add_argument_group(
+        '  image format options',
+        'The following options set the IMGFMT environment variable. '
+        'At most one choice is allowed, default is "raw"')
+    mg = g_fmt.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
+    for fmt in format_list:
+        mg.add_argument('-' + fmt, dest='imgfmt', action='store_const',
+                        const=fmt, help=f'test {fmt}')
+
+    protocol_list = ['file', 'rbd', 'sheepdog', 'nbd', 'ssh', 'nfs',
+                     'fuse']
+    g_prt = p.add_argument_group(
+        '  image protocol options',
+        'The following options set the IMGPROTO environment variable. '
+        'At most one choice is allowed, default is "file"')
+    mg = g_prt.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
+    for prt in protocol_list:
+        mg.add_argument('-' + prt, dest='imgproto', action='store_const',
+                        const=prt, help=f'test {prt}')
+
+    g_bash = p.add_argument_group('bash tests options',
+                                  'The following options are ignored by '
+                                  'python tests.')
+    # TODO: make support for the following options in iotests.py
+    g_bash.add_argument('-o', dest='imgopts',
+                        help='options to pass to qemu-img create/convert, '
+                        'sets IMGOPTS environment variable')
+    g_bash.add_argument('-valgrind', action='store_true',
+                        help='use valgrind, sets VALGRIND_QEMU environment '
+                        'variable')
+
+    g_sel = p.add_argument_group('test selecting options',
+                                 'The following options specify test set '
+                                 'to run.')
+    g_sel.add_argument('-g', '--groups', metavar='group1,...',
+                       help='include tests from these groups')
+    g_sel.add_argument('-x', '--exclude-groups', metavar='group1,...',
+                       help='exclude tests from these groups')
+    g_sel.add_argument('--start-from', metavar='TEST',
+                       help='Start from specified test: make sorted sequence '
+                       'of tests as usual and then drop tests from the first '
+                       'one to TEST (not inclusive). This may be used to '
+                       'rerun failed ./check command, starting from the '
+                       'middle of the process.')
+    g_sel.add_argument('tests', metavar='TEST_FILES', nargs='*',
+                       help='tests to run')
+
+    return p
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    args = make_argparser().parse_args()
+
+    env = TestEnv(imgfmt=args.imgfmt, imgproto=args.imgproto,
+                  aiomode=args.aiomode, cachemode=args.cachemode,
+                  imgopts=args.imgopts, misalign=args.misalign,
+                  debug=args.debug, valgrind=args.valgrind)
+
+    testfinder = TestFinder(test_dir=env.source_iotests)
+
+    groups = args.groups.split(',') if args.groups else None
+    x_groups = args.exclude_groups.split(',') if args.exclude_groups else None
+
+    group_local = os.path.join(env.source_iotests, 'group.local')
+    if os.path.isfile(group_local):
+        try:
+            testfinder.add_group_file(group_local)
+        except ValueError as e:
+            sys.exit(f"Failed to parse group file '{group_local}': {e}")
+
+    try:
+        tests = testfinder.find_tests(groups=groups, exclude_groups=x_groups,
+                                      tests=args.tests,
+                                      start_from=args.start_from)
+        if not tests:
+            raise ValueError('No tests selected')
+    except ValueError as e:
+        sys.exit(e)
+
+    if args.dry_run:
+        print('\n'.join(tests))
+    else:
+        with TestRunner(env, makecheck=args.makecheck,
+                        color=args.color) as tr:
+            tr.run_tests([os.path.join(env.source_iotests, t) for t in tests])
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/common.env.in b/tests/qemu-iotests/common.env.in
deleted file mode 100644
index e565cdf40c..0000000000
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/common.env.in
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# Automatically generated by configure - do not modify
-
-export PYTHON='@PYTHON@'
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/group b/tests/qemu-iotests/group
deleted file mode 100644
index a0d0bf1688..0000000000
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/group
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,323 +0,0 @@
-#
-# QA groups control file
-# Defines test groups
-#
-# Some notes about the groups:
-#
-# - do not start group names with a digit
-#
-# - quick : Tests in this group should finish within some few seconds.
-#
-# - img : Tests in this group can be used to excercise the qemu-img tool.
-#
-# - auto : Tests in this group are used during "make check" and should be
-#   runnable in any case. That means they should run with every QEMU binary
-#   (also non-x86), with every QEMU configuration (i.e. must not fail if
-#   an optional feature is not compiled in - but reporting a "skip" is ok),
-#   work at least with the qcow2 file format, work with all kind of host
-#   filesystems and users (e.g. "nobody" or "root") and must not take too
-#   much memory and disk space (since CI pipelines tend to fail otherwise).
-#
-
-#
-# test-group association ... one line per test
-#
-001 rw auto quick
-002 rw auto quick
-003 rw auto
-004 rw auto quick
-005 img auto quick
-# 006 was removed, do not reuse
-007 snapshot auto
-008 rw auto quick
-009 rw auto quick
-010 rw auto quick
-011 rw auto quick
-012 auto quick
-013 rw auto
-014 rw
-015 rw snapshot
-# 016 was removed, do not reuse
-017 rw backing auto quick
-018 rw backing auto quick
-019 rw backing auto quick
-020 rw backing auto quick
-021 io auto quick
-022 rw snapshot auto
-023 rw
-024 rw backing auto quick
-025 rw auto quick
-026 rw blkdbg
-027 rw auto quick
-028 rw backing quick
-029 rw auto quick
-030 rw auto backing
-031 rw auto quick
-032 rw auto quick
-033 rw auto quick
-034 rw auto backing quick
-035 rw auto quick
-036 rw auto quick
-037 rw auto backing quick
-038 rw auto backing quick
-039 rw auto quick
-040 rw auto
-041 rw auto backing
-042 rw auto quick
-043 rw auto backing
-044 rw
-045 rw quick
-046 rw auto aio quick
-047 rw auto quick
-048 img auto quick
-049 rw auto
-050 rw auto backing quick
-051 rw
-052 rw auto backing quick
-053 rw auto quick
-054 rw auto quick
-055 rw
-056 rw backing
-057 rw
-058 rw quick
-059 rw quick
-060 rw auto quick
-061 rw auto
-062 rw auto quick
-063 rw auto quick
-064 rw quick
-065 rw quick
-066 rw auto quick
-# 067 was removed, do not reuse
-068 rw quick
-069 rw auto quick
-070 rw quick
-071 rw auto quick
-072 rw auto quick
-073 rw auto quick
-074 rw auto quick
-075 rw quick
-076 io
-077 rw quick
-078 rw quick
-079 rw auto
-080 rw auto
-081 rw quick
-082 rw quick
-083 rw
-084 img quick
-085 rw
-086 rw auto quick
-087 rw quick
-088 rw quick
-089 rw auto quick
-090 rw auto quick
-091 rw migration quick
-092 rw quick
-093 throttle
-094 rw quick
-095 rw quick
-096 rw quick
-097 rw auto backing
-098 rw auto backing quick
-099 rw auto quick
-# 100 was removed, do not reuse
-101 rw quick
-102 rw quick
-103 rw auto quick
-104 rw auto
-105 rw auto quick
-106 rw quick
-107 rw auto quick
-108 rw auto quick
-109 rw
-110 rw auto backing quick
-111 rw auto quick
-112 rw
-113 rw quick
-114 rw auto quick
-115 rw
-116 rw quick
-117 rw auto
-118 rw
-119 rw quick
-120 rw auto quick
-121 rw
-122 rw
-123 rw quick
-124 rw backing
-125 rw
-126 rw auto backing
-127 rw auto backing quick
-128 rw quick
-129 rw quick
-130 rw quick
-131 rw quick
-132 rw quick
-133 auto quick
-134 rw auto quick
-135 rw
-136 rw
-137 rw auto
-138 rw auto quick
-139 rw quick
-140 rw auto quick
-141 rw auto quick
-142
-143 auto quick
-144 rw quick
-145 quick
-146 quick
-147 img
-148 rw quick
-149 rw sudo
-150 rw auto quick
-151 rw
-152 rw quick
-153 rw quick
-154 rw auto backing quick
-155 rw
-156 rw auto quick
-157 quick
-158 rw auto quick
-159 rw auto quick
-160 rw quick
-161 rw auto quick
-162 quick
-163 rw
-165 rw quick
-169 rw migration
-170 rw auto quick
-171 rw quick
-172 auto
-173 rw
-174 auto
-175 quick
-176 rw auto backing
-177 rw auto quick
-178 img
-179 rw auto quick
-181 rw auto migration quick
-182 rw quick
-183 rw migration quick
-184 rw auto quick
-185 rw
-186 rw auto
-187 rw auto
-188 rw quick
-189 rw
-190 rw auto quick
-191 rw auto
-192 rw auto quick
-194 rw migration quick
-195 rw auto quick
-196 rw quick migration
-197 rw quick
-198 rw
-199 rw migration
-200 rw
-201 rw migration quick
-202 rw quick
-203 rw auto migration quick
-204 rw quick
-205 rw quick
-206 rw
-207 rw
-208 rw quick
-209 rw quick
-210 rw
-211 rw quick
-212 rw quick
-213 rw quick
-214 rw auto
-215 rw quick
-216 rw quick
-217 rw auto quick
-218 rw quick
-219 rw
-220 rw auto
-221 rw quick
-222 rw quick
-223 rw quick
-224 rw quick
-225 rw quick
-226 auto quick
-227 quick
-228 rw quick
-229 auto quick
-231 quick
-232 quick
-233 quick
-234 quick migration
-235 quick
-236 quick
-237 rw quick
-238 quick
-239 rw quick
-240 quick
-241 rw quick
-242 rw quick
-243 rw quick
-244 rw auto quick
-245 rw
-246 rw quick
-247 rw quick
-248 rw quick
-249 rw auto quick
-250 rw quick
-251 rw auto quick
-252 rw auto backing quick
-253 rw quick
-254 rw backing quick
-255 rw quick
-256 rw auto quick
-257 rw
-258 rw quick
-259 rw auto quick
-260 rw quick
-261 rw
-262 rw quick migration
-263 rw quick
-264 rw
-265 rw auto quick
-266 rw quick
-267 rw auto quick snapshot
-268 rw auto quick
-270 rw backing quick
-271 rw auto
-272 rw
-273 backing quick
-274 rw backing
-277 rw quick
-279 rw backing quick
-280 rw migration quick
-281 rw quick
-282 rw img quick
-283 auto quick
-284 rw
-286 rw quick
-287 auto quick
-288 quick
-289 rw quick
-290 rw auto quick
-291 rw quick
-292 rw auto quick
-293 rw
-294 rw quick
-295 rw
-296 rw
-297 meta
-298
-299 auto quick
-300 migration
-301 backing quick
-302 quick
-303 rw quick
-304 rw quick
-305 rw quick
-307 rw quick export
-308 rw
-309 rw auto quick
-310 rw quick
-312 rw quick
-313 rw auto quick
diff --git a/tests/qemu-iotests/meson.build b/tests/qemu-iotests/meson.build
index 26658ce25c..67aed1e492 100644
--- a/tests/qemu-iotests/meson.build
+++ b/tests/qemu-iotests/meson.build
@@ -3,6 +3,3 @@ if 'CONFIG_LINUX' in config_host
 else
     socket_scm_helper = []
 endif
-configure_file(output: 'common.env',
-               input: files('common.env.in'),
-               configuration: {'PYTHON': python.full_path()})
