diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index 3d78581..4f6b36a 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -89,6 +89,9 @@ static int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_do_write_zeroes(BlockDriverState *bs,
 static QTAILQ_HEAD(, BlockDriverState) bdrv_states =
     QTAILQ_HEAD_INITIALIZER(bdrv_states);
 
+static QTAILQ_HEAD(, BlockDriverState) graph_bdrv_states =
+    QTAILQ_HEAD_INITIALIZER(graph_bdrv_states);
+
 static QLIST_HEAD(, BlockDriver) bdrv_drivers =
     QLIST_HEAD_INITIALIZER(bdrv_drivers);
 
@@ -318,15 +321,21 @@ void bdrv_register(BlockDriver *bdrv)
 }
 
 /* create a new block device (by default it is empty) */
-BlockDriverState *bdrv_new(const char *device_name)
+BlockDriverState *bdrv_new(const char *device_name, const char *node_name)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
 
+    assert(node_name);
+
     bs = g_malloc0(sizeof(BlockDriverState));
     QLIST_INIT(&bs->dirty_bitmaps);
     pstrcpy(bs->device_name, sizeof(bs->device_name), device_name);
     if (device_name[0] != '\0') {
-        QTAILQ_INSERT_TAIL(&bdrv_states, bs, list);
+        QTAILQ_INSERT_TAIL(&bdrv_states, bs, device_list);
+    }
+    pstrcpy(bs->node_name, sizeof(bs->node_name), node_name);
+    if (node_name[0] != '\0') {
+        QTAILQ_INSERT_TAIL(&graph_bdrv_states, bs, node_list);
     }
     bdrv_iostatus_disable(bs);
     notifier_list_init(&bs->close_notifiers);
@@ -871,7 +880,7 @@ int bdrv_file_open(BlockDriverState **pbs, const char *filename,
         options = qdict_new();
     }
 
-    bs = bdrv_new("");
+    bs = bdrv_new("", "");
     bs->options = options;
     options = qdict_clone_shallow(options);
 
@@ -993,7 +1002,7 @@ int bdrv_open_backing_file(BlockDriverState *bs, QDict *options, Error **errp)
                                        sizeof(backing_filename));
     }
 
-    bs->backing_hd = bdrv_new("");
+    bs->backing_hd = bdrv_new("", "");
 
     if (bs->backing_format[0] != '\0') {
         back_drv = bdrv_find_format(bs->backing_format);
@@ -1059,7 +1068,7 @@ int bdrv_open(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *filename, QDict *options,
            instead of opening 'filename' directly */
 
         /* Get the required size from the image */
-        bs1 = bdrv_new("");
+        bs1 = bdrv_new("", "");
         QINCREF(options);
         ret = bdrv_open(bs1, filename, options, BDRV_O_NO_BACKING,
                         drv, &local_err);
@@ -1500,7 +1509,7 @@ void bdrv_close_all(void)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
 
-    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, list) {
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, device_list) {
         bdrv_close(bs);
     }
 }
@@ -1529,7 +1538,7 @@ static bool bdrv_requests_pending(BlockDriverState *bs)
 static bool bdrv_requests_pending_all(void)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
-    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, list) {
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, device_list) {
         if (bdrv_requests_pending(bs)) {
             return true;
         }
@@ -1559,7 +1568,7 @@ void bdrv_drain_all(void)
         /* FIXME: We do not have timer support here, so this is effectively
          * a busy wait.
          */
-        QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, list) {
+        QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, device_list) {
             if (bdrv_start_throttled_reqs(bs)) {
                 busy = true;
             }
@@ -1570,14 +1579,18 @@ void bdrv_drain_all(void)
     }
 }
 
-/* make a BlockDriverState anonymous by removing from bdrv_state list.
+/* make a BlockDriverState anonymous by removing from bdrv_state and
+ * graph_bdrv_state list.
    Also, NULL terminate the device_name to prevent double remove */
 void bdrv_make_anon(BlockDriverState *bs)
 {
     if (bs->device_name[0] != '\0') {
-        QTAILQ_REMOVE(&bdrv_states, bs, list);
+        QTAILQ_REMOVE(&bdrv_states, bs, device_list);
     }
     bs->device_name[0] = '\0';
+    if (bs->node_name[0] != '\0') {
+        QTAILQ_REMOVE(&graph_bdrv_states, bs, node_list);
+    }
 }
 
 static void bdrv_rebind(BlockDriverState *bs)
@@ -1631,7 +1644,12 @@ static void bdrv_move_feature_fields(BlockDriverState *bs_dest,
     /* keep the same entry in bdrv_states */
     pstrcpy(bs_dest->device_name, sizeof(bs_dest->device_name),
             bs_src->device_name);
-    bs_dest->list = bs_src->list;
+    bs_dest->device_list = bs_src->device_list;
+
+    /* keep the same entry in graph_bdrv_states */
+    pstrcpy(bs_dest->node_name, sizeof(bs_dest->node_name),
+            bs_src->node_name);
+    bs_dest->node_list   = bs_src->node_list;
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1956,7 +1974,7 @@ int bdrv_commit_all(void)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
 
-    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, list) {
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, device_list) {
         if (bs->drv && bs->backing_hd) {
             int ret = bdrv_commit(bs);
             if (ret < 0) {
@@ -3098,11 +3116,12 @@ void bdrv_iterate_format(void (*it)(void *opaque, const char *name),
     }
 }
 
+/* This function is to find block backend bs */
 BlockDriverState *bdrv_find(const char *name)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
 
-    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, list) {
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, device_list) {
         if (!strcmp(name, bs->device_name)) {
             return bs;
         }
@@ -3110,19 +3129,34 @@ BlockDriverState *bdrv_find(const char *name)
     return NULL;
 }
 
+/* This function is to find a node in the bs graph */
+BlockDriverState *bdrv_find_node(const char *node_name)
+{
+    BlockDriverState *bs;
+
+    assert(node_name);
+
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &graph_bdrv_states, node_list) {
+        if (!strcmp(node_name, bs->node_name)) {
+            return bs;
+        }
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+
 BlockDriverState *bdrv_next(BlockDriverState *bs)
 {
     if (!bs) {
         return QTAILQ_FIRST(&bdrv_states);
     }
-    return QTAILQ_NEXT(bs, list);
+    return QTAILQ_NEXT(bs, device_list);
 }
 
 void bdrv_iterate(void (*it)(void *opaque, BlockDriverState *bs), void *opaque)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
 
-    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, list) {
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, device_list) {
         it(opaque, bs);
     }
 }
@@ -3142,7 +3176,7 @@ int bdrv_flush_all(void)
     BlockDriverState *bs;
     int result = 0;
 
-    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, list) {
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, device_list) {
         int ret = bdrv_flush(bs);
         if (ret < 0 && !result) {
             result = ret;
@@ -4251,7 +4285,7 @@ void bdrv_invalidate_cache_all(void)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
 
-    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, list) {
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, device_list) {
         bdrv_invalidate_cache(bs);
     }
 }
@@ -4260,7 +4294,7 @@ void bdrv_clear_incoming_migration_all(void)
 {
     BlockDriverState *bs;
 
-    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, list) {
+    QTAILQ_FOREACH(bs, &bdrv_states, device_list) {
         bs->open_flags = bs->open_flags & ~(BDRV_O_INCOMING);
     }
 }
@@ -4771,7 +4805,7 @@ void bdrv_img_create(const char *filename, const char *fmt,
             back_flags =
                 flags & ~(BDRV_O_RDWR | BDRV_O_SNAPSHOT | BDRV_O_NO_BACKING);
 
-            bs = bdrv_new("");
+            bs = bdrv_new("", "");
 
             ret = bdrv_open(bs, backing_file->value.s, NULL, back_flags,
                             backing_drv, &local_err);
diff --git a/block/blkverify.c b/block/blkverify.c
index 55819a0..e755e4e 100644
--- a/block/blkverify.c
+++ b/block/blkverify.c
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ static int blkverify_open(BlockDriverState *bs, QDict *options, int flags,
         goto fail;
     }
 
-    s->test_file = bdrv_new("");
+    s->test_file = bdrv_new("", "");
     ret = bdrv_open(s->test_file, filename, NULL, flags, NULL, &local_err);
     if (ret < 0) {
         error_propagate(errp, local_err);
diff --git a/block/iscsi.c b/block/iscsi.c
index b7b5238..1304a3c 100644
--- a/block/iscsi.c
+++ b/block/iscsi.c
@@ -1519,7 +1519,7 @@ static int iscsi_create(const char *filename, QEMUOptionParameter *options,
     IscsiLun *iscsilun = NULL;
     QDict *bs_options;
 
-    bs = bdrv_new("");
+    bs = bdrv_new("", "");
 
     /* Read out options */
     while (options && options->name) {
diff --git a/block/vmdk.c b/block/vmdk.c
index 88d09e3..d873de1 100644
--- a/block/vmdk.c
+++ b/block/vmdk.c
@@ -1696,7 +1696,7 @@ static int vmdk_create(const char *filename, QEMUOptionParameter *options,
         return -ENOTSUP;
     }
     if (backing_file) {
-        BlockDriverState *bs = bdrv_new("");
+        BlockDriverState *bs = bdrv_new("", "");
         ret = bdrv_open(bs, backing_file, NULL, BDRV_O_NO_BACKING, NULL, errp);
         if (ret != 0) {
             bdrv_unref(bs);
diff --git a/block/vvfat.c b/block/vvfat.c
index 3ddaa0b..f973c08 100644
--- a/block/vvfat.c
+++ b/block/vvfat.c
@@ -2935,7 +2935,7 @@ static int enable_write_target(BDRVVVFATState *s)
         goto err;
     }
 
-    s->qcow = bdrv_new("");
+    s->qcow = bdrv_new("", "");
 
     ret = bdrv_open(s->qcow, s->qcow_filename, NULL,
             BDRV_O_RDWR | BDRV_O_CACHE_WB | BDRV_O_NO_FLUSH, bdrv_qcow,
@@ -2951,7 +2951,7 @@ static int enable_write_target(BDRVVVFATState *s)
     unlink(s->qcow_filename);
 #endif
 
-    s->bs->backing_hd = bdrv_new("");
+    s->bs->backing_hd = bdrv_new("", "");
     s->bs->backing_hd->drv = &vvfat_write_target;
     s->bs->backing_hd->opaque = g_malloc(sizeof(void*));
     *(void**)s->bs->backing_hd->opaque = s;
diff --git a/blockdev.c b/blockdev.c
index 44755e1..a474bb5 100644
--- a/blockdev.c
+++ b/blockdev.c
@@ -468,7 +468,7 @@ static DriveInfo *blockdev_init(QDict *bs_opts,
     /* init */
     dinfo = g_malloc0(sizeof(*dinfo));
     dinfo->id = g_strdup(qemu_opts_id(opts));
-    dinfo->bdrv = bdrv_new(dinfo->id);
+    dinfo->bdrv = bdrv_new(dinfo->id, "");
     dinfo->bdrv->open_flags = snapshot ? BDRV_O_SNAPSHOT : 0;
     dinfo->bdrv->read_only = ro;
     dinfo->type = type;
@@ -1256,7 +1256,7 @@ static void external_snapshot_prepare(BlkTransactionState *common,
     }
 
     /* We will manually add the backing_hd field to the bs later */
-    state->new_bs = bdrv_new("");
+    state->new_bs = bdrv_new("", "");
     /* TODO Inherit bs->options or only take explicit options with an
      * extended QMP command? */
     ret = bdrv_open(state->new_bs, new_image_file, NULL,
@@ -1923,7 +1923,7 @@ void qmp_drive_backup(const char *device, const char *target,
         return;
     }
 
-    target_bs = bdrv_new("");
+    target_bs = bdrv_new("", "");
     ret = bdrv_open(target_bs, target, NULL, flags, drv, &local_err);
     if (ret < 0) {
         bdrv_unref(target_bs);
@@ -2062,7 +2062,7 @@ void qmp_drive_mirror(const char *device, const char *target,
     /* Mirroring takes care of copy-on-write using the source's backing
      * file.
      */
-    target_bs = bdrv_new("");
+    target_bs = bdrv_new("", "");
     ret = bdrv_open(target_bs, target, NULL, flags | BDRV_O_NO_BACKING, drv,
                     &local_err);
     if (ret < 0) {
diff --git a/hw/block/xen_disk.c b/hw/block/xen_disk.c
index 098f6c6..e8a45d1 100644
--- a/hw/block/xen_disk.c
+++ b/hw/block/xen_disk.c
@@ -808,7 +808,7 @@ static int blk_connect(struct XenDevice *xendev)
     if (!blkdev->dinfo) {
         /* setup via xenbus -> create new block driver instance */
         xen_be_printf(&blkdev->xendev, 2, "create new bdrv (xenbus setup)\n");
-        blkdev->bs = bdrv_new(blkdev->dev);
+        blkdev->bs = bdrv_new(blkdev->dev, "");
         if (blkdev->bs) {
             Error *local_err = NULL;
             BlockDriver *drv = bdrv_find_whitelisted_format(blkdev->fileproto,
diff --git a/include/block/block.h b/include/block/block.h
index 5beccbf..6426ca6 100644
--- a/include/block/block.h
+++ b/include/block/block.h
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ int bdrv_create(BlockDriver *drv, const char* filename,
     QEMUOptionParameter *options, Error **errp);
 int bdrv_create_file(const char* filename, QEMUOptionParameter *options,
                      Error **errp);
-BlockDriverState *bdrv_new(const char *device_name);
+BlockDriverState *bdrv_new(const char *device_name, const char *node_name);
 void bdrv_make_anon(BlockDriverState *bs);
 void bdrv_swap(BlockDriverState *bs_new, BlockDriverState *bs_old);
 void bdrv_append(BlockDriverState *bs_new, BlockDriverState *bs_top);
@@ -370,6 +370,7 @@ void bdrv_lock_medium(BlockDriverState *bs, bool locked);
 void bdrv_eject(BlockDriverState *bs, bool eject_flag);
 const char *bdrv_get_format_name(BlockDriverState *bs);
 BlockDriverState *bdrv_find(const char *name);
+BlockDriverState *bdrv_find_node(const char *node_name);
 BlockDriverState *bdrv_next(BlockDriverState *bs);
 void bdrv_iterate(void (*it)(void *opaque, BlockDriverState *bs),
                   void *opaque);
diff --git a/include/block/block_int.h b/include/block/block_int.h
index 773899b..9e789d2 100644
--- a/include/block/block_int.h
+++ b/include/block/block_int.h
@@ -320,11 +320,18 @@ struct BlockDriverState {
     BlockdevOnError on_read_error, on_write_error;
     bool iostatus_enabled;
     BlockDeviceIoStatus iostatus;
+
+    /* the following member gives a name to every node on the bs graph. */
+    char node_name[32];
+    /* element of the list of named nodes building the graph */
+    QTAILQ_ENTRY(BlockDriverState) node_list;
+    /* Device name is the name associated with the "drive" the guest sees */
     char device_name[32];
+    /* element of the list of "drives" the guest sees */
+    QTAILQ_ENTRY(BlockDriverState) device_list;
     QLIST_HEAD(, BdrvDirtyBitmap) dirty_bitmaps;
     int refcnt;
     int in_use; /* users other than guest access, eg. block migration */
-    QTAILQ_ENTRY(BlockDriverState) list;
 
     QLIST_HEAD(, BdrvTrackedRequest) tracked_requests;
 
diff --git a/qemu-img.c b/qemu-img.c
index dc0c2f0..c026fbb 100644
--- a/qemu-img.c
+++ b/qemu-img.c
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ static BlockDriverState *bdrv_new_open(const char *filename,
     Error *local_err = NULL;
     int ret;
 
-    bs = bdrv_new("image");
+    bs = bdrv_new("image", "");
 
     if (fmt) {
         drv = bdrv_find_format(fmt);
@@ -2237,7 +2237,7 @@ static int img_rebase(int argc, char **argv)
     } else {
         char backing_name[1024];
 
-        bs_old_backing = bdrv_new("old_backing");
+        bs_old_backing = bdrv_new("old_backing", "");
         bdrv_get_backing_filename(bs, backing_name, sizeof(backing_name));
         ret = bdrv_open(bs_old_backing, backing_name, NULL, BDRV_O_FLAGS,
                         old_backing_drv, &local_err);
@@ -2248,7 +2248,7 @@ static int img_rebase(int argc, char **argv)
             goto out;
         }
         if (out_baseimg[0]) {
-            bs_new_backing = bdrv_new("new_backing");
+            bs_new_backing = bdrv_new("new_backing", "");
             ret = bdrv_open(bs_new_backing, out_baseimg, NULL, BDRV_O_FLAGS,
                         new_backing_drv, &local_err);
             if (ret) {
diff --git a/qemu-io.c b/qemu-io.c
index 3b3340a..fb04c74 100644
--- a/qemu-io.c
+++ b/qemu-io.c
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ static int openfile(char *name, int flags, int growable, QDict *opts)
             return 1;
         }
     } else {
-        qemuio_bs = bdrv_new("hda");
+        qemuio_bs = bdrv_new("hda", "");
 
         if (bdrv_open(qemuio_bs, name, opts, flags, NULL, &local_err) < 0) {
             fprintf(stderr, "%s: can't open device %s: %s\n", progname, name,
diff --git a/qemu-nbd.c b/qemu-nbd.c
index c26c98e..245fecf 100644
--- a/qemu-nbd.c
+++ b/qemu-nbd.c
@@ -572,7 +572,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
         drv = NULL;
     }
 
-    bs = bdrv_new("hda");
+    bs = bdrv_new("hda", "");
     srcpath = argv[optind];
     ret = bdrv_open(bs, srcpath, NULL, flags, drv, &local_err);
     if (ret < 0) {
