diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index 0dc9a3e..18dfe97 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -2123,7 +2123,7 @@ static void bdrv_close(BlockDriverState *bs)
 
     /* Disable I/O limits and drain all pending throttled requests */
     if (bs->blk && blk_get_public(bs->blk)->throttle_state) {
-        bdrv_io_limits_disable(bs);
+        blk_io_limits_disable(bs->blk);
     }
 
     bdrv_drained_begin(bs); /* complete I/O */
diff --git a/block/block-backend.c b/block/block-backend.c
index 730b8a9..b9aaa60 100644
--- a/block/block-backend.c
+++ b/block/block-backend.c
@@ -442,7 +442,7 @@ void blk_remove_bs(BlockBackend *blk)
 
     blk_update_root_state(blk);
     if (blk->public.throttle_state) {
-        bdrv_io_limits_disable(blk->root->bs);
+        blk_io_limits_disable(blk);
     }
 
     blk->root->bs->blk = NULL;
@@ -1556,7 +1556,7 @@ void blk_apply_root_state(BlockBackend *blk, BlockDriverState *bs)
 {
     bs->detect_zeroes = blk->root_state.detect_zeroes;
     if (blk->root_state.throttle_group) {
-        bdrv_io_limits_enable(bs, blk->root_state.throttle_group);
+        blk_io_limits_enable(blk, blk->root_state.throttle_group);
     }
 }
 
@@ -1620,3 +1620,42 @@ int blk_flush_all(void)
 
     return result;
 }
+
+
+/* throttling disk I/O limits */
+void blk_set_io_limits(BlockBackend *blk, ThrottleConfig *cfg)
+{
+    throttle_group_config(blk, cfg);
+}
+
+void blk_io_limits_disable(BlockBackend *blk)
+{
+    assert(blk->public.throttle_state);
+    bdrv_no_throttling_begin(blk_bs(blk));
+    throttle_group_unregister_blk(blk);
+    bdrv_no_throttling_end(blk_bs(blk));
+}
+
+/* should be called before blk_set_io_limits if a limit is set */
+void blk_io_limits_enable(BlockBackend *blk, const char *group)
+{
+    assert(!blk->public.throttle_state);
+    throttle_group_register_blk(blk, group);
+}
+
+void blk_io_limits_update_group(BlockBackend *blk, const char *group)
+{
+    /* this BB is not part of any group */
+    if (!blk->public.throttle_state) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    /* this BB is a part of the same group than the one we want */
+    if (!g_strcmp0(throttle_group_get_name(blk), group)) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    /* need to change the group this bs belong to */
+    blk_io_limits_disable(blk);
+    blk_io_limits_enable(blk, group);
+}
diff --git a/block/io.c b/block/io.c
index cf2ac4c..1699f1e 100644
--- a/block/io.c
+++ b/block/io.c
@@ -46,13 +46,6 @@ static void coroutine_fn bdrv_co_do_rw(void *opaque);
 static int coroutine_fn bdrv_co_do_write_zeroes(BlockDriverState *bs,
     int64_t sector_num, int nb_sectors, BdrvRequestFlags flags);
 
-/* throttling disk I/O limits */
-void bdrv_set_io_limits(BlockDriverState *bs,
-                        ThrottleConfig *cfg)
-{
-    throttle_group_config(bs, cfg);
-}
-
 void bdrv_no_throttling_begin(BlockDriverState *bs)
 {
     if (!bs->blk) {
@@ -77,40 +70,6 @@ void bdrv_no_throttling_end(BlockDriverState *bs)
     --blkp->io_limits_disabled;
 }
 
-void bdrv_io_limits_disable(BlockDriverState *bs)
-{
-    assert(blk_get_public(bs->blk)->throttle_state);
-    bdrv_no_throttling_begin(bs);
-    throttle_group_unregister_blk(bs->blk);
-    bdrv_no_throttling_end(bs);
-}
-
-/* should be called before bdrv_set_io_limits if a limit is set */
-void bdrv_io_limits_enable(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *group)
-{
-    BlockBackendPublic *blkp = blk_get_public(bs->blk);
-
-    assert(!blkp->throttle_state);
-    throttle_group_register_blk(bs->blk, group);
-}
-
-void bdrv_io_limits_update_group(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *group)
-{
-    /* this bs is not part of any group */
-    if (!blk_get_public(bs->blk)->throttle_state) {
-        return;
-    }
-
-    /* this bs is a part of the same group than the one we want */
-    if (!g_strcmp0(throttle_group_get_name(bs->blk), group)) {
-        return;
-    }
-
-    /* need to change the group this bs belong to */
-    bdrv_io_limits_disable(bs);
-    bdrv_io_limits_enable(bs, group);
-}
-
 void bdrv_refresh_limits(BlockDriverState *bs, Error **errp)
 {
     BlockDriver *drv = bs->drv;
diff --git a/block/qapi.c b/block/qapi.c
index 1e4bb8a..b0d8d6b 100644
--- a/block/qapi.c
+++ b/block/qapi.c
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ BlockDeviceInfo *bdrv_block_device_info(BlockBackend *blk,
     if (bs->blk && blk_get_public(bs->blk)->throttle_state) {
         ThrottleConfig cfg;
 
-        throttle_group_get_config(bs, &cfg);
+        throttle_group_get_config(bs->blk, &cfg);
 
         info->bps     = cfg.buckets[THROTTLE_BPS_TOTAL].avg;
         info->bps_rd  = cfg.buckets[THROTTLE_BPS_READ].avg;
diff --git a/block/throttle-groups.c b/block/throttle-groups.c
index 3db8cf7..59545e2 100644
--- a/block/throttle-groups.c
+++ b/block/throttle-groups.c
@@ -337,12 +337,12 @@ void throttle_group_restart_blk(BlockBackend *blk)
  * to throttle_config(), but guarantees atomicity within the
  * throttling group.
  *
- * @bs:  a BlockDriverState that is member of the group
+ * @blk: a BlockBackend that is a member of the group
  * @cfg: the configuration to set
  */
-void throttle_group_config(BlockDriverState *bs, ThrottleConfig *cfg)
+void throttle_group_config(BlockBackend *blk, ThrottleConfig *cfg)
 {
-    BlockBackendPublic *blkp = blk_get_public(bs->blk);
+    BlockBackendPublic *blkp = blk_get_public(blk);
     ThrottleTimers *tt = &blkp->throttle_timers;
     ThrottleState *ts = blkp->throttle_state;
     ThrottleGroup *tg = container_of(ts, ThrottleGroup, ts);
@@ -365,12 +365,12 @@ void throttle_group_config(BlockDriverState *bs, ThrottleConfig *cfg)
  * throttle_get_config(), but guarantees atomicity within the
  * throttling group.
  *
- * @bs:  a BlockDriverState that is member of the group
+ * @blk: a BlockBackend that is a member of the group
  * @cfg: the configuration will be written here
  */
-void throttle_group_get_config(BlockDriverState *bs, ThrottleConfig *cfg)
+void throttle_group_get_config(BlockBackend *blk, ThrottleConfig *cfg)
 {
-    BlockBackendPublic *blkp = blk_get_public(bs->blk);
+    BlockBackendPublic *blkp = blk_get_public(blk);
     ThrottleState *ts = blkp->throttle_state;
     ThrottleGroup *tg = container_of(ts, ThrottleGroup, ts);
     qemu_mutex_lock(&tg->lock);
diff --git a/blockdev.c b/blockdev.c
index 878c697..e383710 100644
--- a/blockdev.c
+++ b/blockdev.c
@@ -616,8 +616,8 @@ static BlockBackend *blockdev_init(const char *file, QDict *bs_opts,
             if (!throttling_group) {
                 throttling_group = blk_name(blk);
             }
-            bdrv_io_limits_enable(bs, throttling_group);
-            bdrv_set_io_limits(bs, &cfg);
+            blk_io_limits_enable(blk, throttling_group);
+            blk_set_io_limits(blk, &cfg);
         }
 
         if (bdrv_key_required(bs)) {
@@ -2726,16 +2726,16 @@ void qmp_block_set_io_throttle(const char *device, int64_t bps, int64_t bps_rd,
     if (throttle_enabled(&cfg)) {
         /* Enable I/O limits if they're not enabled yet, otherwise
          * just update the throttling group. */
-        if (!blk_get_public(bs->blk)->throttle_state) {
-            bdrv_io_limits_enable(bs, has_group ? group : device);
+        if (!blk_get_public(blk)->throttle_state) {
+            blk_io_limits_enable(blk, has_group ? group : device);
         } else if (has_group) {
-            bdrv_io_limits_update_group(bs, group);
+            blk_io_limits_update_group(blk, group);
         }
         /* Set the new throttling configuration */
-        bdrv_set_io_limits(bs, &cfg);
-    } else if (blk_get_public(bs->blk)->throttle_state) {
+        blk_set_io_limits(blk, &cfg);
+    } else if (blk_get_public(blk)->throttle_state) {
         /* If all throttling settings are set to 0, disable I/O limits */
-        bdrv_io_limits_disable(bs);
+        blk_io_limits_disable(blk);
     }
 
 out:
diff --git a/include/block/block.h b/include/block/block.h
index 0e8b4d1..4b04550 100644
--- a/include/block/block.h
+++ b/include/block/block.h
@@ -187,10 +187,6 @@ void bdrv_stats_print(Monitor *mon, const QObject *data);
 void bdrv_info_stats(Monitor *mon, QObject **ret_data);
 
 /* disk I/O throttling */
-void bdrv_io_limits_enable(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *group);
-void bdrv_io_limits_disable(BlockDriverState *bs);
-void bdrv_io_limits_update_group(BlockDriverState *bs, const char *group);
-
 void bdrv_init(void);
 void bdrv_init_with_whitelist(void);
 bool bdrv_uses_whitelist(void);
diff --git a/include/block/block_int.h b/include/block/block_int.h
index ddd8371..65f716d 100644
--- a/include/block/block_int.h
+++ b/include/block/block_int.h
@@ -520,8 +520,7 @@ int get_tmp_filename(char *filename, int size);
 BlockDriver *bdrv_probe_all(const uint8_t *buf, int buf_size,
                             const char *filename);
 
-void bdrv_set_io_limits(BlockDriverState *bs,
-                        ThrottleConfig *cfg);
+bool bdrv_start_throttled_reqs(BlockDriverState *bs);
 
 
 /**
diff --git a/include/block/throttle-groups.h b/include/block/throttle-groups.h
index ac42248..d983d34 100644
--- a/include/block/throttle-groups.h
+++ b/include/block/throttle-groups.h
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ const char *throttle_group_get_name(BlockBackend *blk);
 ThrottleState *throttle_group_incref(const char *name);
 void throttle_group_unref(ThrottleState *ts);
 
-void throttle_group_config(BlockDriverState *bs, ThrottleConfig *cfg);
-void throttle_group_get_config(BlockDriverState *bs, ThrottleConfig *cfg);
+void throttle_group_config(BlockBackend *blk, ThrottleConfig *cfg);
+void throttle_group_get_config(BlockBackend *blk, ThrottleConfig *cfg);
 
 void throttle_group_register_blk(BlockBackend *blk, const char *groupname);
 void throttle_group_unregister_blk(BlockBackend *blk);
diff --git a/include/sysemu/block-backend.h b/include/sysemu/block-backend.h
index 08d27a8..dd9c8ca 100644
--- a/include/sysemu/block-backend.h
+++ b/include/sysemu/block-backend.h
@@ -212,4 +212,9 @@ BlockAIOCB *blk_abort_aio_request(BlockBackend *blk,
                                   BlockCompletionFunc *cb,
                                   void *opaque, int ret);
 
+void blk_set_io_limits(BlockBackend *blk, ThrottleConfig *cfg);
+void blk_io_limits_disable(BlockBackend *blk);
+void blk_io_limits_enable(BlockBackend *blk, const char *group);
+void blk_io_limits_update_group(BlockBackend *blk, const char *group);
+
 #endif
diff --git a/tests/test-throttle.c b/tests/test-throttle.c
index a020068..5ec966c 100644
--- a/tests/test-throttle.c
+++ b/tests/test-throttle.c
@@ -577,15 +577,11 @@ static void test_groups(void)
     ThrottleConfig cfg1, cfg2;
     BlockBackend *blk1, *blk2, *blk3;
     BlockBackendPublic *blkp1, *blkp2, *blkp3;
-    BlockDriverState *bdrv1, *bdrv3;
 
     blk1 = blk_new_with_bs(&error_abort);
     blk2 = blk_new_with_bs(&error_abort);
     blk3 = blk_new_with_bs(&error_abort);
 
-    bdrv1 = blk_bs(blk1);
-    bdrv3 = blk_bs(blk3);
-
     blkp1 = blk_get_public(blk1);
     blkp2 = blk_get_public(blk2);
     blkp3 = blk_get_public(blk3);
@@ -612,20 +608,20 @@ static void test_groups(void)
     cfg1.buckets[THROTTLE_BPS_WRITE].avg = 285000;
     cfg1.buckets[THROTTLE_OPS_READ].avg  = 20000;
     cfg1.buckets[THROTTLE_OPS_WRITE].avg = 12000;
-    throttle_group_config(bdrv1, &cfg1);
+    throttle_group_config(blk1, &cfg1);
 
-    throttle_group_get_config(bdrv1, &cfg1);
-    throttle_group_get_config(bdrv3, &cfg2);
+    throttle_group_get_config(blk1, &cfg1);
+    throttle_group_get_config(blk3, &cfg2);
     g_assert(!memcmp(&cfg1, &cfg2, sizeof(cfg1)));
 
     cfg2.buckets[THROTTLE_BPS_READ].avg  = 4547;
     cfg2.buckets[THROTTLE_BPS_WRITE].avg = 1349;
     cfg2.buckets[THROTTLE_OPS_READ].avg  = 123;
     cfg2.buckets[THROTTLE_OPS_WRITE].avg = 86;
-    throttle_group_config(bdrv3, &cfg1);
+    throttle_group_config(blk3, &cfg1);
 
-    throttle_group_get_config(bdrv1, &cfg1);
-    throttle_group_get_config(bdrv3, &cfg2);
+    throttle_group_get_config(blk1, &cfg1);
+    throttle_group_get_config(blk3, &cfg2);
     g_assert(!memcmp(&cfg1, &cfg2, sizeof(cfg1)));
 
     throttle_group_unregister_blk(blk1);
