diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_log.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_log.c
index 89fec9a18c34..e2953ce470de 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_log.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_log.c
@@ -2235,9 +2235,9 @@ xlog_print_trans(
 }
 
 /*
- * Calculate the potential space needed by the log vector.  We may need a start
- * record, and each region gets its own struct xlog_op_header and may need to be
- * double word aligned.
+ * Calculate the potential space needed by the log vector. If this is a start
+ * transaction, the caller has already accounted for both opheaders in the start
+ * transaction, so we don't need to account for them here.
  */
 static int
 xlog_write_calc_vec_length(
@@ -2250,9 +2250,6 @@ xlog_write_calc_vec_length(
 	int			len = 0;
 	int			i;
 
-	if (optype & XLOG_START_TRANS)
-		headers++;
-
 	for (lv = log_vector; lv; lv = lv->lv_next) {
 		/* we don't write ordered log vectors */
 		if (lv->lv_buf_len == XFS_LOG_VEC_ORDERED)
@@ -2268,24 +2265,20 @@ xlog_write_calc_vec_length(
 		}
 	}
 
+	/* Don't account for regions with embedded ophdrs */
+	if (optype && headers > 0) {
+		if (optype & XLOG_START_TRANS) {
+			ASSERT(headers >= 2);
+			headers -= 2;
+		}
+	}
+
 	ticket->t_res_num_ophdrs += headers;
 	len += headers * sizeof(struct xlog_op_header);
 
 	return len;
 }
 
-static void
-xlog_write_start_rec(
-	struct xlog_op_header	*ophdr,
-	struct xlog_ticket	*ticket)
-{
-	ophdr->oh_tid	= cpu_to_be32(ticket->t_tid);
-	ophdr->oh_clientid = ticket->t_clientid;
-	ophdr->oh_len = 0;
-	ophdr->oh_flags = XLOG_START_TRANS;
-	ophdr->oh_res2 = 0;
-}
-
 static xlog_op_header_t *
 xlog_write_setup_ophdr(
 	struct xlog		*log,
@@ -2481,9 +2474,11 @@ xlog_write(
 	 * If this is a commit or unmount transaction, we don't need a start
 	 * record to be written.  We do, however, have to account for the
 	 * commit or unmount header that gets written. Hence we always have
-	 * to account for an extra xlog_op_header here.
+	 * to account for an extra xlog_op_header here for commit and unmount
+	 * records.
 	 */
-	ticket->t_curr_res -= sizeof(struct xlog_op_header);
+	if (optype & (XLOG_COMMIT_TRANS | XLOG_UNMOUNT_TRANS))
+		ticket->t_curr_res -= sizeof(struct xlog_op_header);
 	if (ticket->t_curr_res < 0) {
 		xfs_alert_tag(log->l_mp, XFS_PTAG_LOGRES,
 		     "ctx ticket reservation ran out. Need to up reservation");
@@ -2524,7 +2519,7 @@ xlog_write(
 			int			copy_len;
 			int			copy_off;
 			bool			ordered = false;
-			bool			wrote_start_rec = false;
+			bool			added_ophdr = false;
 
 			/* ordered log vectors have no regions to write */
 			if (lv->lv_buf_len == XFS_LOG_VEC_ORDERED) {
@@ -2538,25 +2533,24 @@ xlog_write(
 			ASSERT((unsigned long)ptr % sizeof(int32_t) == 0);
 
 			/*
-			 * Before we start formatting log vectors, we need to
-			 * write a start record. Only do this for the first
-			 * iclog we write to.
+			 * The XLOG_START_TRANS has embedded ophdrs for the
+			 * start record and transaction header. They will always
+			 * be the first two regions in the lv chain.
 			 */
 			if (optype & XLOG_START_TRANS) {
-				xlog_write_start_rec(ptr, ticket);
-				xlog_write_adv_cnt(&ptr, &len, &log_offset,
-						sizeof(struct xlog_op_header));
-				optype &= ~XLOG_START_TRANS;
-				wrote_start_rec = true;
-			}
-
-			ophdr = xlog_write_setup_ophdr(log, ptr, ticket, optype);
-			if (!ophdr)
-				return -EIO;
+				ophdr = reg->i_addr;
+				if (index)
+					optype &= ~XLOG_START_TRANS;
+			} else {
+				ophdr = xlog_write_setup_ophdr(log, ptr,
+							ticket, optype);
+				if (!ophdr)
+					return -EIO;
 
-			xlog_write_adv_cnt(&ptr, &len, &log_offset,
+				xlog_write_adv_cnt(&ptr, &len, &log_offset,
 					   sizeof(struct xlog_op_header));
-
+				added_ophdr = true;
+			}
 			len += xlog_write_setup_copy(ticket, ophdr,
 						     iclog->ic_size-log_offset,
 						     reg->i_len,
@@ -2565,13 +2559,22 @@ xlog_write(
 						     &partial_copy_len);
 			xlog_verify_dest_ptr(log, ptr);
 
+
+			/*
+			 * Wart: need to update length in embedded ophdr not
+			 * to include it's own length.
+			 */
+			if (!added_ophdr) {
+				ophdr->oh_len = cpu_to_be32(copy_len -
+						sizeof(struct xlog_op_header));
+			}
 			/*
 			 * Copy region.
 			 *
-			 * Unmount records just log an opheader, so can have
-			 * empty payloads with no data region to copy. Hence we
-			 * only copy the payload if the vector says it has data
-			 * to copy.
+			 * Commit and unmount records just log an opheader, so
+			 * we can have empty payloads with no data region to
+			 * copy.  Hence we only copy the payload if the vector
+			 * says it has data to copy.
 			 */
 			ASSERT(copy_len >= 0);
 			if (copy_len > 0) {
@@ -2579,12 +2582,9 @@ xlog_write(
 				xlog_write_adv_cnt(&ptr, &len, &log_offset,
 						   copy_len);
 			}
-			copy_len += sizeof(struct xlog_op_header);
-			record_cnt++;
-			if (wrote_start_rec) {
+			if (added_ophdr)
 				copy_len += sizeof(struct xlog_op_header);
-				record_cnt++;
-			}
+			record_cnt++;
 			data_cnt += contwr ? copy_len : 0;
 
 			error = xlog_write_copy_finish(log, iclog, optype,
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_log_cil.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_log_cil.c
index 28f8104fbef1..9a810a2c92e9 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_log_cil.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_log_cil.c
@@ -835,14 +835,22 @@ xlog_cil_write_commit_record(
 }
 
 struct xlog_cil_trans_hdr {
+	struct xlog_op_header	oph[2];
 	struct xfs_trans_header	thdr;
-	struct xfs_log_iovec	lhdr;
+	struct xfs_log_iovec	lhdr[2];
 };
 
 /*
  * Build a checkpoint transaction header to begin the journal transaction.  We
  * need to account for the space used by the transaction header here as it is
  * not accounted for in xlog_write().
+ *
+ * This is the only place we write a transaction header, so we also build the
+ * log opheaders that indicate the start of a log transaction and wrap the
+ * transaction header. We keep the start record in it's own log vector rather
+ * than compacting them into a single region as this ends up making the logic
+ * in xlog_write() for handling empty opheaders for start, commit and unmount
+ * records much simpler.
  */
 static void
 xlog_cil_build_trans_hdr(
@@ -852,20 +860,41 @@ xlog_cil_build_trans_hdr(
 	int			num_iovecs)
 {
 	struct xlog_ticket	*tic = ctx->ticket;
+	__be32			tid = cpu_to_be32(tic->t_tid);
 
 	memset(hdr, 0, sizeof(*hdr));
 
+	/* Log start record */
+	hdr->oph[0].oh_tid = tid;
+	hdr->oph[0].oh_clientid = XFS_TRANSACTION;
+	hdr->oph[0].oh_flags = XLOG_START_TRANS;
+
+	/* log iovec region pointer */
+	hdr->lhdr[0].i_addr = &hdr->oph[0];
+	hdr->lhdr[0].i_len = sizeof(struct xlog_op_header);
+	hdr->lhdr[0].i_type = XLOG_REG_TYPE_LRHEADER;
+
+	/* log opheader */
+	hdr->oph[1].oh_tid = tid;
+	hdr->oph[1].oh_clientid = XFS_TRANSACTION;
+	hdr->oph[1].oh_len = cpu_to_be32(sizeof(struct xfs_trans_header));
+
+	/* transaction header in host byte order format */
 	hdr->thdr.th_magic = XFS_TRANS_HEADER_MAGIC;
 	hdr->thdr.th_type = XFS_TRANS_CHECKPOINT;
 	hdr->thdr.th_tid = tic->t_tid;
 	hdr->thdr.th_num_items = num_iovecs;
-	hdr->lhdr.i_addr = &hdr->thdr;
-	hdr->lhdr.i_len = sizeof(xfs_trans_header_t);
-	hdr->lhdr.i_type = XLOG_REG_TYPE_TRANSHDR;
-	tic->t_curr_res -= hdr->lhdr.i_len + sizeof(struct xlog_op_header);
 
-	lvhdr->lv_niovecs = 1;
-	lvhdr->lv_iovecp = &hdr->lhdr;
+	/* log iovec region pointer */
+	hdr->lhdr[1].i_addr = &hdr->oph[1];
+	hdr->lhdr[1].i_len = sizeof(struct xlog_op_header) +
+				sizeof(struct xfs_trans_header);
+	hdr->lhdr[1].i_type = XLOG_REG_TYPE_TRANSHDR;
+
+	tic->t_curr_res -= hdr->lhdr[0].i_len + hdr->lhdr[1].i_len;
+
+	lvhdr->lv_niovecs = 2;
+	lvhdr->lv_iovecp = &hdr->lhdr[0];
 	lvhdr->lv_next = ctx->lv_chain;
 }
 
