Merge remote-tracking branch 'remotes/armbru/tags/pull-monitor-2018-07-03-v2' into staging

Monitor patches for 2018-07-03

# gpg: Signature made Tue 03 Jul 2018 22:20:13 BST
# gpg:                using RSA key 3870B400EB918653
# gpg: Good signature from "Markus Armbruster <armbru@redhat.com>"
# gpg:                 aka "Markus Armbruster <armbru@pond.sub.org>"
# Primary key fingerprint: 354B C8B3 D7EB 2A6B 6867  4E5F 3870 B400 EB91 8653

* remotes/armbru/tags/pull-monitor-2018-07-03-v2: (32 commits)
  qapi: Polish command flags documentation in qapi-code-gen.txt
  monitor: Improve some comments
  qmp: Clean up capability negotiation after commit 02130314d8c
  qobject: Let qobject_from_jsonf() fail instead of abort
  qmp: Switch timestamp_put() to qdict_from_jsonf_nofail()
  qmp: Add some comments around null responses
  qmp: Simplify monitor_qmp_respond()
  qmp: Replace get_qmp_greeting() by qmp_greeting()
  qmp: Replace monitor_json_emitter{,raw}() by qmp_{queue,send}_response()
  qmp: Use QDict * instead of QObject * for response objects
  qmp: De-duplicate error response building
  qobject: New qdict_from_jsonf_nofail()
  monitor: Peel off @mon_global wrapper
  monitor: Rename use_io_thr to use_io_thread
  qmp: Don't let JSON errors jump the queue
  qmp: Don't let malformed in-band commands jump the queue
  tests/qmp-test: Demonstrate QMP errors jumping the queue
  qmp: Simplify code around monitor_qmp_dispatch_one()
  qmp: Always free QMPRequest with qmp_request_free()
  qmp: Revert change to handle_qmp_command tracepoint
  ...

Signed-off-by: Peter Maydell <peter.maydell@linaro.org>

16 files changed, 506 insertions, 523 deletions

diff --git a/docs/devel/qapi-code-gen.txt b/docs/devel/qapi-code-gen.txt
index d3b0990983..c2e11465f0 100644
--- a/docs/devel/qapi-code-gen.txt
+++ b/docs/devel/qapi-code-gen.txt
@@ -624,62 +624,48 @@ its return value.
 In rare cases, QAPI cannot express a type-safe representation of a
 corresponding Client JSON Protocol command.  You then have to suppress
 generation of a marshalling function by including a key 'gen' with
-boolean value false, and instead write your own function.  Please try
-to avoid adding new commands that rely on this, and instead use
-type-safe unions.  For an example of this usage:
+boolean value false, and instead write your own function.  For
+example:
 
  { 'command': 'netdev_add',
    'data': {'type': 'str', 'id': 'str'},
    'gen': false }
 
+Please try to avoid adding new commands that rely on this, and instead
+use type-safe unions.
+
 Normally, the QAPI schema is used to describe synchronous exchanges,
 where a response is expected.  But in some cases, the action of a
 command is expected to change state in a way that a successful
 response is not possible (although the command will still return a
 normal dictionary error on failure).  When a successful reply is not
-possible, the command expression should include the optional key
+possible, the command expression includes the optional key
 'success-response' with boolean value false.  So far, only QGA makes
 use of this member.
 
-A command can be declared to support Out-Of-Band (OOB) execution.  By
-default, commands do not support OOB.  To declare a command that
-supports it, the schema includes an extra 'allow-oob' field.  For
-example:
+Key 'allow-oob' declares whether the command supports out-of-band
+(OOB) execution.  It defaults to false.  For example:
 
  { 'command': 'migrate_recover',
    'data': { 'uri': 'str' }, 'allow-oob': true }
 
-To execute a command with out-of-band priority, the client specifies
-the "control" field in the request, with "run-oob" set to
-true. Example:
-
- => { "execute": "command-support-oob",
-      "arguments": { ... },
-      "control": { "run-oob": true } }
- <= { "return": { } }
-
-Without it, even the commands that support out-of-band execution will
-still be run in-band.
+See qmp-spec.txt for out-of-band execution syntax and semantics.
 
-Under normal QMP command execution, the following apply to each
-command:
+Commands supporting out-of-band execution can still be executed
+in-band.
 
-- They are executed in order,
-- They run only in main thread of QEMU,
-- They run with the BQL held.
+When a command is executed in-band, its handler runs in the main
+thread with the BQL held.
 
-When a command is executed with OOB, the following changes occur:
+When a command is executed out-of-band, its handler runs in a
+dedicated monitor I/O thread with the BQL *not* held.
 
-- They can be completed before a pending in-band command,
-- They run in a dedicated monitor thread,
-- They run with the BQL not held.
+An OOB-capable command handler must satisfy the following conditions:
 
-OOB command handlers must satisfy the following conditions:
-
-- It terminates quickly,
-- It does not invoke system calls that may block,
+- It terminates quickly.
+- It does not invoke system calls that may block.
 - It does not access guest RAM that may block when userfaultfd is
-  enabled for postcopy live migration,
+  enabled for postcopy live migration.
 - It takes only "fast" locks, i.e. all critical sections protected by
   any lock it takes also satisfy the conditions for OOB command
   handler code.
@@ -688,17 +674,18 @@ The restrictions on locking limit access to shared state.  Such access
 requires synchronization, but OOB commands can't take the BQL or any
 other "slow" lock.
 
-If in doubt, do not implement OOB execution support.
+When in doubt, do not implement OOB execution support.
 
-A command may use the optional 'allow-preconfig' key to permit its execution
-at early runtime configuration stage (preconfig runstate).
-If not specified then a command defaults to 'allow-preconfig': false.
+Key 'allow-preconfig' declares whether the command is available before
+the machine is built.  It defaults to false.  For example:
 
-An example of declaring a command that is enabled during preconfig:
  { 'command': 'qmp_capabilities',
    'data': { '*enable': [ 'QMPCapability' ] },
    'allow-preconfig': true }
 
+QMP is available before the machine is built only when QEMU was
+started with --preconfig.
+
 === Events ===
 
 Usage: { 'event': STRING, '*data': COMPLEX-TYPE-NAME-OR-DICT,
diff --git a/docs/interop/qmp-intro.txt b/docs/interop/qmp-intro.txt
index 900d69d612..9d54a718b8 100644
--- a/docs/interop/qmp-intro.txt
+++ b/docs/interop/qmp-intro.txt
@@ -52,13 +52,14 @@ Escape character is '^]'.
     "QMP": {
         "version": {
             "qemu": {
-                "micro": 50, 
-                "minor": 6, 
-                "major": 1
-            }, 
-            "package": ""
-        }, 
+                "micro": 0,
+                "minor": 0,
+                "major": 3
+            },
+            "package": "v3.0.0"
+        },
         "capabilities": [
+            "oob"
         ]
     }
 }
diff --git a/docs/interop/qmp-spec.txt b/docs/interop/qmp-spec.txt
index 6fa193a80b..1566b8ae5e 100644
--- a/docs/interop/qmp-spec.txt
+++ b/docs/interop/qmp-spec.txt
@@ -77,52 +77,65 @@ The greeting message format is:
   is the same of the query-version command)
 - The "capabilities" member specify the availability of features beyond the
   baseline specification; the order of elements in this array has no
-  particular significance, so a client must search the entire array
-  when looking for a particular capability
+  particular significance.
 
 2.2.1 Capabilities
 ------------------
 
 Currently supported capabilities are:
 
-- "oob": the QMP server supports "Out-Of-Band" (OOB) command
-  execution.  For more details, please see the "run-oob" parameter in
-  the "Issuing Commands" section below.  Not all commands allow this
-  "oob" execution.  The "query-qmp-schema" command can be used to
-  inspect which commands support "oob" execution.
-
-QMP clients can get a list of supported QMP capabilities of the QMP
-server in the greeting message mentioned above.  By default, all the
-capabilities are off.  To enable any QMP capabilities, the QMP client
-needs to send the "qmp_capabilities" command with an extra parameter
-for the requested capabilities.
+- "oob": the QMP server supports "out-of-band" (OOB) command
+  execution, as described in section "2.3.1 Out-of-band execution".
 
 2.3 Issuing Commands
 --------------------
 
 The format for command execution is:
 
-{ "execute": json-string, "arguments": json-object, "id": json-value,
-  "control": json-object }
+{ "execute": json-string, "arguments": json-object, "id": json-value }
+
+or
+
+{ "exec-oob": json-string, "arguments": json-object, "id": json-value }
 
  Where,
 
-- The "execute" member identifies the command to be executed by the Server
+- The "execute" or "exec-oob" member identifies the command to be
+  executed by the server.  The latter requests out-of-band execution.
 - The "arguments" member is used to pass any arguments required for the
   execution of the command, it is optional when no arguments are
   required. Each command documents what contents will be considered
   valid when handling the json-argument
 - The "id" member is a transaction identification associated with the
-  command execution.  It is required for all commands if the OOB -
-  capability was enabled at startup, and optional otherwise.  The same
-  "id" field will be part of the response if provided. The "id" member
-  can be any json-value, although most clients merely use a
-  json-number incremented for each successive command
-- The "control" member is optional, and currently only used for
-  out-of-band execution. The handling or response of an "oob" command
-  can overtake prior in-band commands.  To enable "oob" handling of a
-  particular command, just provide a control field with: { "control":
-  { "run-oob": true } }
+  command execution, it is optional and will be part of the response
+  if provided.  The "id" member can be any json-value.  A json-number
+  incremented for each successive command works fine.
+
+2.3.1 Out-of-band execution
+---------------------------
+
+The server normally reads, executes and responds to one command after
+the other.  The client therefore receives command responses in issue
+order.
+
+With out-of-band execution enabled via capability negotiation (section
+4.), the server reads and queues commands as they arrive.  It executes
+commands from the queue one after the other.  Commands executed
+out-of-band jump the queue: the command get executed right away,
+possibly overtaking prior in-band commands.  The client may therefore
+receive such a command's response before responses from prior in-band
+commands.
+
+To be able to match responses back to their commands, the client needs
+to pass "id" with out-of-band commands.  Passing it with all commands
+is recommended for clients that accept capability "oob".
+
+If the client sends in-band commands faster than the server can
+execute them, the server will eventually drop commands to limit the
+queue length.  The sever sends event COMMAND_DROPPED then.
+
+Only a few commands support out-of-band execution.  The ones that do
+have "allow-oob": true in output of query-qmp-schema.
 
 2.4 Commands Responses
 ----------------------
@@ -223,12 +236,13 @@ This section provides some examples of real QMP usage, in all of them
 3.1 Server greeting
 -------------------
 
-S: { "QMP": { "version": { "qemu": { "micro": 50, "minor": 6, "major": 1 },
-     "package": ""}, "capabilities": []}}
+S: { "QMP": {"version": {"qemu": {"micro": 0, "minor": 0, "major": 3},
+     "package": "v3.0.0"}, "capabilities": ["oob"] } }
+
+3.2 Capabilities negotiation
+----------------------------
 
-3.2 Client QMP negotiation
---------------------------
-C: { "execute": "qmp_capabilities" }
+C: { "execute": "qmp_capabilities", "arguments": { "enable": ["oob"] } }
 S: { "return": {}}
 
 3.3 Simple 'stop' execution
@@ -255,6 +269,15 @@ S: { "error": { "class": "GenericError", "desc": "Invalid JSON syntax" } }
 S: { "timestamp": { "seconds": 1258551470, "microseconds": 802384 },
     "event": "POWERDOWN" }
 
+3.7 Out-of-band execution
+-------------------------
+
+C: { "exec-oob": "migrate-pause", "id": 42 }
+S: { "id": 42,
+     "error": { "class": "GenericError",
+      "desc": "migrate-pause is currently only supported during postcopy-active state" } }
+
+
 4. Capabilities Negotiation
 ===========================
 
diff --git a/include/qapi/qmp/dispatch.h b/include/qapi/qmp/dispatch.h
index b366bb48bd..4e2e749faf 100644
--- a/include/qapi/qmp/dispatch.h
+++ b/include/qapi/qmp/dispatch.h
@@ -41,15 +41,15 @@ void qmp_register_command(QmpCommandList *cmds, const char *name,
                           QmpCommandFunc *fn, QmpCommandOptions options);
 void qmp_unregister_command(QmpCommandList *cmds, const char *name);
 QmpCommand *qmp_find_command(QmpCommandList *cmds, const char *name);
-QObject *qmp_dispatch(QmpCommandList *cmds, QObject *request);
 void qmp_disable_command(QmpCommandList *cmds, const char *name);
 void qmp_enable_command(QmpCommandList *cmds, const char *name);
 
 bool qmp_command_is_enabled(const QmpCommand *cmd);
 const char *qmp_command_name(const QmpCommand *cmd);
 bool qmp_has_success_response(const QmpCommand *cmd);
-QObject *qmp_build_error_object(Error *err);
-QDict *qmp_dispatch_check_obj(const QObject *request, Error **errp);
+QDict *qmp_error_response(Error *err);
+QDict *qmp_dispatch(QmpCommandList *cmds, QObject *request,
+                    bool allow_oob);
 bool qmp_is_oob(QDict *dict);
 
 typedef void (*qmp_cmd_callback_fn)(QmpCommand *cmd, void *opaque);
diff --git a/include/qapi/qmp/qjson.h b/include/qapi/qmp/qjson.h
index b274ac3a86..43b2ce2f33 100644
--- a/include/qapi/qmp/qjson.h
+++ b/include/qapi/qmp/qjson.h
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ QObject *qobject_from_jsonf(const char *string, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
 QObject *qobject_from_jsonv(const char *string, va_list *ap, Error **errp)
     GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 0);
 
+QDict *qdict_from_jsonf_nofail(const char *string, ...) GCC_FMT_ATTR(1, 2);
+
 QString *qobject_to_json(const QObject *obj);
 QString *qobject_to_json_pretty(const QObject *obj);
 
diff --git a/monitor.c b/monitor.c
index 8e1aea7826..3c9c97b73f 100644
--- a/monitor.c
+++ b/monitor.c
@@ -169,14 +169,16 @@ typedef struct {
     JSONMessageParser parser;
     /*
      * When a client connects, we're in capabilities negotiation mode.
-     * When command qmp_capabilities succeeds, we go into command
-     * mode.
+     * @commands is &qmp_cap_negotiation_commands then.  When command
+     * qmp_capabilities succeeds, we go into command mode, and
+     * @command becomes &qmp_commands.
      */
     QmpCommandList *commands;
-    bool qmp_caps[QMP_CAPABILITY__MAX];
+    bool capab_offered[QMP_CAPABILITY__MAX]; /* capabilities offered */
+    bool capab[QMP_CAPABILITY__MAX];         /* offered and accepted */
     /*
-     * Protects qmp request/response queue.  Please take monitor_lock
-     * first when used together.
+     * Protects qmp request/response queue.
+     * Take monitor_lock first when you need both.
      */
     QemuMutex qmp_queue_lock;
     /* Input queue that holds all the parsed QMP requests */
@@ -207,11 +209,11 @@ struct Monitor {
     int flags;
     int suspend_cnt;            /* Needs to be accessed atomically */
     bool skip_flush;
-    bool use_io_thr;
+    bool use_io_thread;
 
     /*
      * State used only in the thread "owning" the monitor.
-     * If @use_io_thr, this is mon_global.mon_iothread.
+     * If @use_io_thread, this is @mon_iothread.
      * Else, it's the main thread.
      * These members can be safely accessed without locks.
      */
@@ -231,7 +233,7 @@ struct Monitor {
     QemuMutex mon_lock;
 
     /*
-     * Fields that are protected by the per-monitor lock.
+     * Members that are protected by the per-monitor lock
      */
     QLIST_HEAD(, mon_fd_t) fds;
     QString *outbuf;
@@ -240,22 +242,26 @@ struct Monitor {
     int mux_out;
 };
 
-/* Let's add monitor global variables to this struct. */
-static struct {
-    IOThread *mon_iothread;
-    /* Bottom half to dispatch the requests received from IO thread */
-    QEMUBH *qmp_dispatcher_bh;
-    /* Bottom half to deliver the responses back to clients */
-    QEMUBH *qmp_respond_bh;
-} mon_global;
+/* Shared monitor I/O thread */
+IOThread *mon_iothread;
+
+/* Bottom half to dispatch the requests received from I/O thread */
+QEMUBH *qmp_dispatcher_bh;
+
+/* Bottom half to deliver the responses back to clients */
+QEMUBH *qmp_respond_bh;
 
 struct QMPRequest {
     /* Owner of the request */
     Monitor *mon;
     /* "id" field of the request */
     QObject *id;
-    /* Request object to be handled */
+    /*
+     * Request object to be handled or Error to be reported
+     * (exactly one of them is non-null)
+     */
     QObject *req;
+    Error *err;
     /*
      * Whether we need to resume the monitor afterward.  This flag is
      * used to emulate the old QMP server behavior that the current
@@ -298,9 +304,9 @@ static inline bool monitor_is_qmp(const Monitor *mon)
 }
 
 /**
- * Whether @mon is using readline?  Note: not all HMP monitors use
- * readline, e.g., gdbserver has a non-interactive HMP monitor, so
- * readline is not used there.
+ * Is @mon is using readline?
+ * Note: not all HMP monitors use readline, e.g., gdbserver has a
+ * non-interactive HMP monitor, so readline is not used there.
  */
 static inline bool monitor_uses_readline(const Monitor *mon)
 {
@@ -314,14 +320,12 @@ static inline bool monitor_is_hmp_non_interactive(const Monitor *mon)
 
 /*
  * Return the clock to use for recording an event's time.
+ * It's QEMU_CLOCK_REALTIME, except for qtests it's
+ * QEMU_CLOCK_VIRTUAL, to support testing rate limits.
  * Beware: result is invalid before configure_accelerator().
  */
 static inline QEMUClockType monitor_get_event_clock(void)
 {
-    /*
-     * This allows us to perform tests on the monitor queues to verify
-     * that the rate limits are enforced.
-     */
     return qtest_enabled() ? QEMU_CLOCK_VIRTUAL : QEMU_CLOCK_REALTIME;
 }
 
@@ -360,10 +364,11 @@ static void qmp_request_free(QMPRequest *req)
 {
     qobject_unref(req->id);
     qobject_unref(req->req);
+    error_free(req->err);
     g_free(req);
 }
 
-/* Must with the mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock held */
+/* Caller must hold mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock */
 static void monitor_qmp_cleanup_req_queue_locked(Monitor *mon)
 {
     while (!g_queue_is_empty(mon->qmp.qmp_requests)) {
@@ -371,11 +376,11 @@ static void monitor_qmp_cleanup_req_queue_locked(Monitor *mon)
     }
 }
 
-/* Must with the mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock held */
+/* Caller must hold the mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock */
 static void monitor_qmp_cleanup_resp_queue_locked(Monitor *mon)
 {
     while (!g_queue_is_empty(mon->qmp.qmp_responses)) {
-        qobject_unref((QObject *)g_queue_pop_head(mon->qmp.qmp_responses));
+        qobject_unref((QDict *)g_queue_pop_head(mon->qmp.qmp_responses));
     }
 }
 
@@ -402,7 +407,7 @@ static gboolean monitor_unblocked(GIOChannel *chan, GIOCondition cond,
     return FALSE;
 }
 
-/* Called with mon->mon_lock held.  */
+/* Caller must hold mon->mon_lock */
 static void monitor_flush_locked(Monitor *mon)
 {
     int rc;
@@ -499,9 +504,9 @@ int monitor_fprintf(FILE *stream, const char *fmt, ...)
     return 0;
 }
 
-static void monitor_json_emitter_raw(Monitor *mon,
-                                     QObject *data)
+static void qmp_send_response(Monitor *mon, QDict *rsp)
 {
+    QObject *data = QOBJECT(rsp);
     QString *json;
 
     json = mon->flags & MONITOR_USE_PRETTY ? qobject_to_json_pretty(data) :
@@ -514,37 +519,35 @@ static void monitor_json_emitter_raw(Monitor *mon,
     qobject_unref(json);
 }
 
-static void monitor_json_emitter(Monitor *mon, QObject *data)
+static void qmp_queue_response(Monitor *mon, QDict *rsp)
 {
-    if (mon->use_io_thr) {
+    if (mon->use_io_thread) {
         /*
-         * If using IO thread, we need to queue the item so that IO
-         * thread will do the rest for us.  Take refcount so that
-         * caller won't free the data (which will be finally freed in
-         * responder thread).
+         * Push a reference to the response queue.  The I/O thread
+         * drains that queue and emits.
          */
         qemu_mutex_lock(&mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock);
-        g_queue_push_tail(mon->qmp.qmp_responses, qobject_ref(data));
+        g_queue_push_tail(mon->qmp.qmp_responses, qobject_ref(rsp));
         qemu_mutex_unlock(&mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock);
-        qemu_bh_schedule(mon_global.qmp_respond_bh);
+        qemu_bh_schedule(qmp_respond_bh);
     } else {
         /*
-         * If not using monitor IO thread, then we are in main thread.
-         * Do the emission right away.
+         * Not using monitor I/O thread, i.e. we are in the main thread.
+         * Emit right away.
          */
-        monitor_json_emitter_raw(mon, data);
+        qmp_send_response(mon, rsp);
     }
 }
 
 struct QMPResponse {
     Monitor *mon;
-    QObject *data;
+    QDict *data;
 };
 typedef struct QMPResponse QMPResponse;
 
-static QObject *monitor_qmp_response_pop_one(Monitor *mon)
+static QDict *monitor_qmp_response_pop_one(Monitor *mon)
 {
-    QObject *data;
+    QDict *data;
 
     qemu_mutex_lock(&mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock);
     data = g_queue_pop_head(mon->qmp.qmp_responses);
@@ -555,10 +558,10 @@ static QObject *monitor_qmp_response_pop_one(Monitor *mon)
 
 static void monitor_qmp_response_flush(Monitor *mon)
 {
-    QObject *data;
+    QDict *data;
 
     while ((data = monitor_qmp_response_pop_one(mon))) {
-        monitor_json_emitter_raw(mon, data);
+        qmp_send_response(mon, data);
         qobject_unref(data);
     }
 }
@@ -570,7 +573,7 @@ static void monitor_qmp_response_flush(Monitor *mon)
 static bool monitor_qmp_response_pop_any(QMPResponse *response)
 {
     Monitor *mon;
-    QObject *data = NULL;
+    QDict *data = NULL;
 
     qemu_mutex_lock(&monitor_lock);
     QTAILQ_FOREACH(mon, &mon_list, entry) {
@@ -590,7 +593,7 @@ static void monitor_qmp_bh_responder(void *opaque)
     QMPResponse response;
 
     while (monitor_qmp_response_pop_any(&response)) {
-        monitor_json_emitter_raw(response.mon, response.data);
+        qmp_send_response(response.mon, response.data);
         qobject_unref(response.data);
     }
 }
@@ -606,8 +609,9 @@ static MonitorQAPIEventConf monitor_qapi_event_conf[QAPI_EVENT__MAX] = {
 };
 
 /*
- * Emits the event to every monitor instance, @event is only used for trace
- * Called with monitor_lock held.
+ * Broadcast an event to all monitors.
+ * @qdict is the event object.  Its member "event" must match @event.
+ * Caller must hold monitor_lock.
  */
 static void monitor_qapi_event_emit(QAPIEvent event, QDict *qdict)
 {
@@ -617,7 +621,7 @@ static void monitor_qapi_event_emit(QAPIEvent event, QDict *qdict)
     QTAILQ_FOREACH(mon, &mon_list, entry) {
         if (monitor_is_qmp(mon)
             && mon->qmp.commands != &qmp_cap_negotiation_commands) {
-            monitor_json_emitter(mon, QOBJECT(qdict));
+            qmp_queue_response(mon, qdict);
         }
     }
 }
@@ -762,7 +766,7 @@ static void monitor_qapi_event_init(void)
 static void handle_hmp_command(Monitor *mon, const char *cmdline);
 
 static void monitor_data_init(Monitor *mon, bool skip_flush,
-                              bool use_io_thr)
+                              bool use_io_thread)
 {
     memset(mon, 0, sizeof(Monitor));
     qemu_mutex_init(&mon->mon_lock);
@@ -771,7 +775,7 @@ static void monitor_data_init(Monitor *mon, bool skip_flush,
     /* Use *mon_cmds by default. */
     mon->cmd_table = mon_cmds;
     mon->skip_flush = skip_flush;
-    mon->use_io_thr = use_io_thr;
+    mon->use_io_thread = use_io_thread;
     mon->qmp.qmp_requests = g_queue_new();
     mon->qmp.qmp_responses = g_queue_new();
 }
@@ -976,8 +980,7 @@ static int parse_cmdline(const char *cmdline,
 }
 
 /*
- * Returns true if the command can be executed in preconfig mode
- * i.e. it has the 'p' flag.
+ * Can command @cmd be executed in preconfig state?
  */
 static bool cmd_can_preconfig(const mon_cmd_t *cmd)
 {
@@ -1246,96 +1249,56 @@ static void monitor_init_qmp_commands(void)
                          qmp_marshal_qmp_capabilities, QCO_ALLOW_PRECONFIG);
 }
 
-static bool qmp_cap_enabled(Monitor *mon, QMPCapability cap)
-{
-    return mon->qmp.qmp_caps[cap];
-}
-
 static bool qmp_oob_enabled(Monitor *mon)
 {
-    return qmp_cap_enabled(mon, QMP_CAPABILITY_OOB);
-}
-
-static void qmp_caps_check(Monitor *mon, QMPCapabilityList *list,
-                           Error **errp)
-{
-    for (; list; list = list->next) {
-        assert(list->value < QMP_CAPABILITY__MAX);
-        switch (list->value) {
-        case QMP_CAPABILITY_OOB:
-            if (!mon->use_io_thr) {
-                /*
-                 * Out-Of-Band only works with monitors that are
-                 * running on dedicated IOThread.
-                 */
-                error_setg(errp, "This monitor does not support "
-                           "Out-Of-Band (OOB)");
-                return;
-            }
-            break;
-        default:
-            break;
-        }
-    }
+    return mon->qmp.capab[QMP_CAPABILITY_OOB];
 }
 
-/* This function should only be called after capabilities are checked. */
-static void qmp_caps_apply(Monitor *mon, QMPCapabilityList *list)
+static void monitor_qmp_caps_reset(Monitor *mon)
 {
-    for (; list; list = list->next) {
-        mon->qmp.qmp_caps[list->value] = true;
-    }
+    memset(mon->qmp.capab_offered, 0, sizeof(mon->qmp.capab_offered));
+    memset(mon->qmp.capab, 0, sizeof(mon->qmp.capab));
+    mon->qmp.capab_offered[QMP_CAPABILITY_OOB] = mon->use_io_thread;
 }
 
 /*
- * Return true if check successful, or false otherwise.  When false is
- * returned, detailed error will be in errp if provided.
+ * Accept QMP capabilities in @list for @mon.
+ * On success, set mon->qmp.capab[], and return true.
+ * On error, set @errp, and return false.
  */
-static bool qmp_cmd_oob_check(Monitor *mon, QDict *req, Error **errp)
+static bool qmp_caps_accept(Monitor *mon, QMPCapabilityList *list,
+                            Error **errp)
 {
-    const char *command;
-    QmpCommand *cmd;
+    GString *unavailable = NULL;
+    bool capab[QMP_CAPABILITY__MAX];
 
-    command = qdict_get_try_str(req, "execute");
-    if (!command) {
-        error_setg(errp, "Command field 'execute' missing");
-        return false;
-    }
+    memset(capab, 0, sizeof(capab));
 
-    cmd = qmp_find_command(mon->qmp.commands, command);
-    if (!cmd) {
-        if (mon->qmp.commands == &qmp_cap_negotiation_commands) {
-            error_set(errp, ERROR_CLASS_COMMAND_NOT_FOUND,
-                      "Expecting capabilities negotiation "
-                      "with 'qmp_capabilities'");
-        } else {
-            error_set(errp, ERROR_CLASS_COMMAND_NOT_FOUND,
-                      "The command %s has not been found", command);
+    for (; list; list = list->next) {
+        if (!mon->qmp.capab_offered[list->value]) {
+            if (!unavailable) {
+                unavailable = g_string_new(QMPCapability_str(list->value));
+            } else {
+                g_string_append_printf(unavailable, ", %s",
+                                      QMPCapability_str(list->value));
+            }
         }
-        return false;
+        capab[list->value] = true;
     }
 
-    if (qmp_is_oob(req)) {
-        if (!qmp_oob_enabled(mon)) {
-            error_setg(errp, "Please enable Out-Of-Band first "
-                       "for the session during capabilities negotiation");
-            return false;
-        }
-        if (!(cmd->options & QCO_ALLOW_OOB)) {
-            error_setg(errp, "The command %s does not support OOB",
-                       command);
-            return false;
-        }
+    if (unavailable) {
+        error_setg(errp, "Capability %s not available", unavailable->str);
+        g_string_free(unavailable, true);
+        return false;
     }
 
+    memcpy(mon->qmp.capab, capab, sizeof(capab));
     return true;
 }
 
 void qmp_qmp_capabilities(bool has_enable, QMPCapabilityList *enable,
                           Error **errp)
 {
-    Error *local_err = NULL;
-
     if (cur_mon->qmp.commands == &qmp_commands) {
         error_set(errp, ERROR_CLASS_COMMAND_NOT_FOUND,
                   "Capabilities negotiation is already complete, command "
@@ -1343,19 +1306,8 @@ void qmp_qmp_capabilities(bool has_enable, QMPCapabilityList *enable,
         return;
     }
 
-    /* Enable QMP capabilities provided by the client if applicable. */
-    if (has_enable) {
-        qmp_caps_check(cur_mon, enable, &local_err);
-        if (local_err) {
-            /*
-             * Failed check on any of the capabilities will fail the
-             * entire command (and thus not apply any of the other
-             * capabilities that were also requested).
-             */
-            error_propagate(errp, local_err);
-            return;
-        }
-        qmp_caps_apply(cur_mon, enable);
+    if (!qmp_caps_accept(cur_mon, enable, errp)) {
+        return;
     }
 
     cur_mon->qmp.commands = &qmp_commands;
@@ -2264,7 +2216,7 @@ void qmp_getfd(const char *fdname, Error **errp)
         tmp_fd = monfd->fd;
         monfd->fd = fd;
         qemu_mutex_unlock(&cur_mon->mon_lock);
-        /* Make sure close() is out of critical section */
+        /* Make sure close() is outside critical section */
         close(tmp_fd);
         return;
     }
@@ -2293,7 +2245,7 @@ void qmp_closefd(const char *fdname, Error **errp)
         g_free(monfd->name);
         g_free(monfd);
         qemu_mutex_unlock(&cur_mon->mon_lock);
-        /* Make sure close() is out of critical section */
+        /* Make sure close() is outside critical section */
         close(tmp_fd);
         return;
     }
@@ -4137,78 +4089,53 @@ static int monitor_can_read(void *opaque)
 }
 
 /*
- * 1. This function takes ownership of rsp, err, and id.
- * 2. rsp, err, and id may be NULL.
- * 3. If err != NULL then rsp must be NULL.
+ * Emit QMP response @rsp with ID @id to @mon.
+ * Null @rsp can only happen for commands with QCO_NO_SUCCESS_RESP.
+ * Nothing is emitted then.
  */
-static void monitor_qmp_respond(Monitor *mon, QObject *rsp,
-                                Error *err, QObject *id)
+static void monitor_qmp_respond(Monitor *mon, QDict *rsp, QObject *id)
 {
-    QDict *qdict = NULL;
-
-    if (err) {
-        assert(!rsp);
-        qdict = qdict_new();
-        qdict_put_obj(qdict, "error", qmp_build_error_object(err));
-        error_free(err);
-        rsp = QOBJECT(qdict);
-    }
-
     if (rsp) {
         if (id) {
-            qdict_put_obj(qobject_to(QDict, rsp), "id", qobject_ref(id));
+            qdict_put_obj(rsp, "id", qobject_ref(id));
         }
 
-        monitor_json_emitter(mon, rsp);
+        qmp_queue_response(mon, rsp);
     }
-
-    qobject_unref(id);
-    qobject_unref(rsp);
 }
 
-/*
- * Dispatch one single QMP request. The function will free the req_obj
- * and objects inside it before return.
- */
-static void monitor_qmp_dispatch_one(QMPRequest *req_obj)
+static void monitor_qmp_dispatch(Monitor *mon, QObject *req, QObject *id)
 {
-    Monitor *mon, *old_mon;
-    QObject *req, *rsp = NULL, *id;
-    bool need_resume;
-
-    req = req_obj->req;
-    mon = req_obj->mon;
-    id = req_obj->id;
-    need_resume = req_obj->need_resume;
-
-    g_free(req_obj);
-
-    if (trace_event_get_state_backends(TRACE_HANDLE_QMP_COMMAND)) {
-        QString *req_json = qobject_to_json(req);
-        trace_handle_qmp_command(mon, qstring_get_str(req_json));
-        qobject_unref(req_json);
-    }
+    Monitor *old_mon;
+    QDict *rsp;
+    QDict *error;
 
     old_mon = cur_mon;
     cur_mon = mon;
 
-    rsp = qmp_dispatch(mon->qmp.commands, req);
+    rsp = qmp_dispatch(mon->qmp.commands, req, qmp_oob_enabled(mon));
 
     cur_mon = old_mon;
 
-    /* Respond if necessary */
-    monitor_qmp_respond(mon, rsp, NULL, id);
-
-    /* This pairs with the monitor_suspend() in handle_qmp_command(). */
-    if (need_resume) {
-        monitor_resume(mon);
+    if (mon->qmp.commands == &qmp_cap_negotiation_commands) {
+        error = qdict_get_qdict(rsp, "error");
+        if (error
+            && !g_strcmp0(qdict_get_try_str(error, "class"),
+                    QapiErrorClass_str(ERROR_CLASS_COMMAND_NOT_FOUND))) {
+            /* Provide a more useful error message */
+            qdict_del(error, "desc");
+            qdict_put_str(error, "desc", "Expecting capabilities negotiation"
+                          " with 'qmp_capabilities'");
+        }
     }
 
-    qobject_unref(req);
+    monitor_qmp_respond(mon, rsp, id);
+    qobject_unref(rsp);
 }
 
 /*
- * Pop one QMP request from monitor queues, return NULL if not found.
+ * Pop a QMP request from a monitor request queue.
+ * Return the request, or NULL all request queues are empty.
  * We are using round-robin fashion to pop the request, to avoid
  * processing commands only on a very busy monitor.  To achieve that,
  * when we process one request on a specific monitor, we put that
@@ -4247,13 +4174,30 @@ static QMPRequest *monitor_qmp_requests_pop_any(void)
 static void monitor_qmp_bh_dispatcher(void *data)
 {
     QMPRequest *req_obj = monitor_qmp_requests_pop_any();
+    QDict *rsp;
 
-    if (req_obj) {
+    if (!req_obj) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (req_obj->req) {
         trace_monitor_qmp_cmd_in_band(qobject_get_try_str(req_obj->id) ?: "");
-        monitor_qmp_dispatch_one(req_obj);
-        /* Reschedule instead of looping so the main loop stays responsive */
-        qemu_bh_schedule(mon_global.qmp_dispatcher_bh);
+        monitor_qmp_dispatch(req_obj->mon, req_obj->req, req_obj->id);
+    } else {
+        assert(req_obj->err);
+        rsp = qmp_error_response(req_obj->err);
+        monitor_qmp_respond(req_obj->mon, rsp, NULL);
+        qobject_unref(rsp);
+    }
+
+    if (req_obj->need_resume) {
+        /* Pairs with the monitor_suspend() in handle_qmp_command() */
+        monitor_resume(req_obj->mon);
     }
+    qmp_request_free(req_obj);
+
+    /* Reschedule instead of looping so the main loop stays responsive */
+    qemu_bh_schedule(qmp_dispatcher_bh);
 }
 
 #define  QMP_REQ_QUEUE_LEN_MAX  (8)
@@ -4261,7 +4205,7 @@ static void monitor_qmp_bh_dispatcher(void *data)
 static void handle_qmp_command(JSONMessageParser *parser, GQueue *tokens)
 {
     QObject *req, *id = NULL;
-    QDict *qdict = NULL;
+    QDict *qdict;
     MonitorQMP *mon_qmp = container_of(parser, MonitorQMP, parser);
     Monitor *mon = container_of(mon_qmp, Monitor, qmp);
     Error *err = NULL;
@@ -4272,46 +4216,34 @@ static void handle_qmp_command(JSONMessageParser *parser, GQueue *tokens)
         /* json_parser_parse_err() sucks: can fail without setting @err */
         error_setg(&err, QERR_JSON_PARSING);
     }
-    if (err) {
-        goto err;
-    }
 
-    /* Check against the request in general layout */
-    qdict = qmp_dispatch_check_obj(req, &err);
-    if (!qdict) {
-        goto err;
-    }
+    qdict = qobject_to(QDict, req);
+    if (qdict) {
+        id = qobject_ref(qdict_get(qdict, "id"));
+        qdict_del(qdict, "id");
+    } /* else will fail qmp_dispatch() */
 
-    /* Check against OOB specific */
-    if (!qmp_cmd_oob_check(mon, qdict, &err)) {
-        goto err;
+    if (trace_event_get_state_backends(TRACE_HANDLE_QMP_COMMAND)) {
+        QString *req_json = qobject_to_json(req);
+        trace_handle_qmp_command(mon, qstring_get_str(req_json));
+        qobject_unref(req_json);
     }
 
-    id = qdict_get(qdict, "id");
-
-    /* When OOB is enabled, the "id" field is mandatory. */
-    if (qmp_oob_enabled(mon) && !id) {
-        error_setg(&err, "Out-Of-Band capability requires that "
-                   "every command contains an 'id' field");
-        goto err;
+    if (qdict && qmp_is_oob(qdict)) {
+        /* OOB commands are executed immediately */
+        trace_monitor_qmp_cmd_out_of_band(qobject_get_try_str(id)
+                                          ?: "");
+        monitor_qmp_dispatch(mon, req, id);
+        return;
     }
 
     req_obj = g_new0(QMPRequest, 1);
     req_obj->mon = mon;
-    req_obj->id = qobject_ref(id);
+    req_obj->id = id;
     req_obj->req = req;
+    req_obj->err = err;
     req_obj->need_resume = false;
 
-    qdict_del(qdict, "id");
-
-    if (qmp_is_oob(qdict)) {
-        /* Out-Of-Band (OOB) requests are executed directly in parser. */
-        trace_monitor_qmp_cmd_out_of_band(qobject_get_try_str(req_obj->id)
-                                          ?: "");
-        monitor_qmp_dispatch_one(req_obj);
-        return;
-    }
-
     /* Protect qmp_requests and fetching its length. */
     qemu_mutex_lock(&mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock);
 
@@ -4328,6 +4260,12 @@ static void handle_qmp_command(JSONMessageParser *parser, GQueue *tokens)
         /* Drop the request if queue is full. */
         if (mon->qmp.qmp_requests->length >= QMP_REQ_QUEUE_LEN_MAX) {
             qemu_mutex_unlock(&mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock);
+            /*
+             * FIXME @id's scope is just @mon, and broadcasting it is
+             * wrong.  If another monitor's client has a command with
+             * the same ID in flight, the event will incorrectly claim
+             * that command was dropped.
+             */
             qapi_event_send_command_dropped(id,
                                             COMMAND_DROP_REASON_QUEUE_FULL,
                                             &error_abort);
@@ -4345,12 +4283,7 @@ static void handle_qmp_command(JSONMessageParser *parser, GQueue *tokens)
     qemu_mutex_unlock(&mon->qmp.qmp_queue_lock);
 
     /* Kick the dispatcher routine */
-    qemu_bh_schedule(mon_global.qmp_dispatcher_bh);
-    return;
-
-err:
-    monitor_qmp_respond(mon, NULL, err, NULL);
-    qobject_unref(req);
+    qemu_bh_schedule(qmp_dispatcher_bh);
 }
 
 static void monitor_qmp_read(void *opaque, const uint8_t *buf, int size)
@@ -4400,10 +4333,10 @@ int monitor_suspend(Monitor *mon)
 
     if (monitor_is_qmp(mon)) {
         /*
-         * Kick iothread to make sure this takes effect.  It'll be
+         * Kick I/O thread to make sure this takes effect.  It'll be
          * evaluated again in prepare() of the watch object.
          */
-        aio_notify(iothread_get_aio_context(mon_global.mon_iothread));
+        aio_notify(iothread_get_aio_context(mon_iothread));
     }
 
     trace_monitor_suspend(mon, 1);
@@ -4419,11 +4352,11 @@ void monitor_resume(Monitor *mon)
     if (atomic_dec_fetch(&mon->suspend_cnt) == 0) {
         if (monitor_is_qmp(mon)) {
             /*
-             * For QMP monitors that are running in IOThread, let's
-             * kick the thread in case it's sleeping.
+             * For QMP monitors that are running in the I/O thread,
+             * let's kick the thread in case it's sleeping.
              */
-            if (mon->use_io_thr) {
-                aio_notify(iothread_get_aio_context(mon_global.mon_iothread));
+            if (mon->use_io_thread) {
+                aio_notify(iothread_get_aio_context(mon_iothread));
             }
         } else {
             assert(mon->rs);
@@ -4433,7 +4366,7 @@ void monitor_resume(Monitor *mon)
     trace_monitor_suspend(mon, -1);
 }
 
-static QObject *get_qmp_greeting(Monitor *mon)
+static QDict *qmp_greeting(Monitor *mon)
 {
     QList *cap_list = qlist_new();
     QObject *ver = NULL;
@@ -4442,33 +4375,27 @@ static QObject *get_qmp_greeting(Monitor *mon)
     qmp_marshal_query_version(NULL, &ver, NULL);
 
     for (cap = 0; cap < QMP_CAPABILITY__MAX; cap++) {
-        if (!mon->use_io_thr && cap == QMP_CAPABILITY_OOB) {
-            /* Monitors that are not using IOThread won't support OOB */
-            continue;
+        if (mon->qmp.capab_offered[cap]) {
+            qlist_append_str(cap_list, QMPCapability_str(cap));
         }
-        qlist_append_str(cap_list, QMPCapability_str(cap));
     }
 
-    return qobject_from_jsonf("{'QMP': {'version': %p, 'capabilities': %p}}",
-                              ver, cap_list);
-}
-
-static void monitor_qmp_caps_reset(Monitor *mon)
-{
-    memset(mon->qmp.qmp_caps, 0, sizeof(mon->qmp.qmp_caps));
+    return qdict_from_jsonf_nofail(
+        "{'QMP': {'version': %p, 'capabilities': %p}}",
+        ver, cap_list);
 }
 
 static void monitor_qmp_event(void *opaque, int event)
 {
-    QObject *data;
+    QDict *data;
     Monitor *mon = opaque;
 
     switch (event) {
     case CHR_EVENT_OPENED:
         mon->qmp.commands = &qmp_cap_negotiation_commands;
         monitor_qmp_caps_reset(mon);
-        data = get_qmp_greeting(mon);
-        monitor_json_emitter(mon, data);
+        data = qmp_greeting(mon);
+        qmp_queue_response(mon, data);
         qobject_unref(data);
         mon_refcount++;
         break;
@@ -4561,36 +4488,35 @@ static void sortcmdlist(void)
 
 static GMainContext *monitor_get_io_context(void)
 {
-    return iothread_get_g_main_context(mon_global.mon_iothread);
+    return iothread_get_g_main_context(mon_iothread);
 }
 
 static AioContext *monitor_get_aio_context(void)
 {
-    return iothread_get_aio_context(mon_global.mon_iothread);
+    return iothread_get_aio_context(mon_iothread);
 }
 
 static void monitor_iothread_init(void)
 {
-    mon_global.mon_iothread = iothread_create("mon_iothread",
-                                              &error_abort);
+    mon_iothread = iothread_create("mon_iothread", &error_abort);
 
     /*
-     * This MUST be on main loop thread since we have commands that
-     * have assumption to be run on main loop thread.  It would be
-     * nice that one day we can remove this assumption in the future.
+     * The dispatcher BH must run in the main loop thread, since we
+     * have commands assuming that context.  It would be nice to get
+     * rid of those assumptions.
      */
-    mon_global.qmp_dispatcher_bh = aio_bh_new(iohandler_get_aio_context(),
-                                              monitor_qmp_bh_dispatcher,
-                                              NULL);
+    qmp_dispatcher_bh = aio_bh_new(iohandler_get_aio_context(),
+                                   monitor_qmp_bh_dispatcher,
+                                   NULL);
 
     /*
-     * Unlike the dispatcher BH, this must be run on the monitor IO
-     * thread, so that monitors that are using IO thread will make
-     * sure read/write operations are all done on the IO thread.
+     * The responder BH must be run in the monitor I/O thread, so that
+     * monitors that are using the I/O thread have their output
+     * written by the I/O thread.
      */
-    mon_global.qmp_respond_bh = aio_bh_new(monitor_get_aio_context(),
-                                           monitor_qmp_bh_responder,
-                                           NULL);
+    qmp_respond_bh = aio_bh_new(monitor_get_aio_context(),
+                                monitor_qmp_bh_responder,
+                                NULL);
 }
 
 void monitor_init_globals(void)
@@ -4655,16 +4581,12 @@ static void monitor_qmp_setup_handlers_bh(void *opaque)
     Monitor *mon = opaque;
     GMainContext *context;
 
-    if (mon->use_io_thr) {
-        /*
-         * When use_io_thr is set, we use the global shared dedicated
-         * IO thread for this monitor to handle input/output.
-         */
+    if (mon->use_io_thread) {
+        /* Use @mon_iothread context */
         context = monitor_get_io_context();
-        /* We should have inited globals before reaching here. */
         assert(context);
     } else {
-        /* The default main loop, which is the main thread */
+        /* Use default main loop context */
         context = NULL;
     }
 
@@ -4681,12 +4603,12 @@ void monitor_init(Chardev *chr, int flags)
 
     if (use_oob) {
         if (CHARDEV_IS_MUX(chr)) {
-            error_report("Monitor Out-Of-Band is not supported with "
+            error_report("Monitor out-of-band is not supported with "
                          "MUX typed chardev backend");
             exit(1);
         }
         if (use_readline) {
-            error_report("Monitor Out-Of-band is only supported by QMP");
+            error_report("Monitor out-of-band is only supported by QMP");
             exit(1);
         }
     }
@@ -4706,7 +4628,7 @@ void monitor_init(Chardev *chr, int flags)
     if (monitor_is_qmp(mon)) {
         qemu_chr_fe_set_echo(&mon->chr, true);
         json_message_parser_init(&mon->qmp.parser, handle_qmp_command);
-        if (mon->use_io_thr) {
+        if (mon->use_io_thread) {
             /*
              * Make sure the old iowatch is gone.  It's possible when
              * e.g. the chardev is in client mode, with wait=on.
@@ -4714,15 +4636,12 @@ void monitor_init(Chardev *chr, int flags)
             remove_fd_in_watch(chr);
             /*
              * We can't call qemu_chr_fe_set_handlers() directly here
-             * since during the procedure the chardev will be active
-             * and running in monitor iothread, while we'll still do
-             * something before returning from it, which is a possible
-             * race too.  To avoid that, we just create a BH to setup
-             * the handlers.
+             * since chardev might be running in the monitor I/O
+             * thread.  Schedule a bottom half.
              */
             aio_bh_schedule_oneshot(monitor_get_aio_context(),
                                     monitor_qmp_setup_handlers_bh, mon);
-            /* We'll add this to mon_list in the BH when setup done */
+            /* The bottom half will add @mon to @mon_list */
             return;
         } else {
             qemu_chr_fe_set_handlers(&mon->chr, monitor_can_read,
@@ -4742,22 +4661,20 @@ void monitor_cleanup(void)
     Monitor *mon, *next;
 
     /*
-     * We need to explicitly stop the iothread (but not destroy it),
-     * cleanup the monitor resources, then destroy the iothread since
+     * We need to explicitly stop the I/O thread (but not destroy it),
+     * clean up the monitor resources, then destroy the I/O thread since
      * we need to unregister from chardev below in
      * monitor_data_destroy(), and chardev is not thread-safe yet
      */
-    iothread_stop(mon_global.mon_iothread);
+    iothread_stop(mon_iothread);
 
     /*
-     * After we have IOThread to send responses, it's possible that
-     * when we stop the IOThread there are still replies queued in the
-     * responder queue.  Flush all of them.  Note that even after this
-     * flush it's still possible that out buffer is not flushed.
-     * It'll be done in below monitor_flush() as the last resort.
+     * Flush all response queues.  Note that even after this flush,
+     * data may remain in output buffers.
      */
     monitor_qmp_bh_responder(NULL);
 
+    /* Flush output buffers and destroy monitors */
     qemu_mutex_lock(&monitor_lock);
     QTAILQ_FOREACH_SAFE(mon, &mon_list, entry, next) {
         QTAILQ_REMOVE(&mon_list, mon, entry);
@@ -4767,14 +4684,14 @@ void monitor_cleanup(void)
     }
     qemu_mutex_unlock(&monitor_lock);
 
-    /* QEMUBHs needs to be deleted before destroying the IOThread. */
-    qemu_bh_delete(mon_global.qmp_dispatcher_bh);
-    mon_global.qmp_dispatcher_bh = NULL;
-    qemu_bh_delete(mon_global.qmp_respond_bh);
-    mon_global.qmp_respond_bh = NULL;
+    /* QEMUBHs needs to be deleted before destroying the I/O thread */
+    qemu_bh_delete(qmp_dispatcher_bh);
+    qmp_dispatcher_bh = NULL;
+    qemu_bh_delete(qmp_respond_bh);
+    qmp_respond_bh = NULL;
 
-    iothread_destroy(mon_global.mon_iothread);
-    mon_global.mon_iothread = NULL;
+    iothread_destroy(mon_iothread);
+    mon_iothread = NULL;
 }
 
 QemuOptsList qemu_mon_opts = {
diff --git a/qapi/misc.json b/qapi/misc.json
index 29da7856e3..f1860418e8 100644
--- a/qapi/misc.json
+++ b/qapi/misc.json
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
 # Enumeration of capabilities to be advertised during initial client
 # connection, used for agreeing on particular QMP extension behaviors.
 #
-# @oob:   QMP ability to support Out-Of-Band requests.
+# @oob:   QMP ability to support out-of-band requests.
 #         (Please refer to qmp-spec.txt for more information on OOB)
 #
 # Since: 2.12
@@ -3454,6 +3454,9 @@
 # only be dropped when the oob capability is enabled.
 #
 # @id: The dropped command's "id" field.
+# FIXME Broken by design.  Events are broadcast to all monitors.  If
+# another monitor's client has a command with the same ID in flight,
+# the event will incorrectly claim that command was dropped.
 #
 # @reason: The reason why the command is dropped.
 #
@@ -3470,24 +3473,6 @@
   'data': { 'id': 'any', 'reason': 'CommandDropReason' } }
 
 ##
-# @x-oob-test:
-#
-# Test OOB functionality.  When sending this command with lock=true,
-# it'll try to hang the dispatcher.  When sending it with lock=false,
-# it'll try to notify the locked thread to continue.  Note: it should
-# only be used by QMP test program rather than anything else.
-#
-# Since: 2.12
-#
-# Example:
-#
-# { "execute": "x-oob-test",
-#   "arguments": { "lock": true } }
-##
-{ 'command': 'x-oob-test', 'data' : { 'lock': 'bool' },
-  'allow-oob': true }
-
-##
 # @set-numa-node:
 #
 # Runtime equivalent of '-numa' CLI option, available at
diff --git a/qapi/qmp-dispatch.c b/qapi/qmp-dispatch.c
index 935f9e159c..6f2d466596 100644
--- a/qapi/qmp-dispatch.c
+++ b/qapi/qmp-dispatch.c
@@ -20,13 +20,14 @@
 #include "qapi/qmp/qbool.h"
 #include "sysemu/sysemu.h"
 
-QDict *qmp_dispatch_check_obj(const QObject *request, Error **errp)
+static QDict *qmp_dispatch_check_obj(const QObject *request, bool allow_oob,
+                                     Error **errp)
 {
+    const char *exec_key = NULL;
     const QDictEntry *ent;
     const char *arg_name;
     const QObject *arg_obj;
-    bool has_exec_key = false;
-    QDict *dict = NULL;
+    QDict *dict;
 
     dict = qobject_to(QDict, request);
     if (!dict) {
@@ -39,25 +40,23 @@ QDict *qmp_dispatch_check_obj(const QObject *request, Error **errp)
         arg_name = qdict_entry_key(ent);
         arg_obj = qdict_entry_value(ent);
 
-        if (!strcmp(arg_name, "execute")) {
+        if (!strcmp(arg_name, "execute")
+            || (!strcmp(arg_name, "exec-oob") && allow_oob)) {
             if (qobject_type(arg_obj) != QTYPE_QSTRING) {
-                error_setg(errp,
-                           "QMP input member 'execute' must be a string");
+                error_setg(errp, "QMP input member '%s' must be a string",
+                           arg_name);
                 return NULL;
             }
-            has_exec_key = true;
-        } else if (!strcmp(arg_name, "arguments")) {
-            if (qobject_type(arg_obj) != QTYPE_QDICT) {
-                error_setg(errp,
-                           "QMP input member 'arguments' must be an object");
+            if (exec_key) {
+                error_setg(errp, "QMP input member '%s' clashes with '%s'",
+                           arg_name, exec_key);
                 return NULL;
             }
-        } else if (!strcmp(arg_name, "id")) {
-            continue;
-        } else if (!strcmp(arg_name, "control")) {
+            exec_key = arg_name;
+        } else if (!strcmp(arg_name, "arguments")) {
             if (qobject_type(arg_obj) != QTYPE_QDICT) {
                 error_setg(errp,
-                           "QMP input member 'control' must be a dict");
+                           "QMP input member 'arguments' must be an object");
                 return NULL;
             }
         } else {
@@ -67,7 +66,7 @@ QDict *qmp_dispatch_check_obj(const QObject *request, Error **errp)
         }
     }
 
-    if (!has_exec_key) {
+    if (!exec_key) {
         error_setg(errp, "QMP input lacks member 'execute'");
         return NULL;
     }
@@ -76,20 +75,27 @@ QDict *qmp_dispatch_check_obj(const QObject *request, Error **errp)
 }
 
 static QObject *do_qmp_dispatch(QmpCommandList *cmds, QObject *request,
-                                Error **errp)
+                                bool allow_oob, Error **errp)
 {
     Error *local_err = NULL;
+    bool oob;
     const char *command;
     QDict *args, *dict;
     QmpCommand *cmd;
     QObject *ret = NULL;
 
-    dict = qmp_dispatch_check_obj(request, errp);
+    dict = qmp_dispatch_check_obj(request, allow_oob, errp);
     if (!dict) {
         return NULL;
     }
 
-    command = qdict_get_str(dict, "execute");
+    command = qdict_get_try_str(dict, "execute");
+    oob = false;
+    if (!command) {
+        assert(allow_oob);
+        command = qdict_get_str(dict, "exec-oob");
+        oob = true;
+    }
     cmd = qmp_find_command(cmds, command);
     if (cmd == NULL) {
         error_set(errp, ERROR_CLASS_COMMAND_NOT_FOUND,
@@ -101,6 +107,11 @@ static QObject *do_qmp_dispatch(QmpCommandList *cmds, QObject *request,
                    command);
         return NULL;
     }
+    if (oob && !(cmd->options & QCO_ALLOW_OOB)) {
+        error_setg(errp, "The command %s does not support OOB",
+                   command);
+        return false;
+    }
 
     if (runstate_check(RUN_STATE_PRECONFIG) &&
         !(cmd->options & QCO_ALLOW_PRECONFIG)) {
@@ -122,6 +133,7 @@ static QObject *do_qmp_dispatch(QmpCommandList *cmds, QObject *request,
     } else if (cmd->options & QCO_NO_SUCCESS_RESP) {
         g_assert(!ret);
     } else if (!ret) {
+        /* TODO turn into assertion */
         ret = QOBJECT(qdict_new());
     }
 
@@ -130,53 +142,44 @@ static QObject *do_qmp_dispatch(QmpCommandList *cmds, QObject *request,
     return ret;
 }
 
-QObject *qmp_build_error_object(Error *err)
+QDict *qmp_error_response(Error *err)
 {
-    return qobject_from_jsonf("{ 'class': %s, 'desc': %s }",
-                              QapiErrorClass_str(error_get_class(err)),
-                              error_get_pretty(err));
+    QDict *rsp;
+
+    rsp = qdict_from_jsonf_nofail("{ 'error': { 'class': %s, 'desc': %s } }",
+                                  QapiErrorClass_str(error_get_class(err)),
+                                  error_get_pretty(err));
+    error_free(err);
+    return rsp;
 }
 
 /*
- * Detect whether a request should be run out-of-band, by quickly
- * peeking at whether we have: { "control": { "run-oob": true } }. By
- * default commands are run in-band.
+ * Does @qdict look like a command to be run out-of-band?
  */
 bool qmp_is_oob(QDict *dict)
 {
-    QBool *bool_obj;
-
-    dict = qdict_get_qdict(dict, "control");
-    if (!dict) {
-        return false;
-    }
-
-    bool_obj = qobject_to(QBool, qdict_get(dict, "run-oob"));
-    if (!bool_obj) {
-        return false;
-    }
-
-    return qbool_get_bool(bool_obj);
+    return qdict_haskey(dict, "exec-oob")
+        && !qdict_haskey(dict, "execute");
 }
 
-QObject *qmp_dispatch(QmpCommandList *cmds, QObject *request)
+QDict *qmp_dispatch(QmpCommandList *cmds, QObject *request,
+                    bool allow_oob)
 {
     Error *err = NULL;
     QObject *ret;
     QDict *rsp;
 
-    ret = do_qmp_dispatch(cmds, request, &err);
+    ret = do_qmp_dispatch(cmds, request, allow_oob, &err);
 
-    rsp = qdict_new();
     if (err) {
-        qdict_put_obj(rsp, "error", qmp_build_error_object(err));
-        error_free(err);
+        rsp = qmp_error_response(err);
     } else if (ret) {
+        rsp = qdict_new();
         qdict_put_obj(rsp, "return", ret);
     } else {
-        qobject_unref(rsp);
-        return NULL;
+        /* Can only happen for commands with QCO_NO_SUCCESS_RESP */
+        rsp = NULL;
     }
 
-    return QOBJECT(rsp);
+    return rsp;
 }
diff --git a/qapi/qmp-event.c b/qapi/qmp-event.c
index 9d7e88e84a..5b8854043e 100644
--- a/qapi/qmp-event.c
+++ b/qapi/qmp-event.c
@@ -34,15 +34,15 @@ QMPEventFuncEmit qmp_event_get_func_emit(void)
 static void timestamp_put(QDict *qdict)
 {
     int err;
-    QObject *obj;
+    QDict *ts;
     qemu_timeval tv;
 
     err = qemu_gettimeofday(&tv);
     /* Put -1 to indicate failure of getting host time */
-    obj = qobject_from_jsonf("{ 'seconds': %lld, 'microseconds': %lld }",
-                             err < 0 ? -1LL : (long long)tv.tv_sec,
-                             err < 0 ? -1LL : (long long)tv.tv_usec);
-    qdict_put_obj(qdict, "timestamp", obj);
+    ts = qdict_from_jsonf_nofail("{ 'seconds': %lld, 'microseconds': %lld }",
+                                 err < 0 ? -1LL : (long long)tv.tv_sec,
+                                 err < 0 ? -1LL : (long long)tv.tv_usec);
+    qdict_put(qdict, "timestamp", ts);
 }
 
 /*
diff --git a/qga/main.c b/qga/main.c
index ea7540edcc..537cc0e162 100644
--- a/qga/main.c
+++ b/qga/main.c
@@ -545,7 +545,7 @@ fail:
 #endif
 }
 
-static int send_response(GAState *s, QObject *payload)
+static int send_response(GAState *s, QDict *payload)
 {
     const char *buf;
     QString *payload_qstr, *response_qstr;
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ static int send_response(GAState *s, QObject *payload)
 
     g_assert(payload && s->channel);
 
-    payload_qstr = qobject_to_json(payload);
+    payload_qstr = qobject_to_json(QOBJECT(payload));
     if (!payload_qstr) {
         return -EINVAL;
     }
@@ -581,12 +581,12 @@ static int send_response(GAState *s, QObject *payload)
 
 static void process_command(GAState *s, QDict *req)
 {
-    QObject *rsp = NULL;
+    QDict *rsp;
     int ret;
 
     g_assert(req);
     g_debug("processing command");
-    rsp = qmp_dispatch(&ga_commands, QOBJECT(req));
+    rsp = qmp_dispatch(&ga_commands, QOBJECT(req), false);
     if (rsp) {
         ret = send_response(s, rsp);
         if (ret < 0) {
@@ -610,15 +610,13 @@ static void process_event(JSONMessageParser *parser, GQueue *tokens)
     qdict = qobject_to(QDict, json_parser_parse_err(tokens, NULL, &err));
     if (err || !qdict) {
         qobject_unref(qdict);
-        qdict = qdict_new();
         if (!err) {
             g_warning("failed to parse event: unknown error");
             error_setg(&err, QERR_JSON_PARSING);
         } else {
             g_warning("failed to parse event: %s", error_get_pretty(err));
         }
-        qdict_put_obj(qdict, "error", qmp_build_error_object(err));
-        error_free(err);
+        qdict = qmp_error_response(err);
     }
 
     /* handle host->guest commands */
@@ -627,13 +625,11 @@ static void process_event(JSONMessageParser *parser, GQueue *tokens)
     } else {
         if (!qdict_haskey(qdict, "error")) {
             qobject_unref(qdict);
-            qdict = qdict_new();
             g_warning("unrecognized payload format");
             error_setg(&err, QERR_UNSUPPORTED);
-            qdict_put_obj(qdict, "error", qmp_build_error_object(err));
-            error_free(err);
+            qdict = qmp_error_response(err);
         }
-        ret = send_response(s, QOBJECT(qdict));
+        ret = send_response(s, qdict);
         if (ret < 0) {
             g_warning("error sending error response: %s", strerror(-ret));
         }
diff --git a/qmp.c b/qmp.c
index 162bc2e30d..5170403e5d 100644
--- a/qmp.c
+++ b/qmp.c
@@ -737,19 +737,3 @@ MemoryInfo *qmp_query_memory_size_summary(Error **errp)
 
     return mem_info;
 }
-
-static QemuSemaphore x_oob_test_sem;
-
-static void __attribute__((constructor)) x_oob_test_init(void)
-{
-    qemu_sem_init(&x_oob_test_sem, 0);
-}
-
-void qmp_x_oob_test(bool lock, Error **errp)
-{
-    if (lock) {
-        qemu_sem_wait(&x_oob_test_sem);
-    } else {
-        qemu_sem_post(&x_oob_test_sem);
-    }
-}
diff --git a/qobject/qjson.c b/qobject/qjson.c
index 9816a65c7d..2f6a590e44 100644
--- a/qobject/qjson.c
+++ b/qobject/qjson.c
@@ -59,10 +59,6 @@ QObject *qobject_from_json(const char *string, Error **errp)
     return qobject_from_jsonv(string, NULL, errp);
 }
 
-/*
- * IMPORTANT: This function aborts on error, thus it must not
- * be used with untrusted arguments.
- */
 QObject *qobject_from_jsonf(const char *string, ...)
 {
     QObject *obj;
@@ -72,7 +68,24 @@ QObject *qobject_from_jsonf(const char *string, ...)
     obj = qobject_from_jsonv(string, &ap, &error_abort);
     va_end(ap);
 
-    assert(obj != NULL);
+    return obj;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Parse @string as JSON object with %-escapes interpolated.
+ * Abort on error.  Do not use with untrusted @string.
+ * Return the resulting QDict.  It is never null.
+ */
+QDict *qdict_from_jsonf_nofail(const char *string, ...)
+{
+    QDict *obj;
+    va_list ap;
+
+    va_start(ap, string);
+    obj = qobject_to(QDict, qobject_from_jsonv(string, &ap, &error_abort));
+    va_end(ap);
+
+    assert(obj);
     return obj;
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/qapi-schema/qapi-schema-test.json b/tests/qapi-schema/qapi-schema-test.json
index 16209b57b3..11aa4c8f8d 100644
--- a/tests/qapi-schema/qapi-schema-test.json
+++ b/tests/qapi-schema/qapi-schema-test.json
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@
 { 'command': 'boxed-struct', 'boxed': true, 'data': 'UserDefZero' }
 { 'command': 'boxed-union', 'data': 'UserDefNativeListUnion', 'boxed': true }
 
-# Smoke test on Out-Of-Band and allow-preconfig-test
+# Smoke test on out-of-band and allow-preconfig-test
 { 'command': 'test-flags-command', 'allow-oob': true, 'allow-preconfig': true }
 
 # For testing integer range flattening in opts-visitor. The following schema
diff --git a/tests/qmp-test.c b/tests/qmp-test.c
index a49cbc6fde..ceaf4a6789 100644
--- a/tests/qmp-test.c
+++ b/tests/qmp-test.c
@@ -135,16 +135,65 @@ static void test_qmp_protocol(void)
     qtest_quit(qts);
 }
 
-/* Tests for Out-Of-Band support. */
+/* Out-of-band tests */
+
+char tmpdir[] = "/tmp/qmp-test-XXXXXX";
+char *fifo_name;
+
+static void setup_blocking_cmd(void)
+{
+    if (!mkdtemp(tmpdir)) {
+        g_error("mkdtemp: %s", strerror(errno));
+    }
+    fifo_name = g_strdup_printf("%s/fifo", tmpdir);
+    if (mkfifo(fifo_name, 0666)) {
+        g_error("mkfifo: %s", strerror(errno));
+    }
+}
+
+static void cleanup_blocking_cmd(void)
+{
+    unlink(fifo_name);
+    rmdir(tmpdir);
+}
+
+static void send_cmd_that_blocks(QTestState *s, const char *id)
+{
+    qtest_async_qmp(s, "{ 'execute': 'blockdev-add',  'id': %s,"
+                    " 'arguments': {"
+                    " 'driver': 'blkdebug', 'node-name': %s,"
+                    " 'config': %s,"
+                    " 'image': { 'driver': 'null-co' } } }",
+                    id, id, fifo_name);
+}
+
+static void unblock_blocked_cmd(void)
+{
+    int fd = open(fifo_name, O_WRONLY);
+    g_assert(fd >= 0);
+    close(fd);
+}
+
+static void send_oob_cmd_that_fails(QTestState *s, const char *id)
+{
+    qtest_async_qmp(s, "{ 'exec-oob': 'migrate-pause', 'id': %s }", id);
+}
+
+static void recv_cmd_id(QTestState *s, const char *id)
+{
+    QDict *resp = qtest_qmp_receive(s);
+
+    g_assert_cmpstr(qdict_get_try_str(resp, "id"), ==, id);
+    qobject_unref(resp);
+}
+
 static void test_qmp_oob(void)
 {
     QTestState *qts;
     QDict *resp, *q;
-    int acks = 0;
     const QListEntry *entry;
     QList *capabilities;
     QString *qstr;
-    const char *cmd_id;
 
     qts = qtest_init_without_qmp_handshake(true, common_args);
 
@@ -179,43 +228,33 @@ static void test_qmp_oob(void)
      * Try any command that does not support OOB but with OOB flag. We
      * should get failure.
      */
-    resp = qtest_qmp(qts,
-                     "{ 'execute': 'query-cpus',"
-                     "  'control': { 'run-oob': true } }");
+    resp = qtest_qmp(qts, "{ 'exec-oob': 'query-cpus' }");
     g_assert(qdict_haskey(resp, "error"));
     qobject_unref(resp);
 
-    /*
-     * First send the "x-oob-test" command with lock=true and
-     * oob=false, it should hang the dispatcher and main thread;
-     * later, we send another lock=false with oob=true to continue
-     * that thread processing.  Finally we should receive replies from
-     * both commands.
-     */
-    qtest_async_qmp(qts,
-                    "{ 'execute': 'x-oob-test',"
-                    "  'arguments': { 'lock': true }, "
-                    "  'id': 'lock-cmd'}");
-    qtest_async_qmp(qts,
-                    "{ 'execute': 'x-oob-test', "
-                    "  'arguments': { 'lock': false }, "
-                    "  'control': { 'run-oob': true }, "
-                    "  'id': 'unlock-cmd' }");
-
-    /* Ignore all events.  Wait for 2 acks */
-    while (acks < 2) {
-        resp = qtest_qmp_receive(qts);
-        cmd_id = qdict_get_str(resp, "id");
-        if (!g_strcmp0(cmd_id, "lock-cmd") ||
-            !g_strcmp0(cmd_id, "unlock-cmd")) {
-            acks++;
-        }
-        qobject_unref(resp);
-    }
+    /* OOB command overtakes slow in-band command */
+    setup_blocking_cmd();
+    send_cmd_that_blocks(qts, "ib-blocks-1");
+    qtest_async_qmp(qts, "{ 'execute': 'query-name', 'id': 'ib-quick-1' }");
+    send_oob_cmd_that_fails(qts, "oob-1");
+    recv_cmd_id(qts, "oob-1");
+    unblock_blocked_cmd();
+    recv_cmd_id(qts, "ib-blocks-1");
+    recv_cmd_id(qts, "ib-quick-1");
+
+    /* Even malformed in-band command fails in-band */
+    send_cmd_that_blocks(qts, "blocks-2");
+    qtest_async_qmp(qts, "{ 'id': 'err-2' }");
+    unblock_blocked_cmd();
+    recv_cmd_id(qts, "blocks-2");
+    recv_cmd_id(qts, "err-2");
+    cleanup_blocking_cmd();
 
     qtest_quit(qts);
 }
 
+/* Query smoke tests */
+
 static int query_error_class(const char *cmd)
 {
     static struct {
@@ -392,6 +431,8 @@ static void add_query_tests(QmpSchema *schema)
     }
 }
 
+/* Preconfig tests */
+
 static void test_qmp_preconfig(void)
 {
     QDict *rsp, *ret;
diff --git a/tests/test-qga.c b/tests/test-qga.c
index 350f27812a..d638b1571a 100644
--- a/tests/test-qga.c
+++ b/tests/test-qga.c
@@ -227,6 +227,38 @@ static void test_qga_ping(gconstpointer fix)
     qobject_unref(ret);
 }
 
+static void test_qga_invalid_id(gconstpointer fix)
+{
+    const TestFixture *fixture = fix;
+    QDict *ret, *error;
+    const char *class;
+
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, "{'execute': 'guest-ping', 'id': 1}");
+    g_assert_nonnull(ret);
+
+    error = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "error");
+    class = qdict_get_try_str(error, "class");
+    g_assert_cmpstr(class, ==, "GenericError");
+
+    qobject_unref(ret);
+}
+
+static void test_qga_invalid_oob(gconstpointer fix)
+{
+    const TestFixture *fixture = fix;
+    QDict *ret, *error;
+    const char *class;
+
+    ret = qmp_fd(fixture->fd, "{'exec-oob': 'guest-ping'}");
+    g_assert_nonnull(ret);
+
+    error = qdict_get_qdict(ret, "error");
+    class = qdict_get_try_str(error, "class");
+    g_assert_cmpstr(class, ==, "GenericError");
+
+    qobject_unref(ret);
+}
+
 static void test_qga_invalid_args(gconstpointer fix)
 {
     const TestFixture *fixture = fix;
@@ -982,6 +1014,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     g_test_add_data_func("/qga/file-ops", &fix, test_qga_file_ops);
     g_test_add_data_func("/qga/file-write-read", &fix, test_qga_file_write_read);
     g_test_add_data_func("/qga/get-time", &fix, test_qga_get_time);
+    g_test_add_data_func("/qga/invalid-id", &fix, test_qga_invalid_id);
+    g_test_add_data_func("/qga/invalid-oob", &fix, test_qga_invalid_oob);
     g_test_add_data_func("/qga/invalid-cmd", &fix, test_qga_invalid_cmd);
     g_test_add_data_func("/qga/invalid-args", &fix, test_qga_invalid_args);
     g_test_add_data_func("/qga/fsfreeze-status", &fix,
diff --git a/tests/test-qmp-cmds.c b/tests/test-qmp-cmds.c
index ce277c9c3b..ba41a6161e 100644
--- a/tests/test-qmp-cmds.c
+++ b/tests/test-qmp-cmds.c
@@ -110,13 +110,13 @@ __org_qemu_x_Union1 *qmp___org_qemu_x_command(__org_qemu_x_EnumList *a,
 static void test_dispatch_cmd(void)
 {
     QDict *req = qdict_new();
-    QObject *resp;
+    QDict *resp;
 
     qdict_put_str(req, "execute", "user_def_cmd");
 
-    resp = qmp_dispatch(&qmp_commands, QOBJECT(req));
+    resp = qmp_dispatch(&qmp_commands, QOBJECT(req), false);
     assert(resp != NULL);
-    assert(!qdict_haskey(qobject_to(QDict, resp), "error"));
+    assert(!qdict_haskey(resp, "error"));
 
     qobject_unref(resp);
     qobject_unref(req);
@@ -127,13 +127,13 @@ static void test_dispatch_cmd_failure(void)
 {
     QDict *req = qdict_new();
     QDict *args = qdict_new();
-    QObject *resp;
+    QDict *resp;
 
     qdict_put_str(req, "execute", "user_def_cmd2");
 
-    resp = qmp_dispatch(&qmp_commands, QOBJECT(req));
+    resp = qmp_dispatch(&qmp_commands, QOBJECT(req), false);
     assert(resp != NULL);
-    assert(qdict_haskey(qobject_to(QDict, resp), "error"));
+    assert(qdict_haskey(resp, "error"));
 
     qobject_unref(resp);
     qobject_unref(req);
@@ -145,9 +145,9 @@ static void test_dispatch_cmd_failure(void)
 
     qdict_put_str(req, "execute", "user_def_cmd");
 
-    resp = qmp_dispatch(&qmp_commands, QOBJECT(req));
+    resp = qmp_dispatch(&qmp_commands, QOBJECT(req), false);
     assert(resp != NULL);
-    assert(qdict_haskey(qobject_to(QDict, resp), "error"));
+    assert(qdict_haskey(resp, "error"));
 
     qobject_unref(resp);
     qobject_unref(req);
@@ -155,18 +155,15 @@ static void test_dispatch_cmd_failure(void)
 
 static QObject *test_qmp_dispatch(QDict *req)
 {
-    QObject *resp_obj;
     QDict *resp;
     QObject *ret;
 
-    resp_obj = qmp_dispatch(&qmp_commands, QOBJECT(req));
-    assert(resp_obj);
-    resp = qobject_to(QDict, resp_obj);
+    resp = qmp_dispatch(&qmp_commands, QOBJECT(req), false);
     assert(resp && !qdict_haskey(resp, "error"));
     ret = qdict_get(resp, "return");
     assert(ret);
     qobject_ref(ret);
-    qobject_unref(resp_obj);
+    qobject_unref(resp);
     return ret;
 }