diff --git a/mantle/platform/qemu.go b/mantle/platform/qemu.go
index 07e763c7fe..f2e3948daa 100644
--- a/mantle/platform/qemu.go
+++ b/mantle/platform/qemu.go
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import (
 	"net"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"syscall"
 	"time"
@@ -101,47 +102,35 @@ type Disk struct {
 	nbdServCmd     exec.Cmd // command to serve the disk
 }
 
-// ParseDiskSpec converts a disk specification into a Disk. The format is:
-// <size>[:<opt1>,<opt2>,...].
-func ParseDiskSpec(spec string) (*Disk, error) {
-	split := strings.Split(spec, ":")
-	var size string
+func ParseDisk(spec string) (*Disk, error) {
+	var diskmap map[string]string
+	var disksize string
 	var channel string
-	multipathed := false
-	sectorSize := 0
+	var sectorSize int64
 	serial_opt := []string{}
-	if len(split) == 1 {
-		size = split[0]
-	} else if len(split) == 2 {
-		size = split[0]
-		for _, opt := range strings.Split(split[1], ",") {
-			if opt == "mpath" {
-				multipathed = true
-			} else if opt == "4k" {
-				sectorSize = 4096
-			} else if strings.HasPrefix(opt, "channel=") {
-				channel = strings.TrimPrefix(opt, "channel=")
-				if channel == "" {
-					return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid channel opt %s", opt)
-				}
-			} else if strings.HasPrefix(opt, "serial=") {
-				serial := strings.TrimPrefix(opt, "serial=")
-				if serial == "" {
-					return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid serial opt %s", opt)
-				}
-				serial_opt = []string{"serial=" + serial}
-			} else {
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown disk option %s", opt)
-			}
-		}
-	} else {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid disk spec %s", spec)
+	multipathed := false
+	var err error
+
+	if disksize, diskmap, err = util.ParseDiskSpec(spec); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse disk spec %s", spec)
+	}
+	if value, found := diskmap["Channel"]; found {
+		channel = value
+	}
+	if value, found := diskmap["SectorSize"]; found {
+		sectorSize, _ = strconv.ParseInt(value, 10, 32)
+	}
+	if value, found := diskmap["MultiPathDisk"]; found {
+		multipathed, _ = strconv.ParseBool(value)
+	}
+	if value, found := diskmap["DeviceOpts"]; found {
+		serial_opt = append(serial_opt, value)
 	}
 	return &Disk{
-		Size:          size,
+		Size:          disksize,
 		Channel:       channel,
 		DeviceOpts:    serial_opt,
-		SectorSize:    sectorSize,
+		SectorSize:    int(sectorSize),
 		MultiPathDisk: multipathed,
 	}, nil
 }
@@ -1225,7 +1214,7 @@ func (builder *QemuBuilder) AddDisk(disk *Disk) error {
 // AddDisksFromSpecs adds multiple secondary disks from their specs.
 func (builder *QemuBuilder) AddDisksFromSpecs(specs []string) error {
 	for _, spec := range specs {
-		if disk, err := ParseDiskSpec(spec); err != nil {
+		if disk, err := ParseDisk(spec); err != nil {
 			return errors.Wrapf(err, "parsing additional disk spec '%s'", spec)
 		} else if err = builder.AddDisk(disk); err != nil {
 			return errors.Wrapf(err, "adding additional disk '%s'", spec)
diff --git a/mantle/util/common.go b/mantle/util/common.go
index d78d7fa2ff..df92174576 100644
--- a/mantle/util/common.go
+++ b/mantle/util/common.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 	"unsafe"
 
@@ -120,3 +121,40 @@ func RunCmdTimeout(timeout time.Duration, cmd string, args ...string) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("%s timed out after %s", cmd, timeout)
 	}
 }
+
+// ParseDiskSpec converts a disk specification into a Disk. The format is:
+// <size>[:<opt1>,<opt2>,...], like ["5G:interface=NVME"]
+func ParseDiskSpec(spec string) (string, map[string]string, error) {
+	diskmap := map[string]string{}
+	split := strings.Split(spec, ":")
+	var disksize string
+	if len(split) == 1 {
+		disksize = split[0]
+	} else if len(split) == 2 {
+		disksize = split[0]
+		for _, opt := range strings.Split(split[1], ",") {
+			if opt == "mpath" {
+				diskmap["MultiPathDisk"] = "true"
+			} else if opt == "4k" {
+				diskmap["SectorSize"] = "4096"
+			} else if strings.HasPrefix(opt, "channel=") {
+				channel := strings.TrimPrefix(opt, "channel=")
+				if channel == "" {
+					return "", nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid channel opt %s", opt)
+				}
+				diskmap["Channel"] = channel
+			} else if strings.HasPrefix(opt, "serial=") {
+				serial := strings.TrimPrefix(opt, "serial=")
+				if serial == "" {
+					return "", nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid serial opt %s", opt)
+				}
+				diskmap["DeviceOpts"] = "serial=" + serial
+			} else {
+				return "", nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown disk option %s", opt)
+			}
+		}
+	} else {
+		return "", nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid disk spec %s", spec)
+	}
+	return disksize, diskmap, nil
+}