diff --git a/daemon/remote.c b/daemon/remote.c
index 46773da634..23c9de429a 100644
--- a/daemon/remote.c
+++ b/daemon/remote.c
@@ -6594,6 +6594,44 @@ remoteDispatchDomainInterfaceAddresses(virNetServerPtr server ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
 }
 
 
+static int
+remoteDispatchStorageVolGetInfoFlags(virNetServerPtr server ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
+                                     virNetServerClientPtr client,
+                                     virNetMessagePtr msg ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
+                                     virNetMessageErrorPtr rerr,
+                                     remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_args *args,
+                                     remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_ret *ret)
+{
+    int rv = -1;
+    virStorageVolPtr vol = NULL;
+    virStorageVolInfo tmp;
+    struct daemonClientPrivate *priv =
+        virNetServerClientGetPrivateData(client);
+
+    if (!priv->conn) {
+        virReportError(VIR_ERR_INTERNAL_ERROR, "%s", _("connection not open"));
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
+    if (!(vol = get_nonnull_storage_vol(priv->conn, args->vol)))
+        goto cleanup;
+
+    if (virStorageVolGetInfoFlags(vol, &tmp, args->flags) < 0)
+        goto cleanup;
+
+    ret->type = tmp.type;
+    ret->capacity = tmp.capacity;
+    ret->allocation = tmp.allocation;
+    rv = 0;
+
+ cleanup:
+    if (rv < 0)
+        virNetMessageSaveError(rerr);
+    virObjectUnref(vol);
+    return rv;
+}
+
+
 /*----- Helpers. -----*/
 
 /* get_nonnull_domain and get_nonnull_network turn an on-wire
diff --git a/include/libvirt/libvirt-storage.h b/include/libvirt/libvirt-storage.h
index 0974f6ed29..8a861e4340 100644
--- a/include/libvirt/libvirt-storage.h
+++ b/include/libvirt/libvirt-storage.h
@@ -167,6 +167,14 @@ typedef enum {
 # endif
 } virStorageVolWipeAlgorithm;
 
+typedef enum {
+    VIR_STORAGE_VOL_USE_ALLOCATION = 0,
+
+    /* Return the physical size in allocation */
+    VIR_STORAGE_VOL_GET_PHYSICAL = 1 << 0,
+
+} virStorageVolInfoFlags;
+
 typedef struct _virStorageVolInfo virStorageVolInfo;
 
 struct _virStorageVolInfo {
@@ -359,6 +367,9 @@ int                     virStorageVolFree               (virStorageVolPtr vol);
 
 int                     virStorageVolGetInfo            (virStorageVolPtr vol,
                                                          virStorageVolInfoPtr info);
+int                     virStorageVolGetInfoFlags       (virStorageVolPtr vol,
+                                                         virStorageVolInfoPtr info,
+                                                         unsigned int flags);
 char *                  virStorageVolGetXMLDesc         (virStorageVolPtr pool,
                                                          unsigned int flags);
 
diff --git a/src/driver-storage.h b/src/driver-storage.h
index afcb12bc84..48e588a546 100644
--- a/src/driver-storage.h
+++ b/src/driver-storage.h
@@ -158,6 +158,11 @@ typedef int
 (*virDrvStorageVolGetInfo)(virStorageVolPtr vol,
                            virStorageVolInfoPtr info);
 
+typedef int
+(*virDrvStorageVolGetInfoFlags)(virStorageVolPtr vol,
+                                virStorageVolInfoPtr info,
+                                unsigned int flags);
+
 typedef char *
 (*virDrvStorageVolGetXMLDesc)(virStorageVolPtr pool,
                               unsigned int flags);
@@ -257,6 +262,7 @@ struct _virStorageDriver {
     virDrvStorageVolWipe storageVolWipe;
     virDrvStorageVolWipePattern storageVolWipePattern;
     virDrvStorageVolGetInfo storageVolGetInfo;
+    virDrvStorageVolGetInfoFlags storageVolGetInfoFlags;
     virDrvStorageVolGetXMLDesc storageVolGetXMLDesc;
     virDrvStorageVolGetPath storageVolGetPath;
     virDrvStorageVolResize storageVolResize;
diff --git a/src/libvirt-storage.c b/src/libvirt-storage.c
index 48996ba4c9..05eec8a9d4 100644
--- a/src/libvirt-storage.c
+++ b/src/libvirt-storage.c
@@ -1913,6 +1913,57 @@ virStorageVolGetInfo(virStorageVolPtr vol,
 }
 
 
+/**
+ * virStorageVolGetInfoFlags:
+ * @vol: pointer to storage volume
+ * @info: pointer at which to store info
+ * @flags: bitwise-OR of virStorageVolInfoFlags
+ *
+ * Fetches volatile information about the storage
+ * volume such as its current allocation.
+ *
+ * If the @flags argument is VIR_STORAGE_VOL_GET_PHYSICAL, then the physical
+ * bytes used for the volume will be returned in the @info allocation field.
+ * This is useful for sparse files and certain volume file types where the
+ * physical on disk usage can be different than the calculated allocation value
+ * as is the case with qcow2 files.
+ *
+ * Returns 0 on success, or -1 on failure
+ */
+int
+virStorageVolGetInfoFlags(virStorageVolPtr vol,
+                          virStorageVolInfoPtr info,
+                          unsigned int flags)
+{
+    virConnectPtr conn;
+    VIR_DEBUG("vol=%p, info=%p, flags=%x", vol, info, flags);
+
+    virResetLastError();
+
+    if (info)
+        memset(info, 0, sizeof(*info));
+
+    virCheckStorageVolReturn(vol, -1);
+    virCheckNonNullArgGoto(info, error);
+
+    conn = vol->conn;
+
+    if (conn->storageDriver->storageVolGetInfoFlags) {
+        int ret;
+        ret = conn->storageDriver->storageVolGetInfoFlags(vol, info, flags);
+        if (ret < 0)
+            goto error;
+        return ret;
+    }
+
+    virReportUnsupportedError();
+
+ error:
+    virDispatchError(vol->conn);
+    return -1;
+}
+
+
 /**
  * virStorageVolGetXMLDesc:
  * @vol: pointer to storage volume
diff --git a/src/libvirt_public.syms b/src/libvirt_public.syms
index e01604cad8..12ef085c51 100644
--- a/src/libvirt_public.syms
+++ b/src/libvirt_public.syms
@@ -746,4 +746,9 @@ LIBVIRT_2.2.0 {
         virConnectNodeDeviceEventDeregisterAny;
 } LIBVIRT_2.0.0;
 
+LIBVIRT_3.0.0 {
+    global:
+        virStorageVolGetInfoFlags;
+} LIBVIRT_2.2.0;
+
 # .... define new API here using predicted next version number ....
diff --git a/src/remote/remote_driver.c b/src/remote/remote_driver.c
index 888052045e..46da06f0a4 100644
--- a/src/remote/remote_driver.c
+++ b/src/remote/remote_driver.c
@@ -7842,6 +7842,42 @@ remoteDomainRename(virDomainPtr dom, const char *new_name, unsigned int flags)
 }
 
 
+static int
+remoteStorageVolGetInfoFlags(virStorageVolPtr vol,
+                             virStorageVolInfoPtr result,
+                             unsigned int flags)
+{
+    int rv = -1;
+    struct private_data *priv = vol->conn->privateData;
+    remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_args args;
+    remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_ret ret;
+
+    remoteDriverLock(priv);
+
+    make_nonnull_storage_vol(&args.vol, vol);
+    args.flags = flags;
+
+    memset(&ret, 0, sizeof(ret));
+
+    if (call(vol->conn, priv, 0, REMOTE_PROC_STORAGE_VOL_GET_INFO_FLAGS,
+             (xdrproc_t)xdr_remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_args,
+             (char *)&args,
+             (xdrproc_t)xdr_remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_ret,
+             (char *)&ret) == -1) {
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    result->type = ret.type;
+    result->capacity = ret.capacity;
+    result->allocation = ret.allocation;
+    rv = 0;
+
+ done:
+    remoteDriverUnlock(priv);
+    return rv;
+}
+
+
 /* get_nonnull_domain and get_nonnull_network turn an on-wire
  * (name, uuid) pair into virDomainPtr or virNetworkPtr object.
  * These can return NULL if underlying memory allocations fail,
@@ -8290,6 +8326,7 @@ static virStorageDriver storage_driver = {
     .storageVolWipe = remoteStorageVolWipe, /* 0.8.0 */
     .storageVolWipePattern = remoteStorageVolWipePattern, /* 0.9.10 */
     .storageVolGetInfo = remoteStorageVolGetInfo, /* 0.4.1 */
+    .storageVolGetInfoFlags = remoteStorageVolGetInfoFlags, /* 3.0.0 */
     .storageVolGetXMLDesc = remoteStorageVolGetXMLDesc, /* 0.4.1 */
     .storageVolGetPath = remoteStorageVolGetPath, /* 0.4.1 */
     .storageVolResize = remoteStorageVolResize, /* 0.9.10 */
diff --git a/src/remote/remote_protocol.x b/src/remote/remote_protocol.x
index e8382dc51d..b846ef2138 100644
--- a/src/remote/remote_protocol.x
+++ b/src/remote/remote_protocol.x
@@ -1941,6 +1941,17 @@ struct remote_storage_vol_get_info_ret { /* insert@1 */
     unsigned hyper allocation;
 };
 
+struct remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_args {
+    remote_nonnull_storage_vol vol;
+    unsigned int flags;
+};
+
+struct remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_ret { /* insert@1 */
+    char type;
+    unsigned hyper capacity;
+    unsigned hyper allocation;
+};
+
 struct remote_storage_vol_get_path_args {
     remote_nonnull_storage_vol vol;
 };
@@ -5934,5 +5945,12 @@ enum remote_procedure {
      * @generate: both
      * @acl: none
      */
-    REMOTE_PROC_NODE_DEVICE_EVENT_UPDATE = 377
+    REMOTE_PROC_NODE_DEVICE_EVENT_UPDATE = 377,
+
+    /**
+     * @generate: none
+     * @priority: high
+     * @acl: storage_vol:read
+     */
+    REMOTE_PROC_STORAGE_VOL_GET_INFO_FLAGS = 378
 };
diff --git a/src/remote_protocol-structs b/src/remote_protocol-structs
index b71accc073..41bc3bd247 100644
--- a/src/remote_protocol-structs
+++ b/src/remote_protocol-structs
@@ -1472,6 +1472,15 @@ struct remote_storage_vol_get_info_ret {
         uint64_t                   capacity;
         uint64_t                   allocation;
 };
+struct remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_args {
+        remote_nonnull_storage_vol vol;
+        u_int                      flags;
+};
+struct remote_storage_vol_get_info_flags_ret {
+        char                       type;
+        uint64_t                   capacity;
+        uint64_t                   allocation;
+};
 struct remote_storage_vol_get_path_args {
         remote_nonnull_storage_vol vol;
 };
@@ -3169,4 +3178,5 @@ enum remote_procedure {
         REMOTE_PROC_CONNECT_NODE_DEVICE_EVENT_DEREGISTER_ANY = 375,
         REMOTE_PROC_NODE_DEVICE_EVENT_LIFECYCLE = 376,
         REMOTE_PROC_NODE_DEVICE_EVENT_UPDATE = 377,
+        REMOTE_PROC_STORAGE_VOL_GET_INFO_FLAGS = 378,
 };
diff --git a/src/storage/storage_driver.c b/src/storage/storage_driver.c
index a79acc6f06..5fc706634a 100644
--- a/src/storage/storage_driver.c
+++ b/src/storage/storage_driver.c
@@ -2620,18 +2620,21 @@ storageVolWipe(virStorageVolPtr obj,
 
 
 static int
-storageVolGetInfo(virStorageVolPtr obj,
-                  virStorageVolInfoPtr info)
+storageVolGetInfoFlags(virStorageVolPtr obj,
+                       virStorageVolInfoPtr info,
+                       unsigned int flags)
 {
     virStoragePoolObjPtr pool;
     virStorageBackendPtr backend;
     virStorageVolDefPtr vol;
     int ret = -1;
 
+    virCheckFlags(VIR_STORAGE_VOL_GET_PHYSICAL, -1);
+
     if (!(vol = virStorageVolDefFromVol(obj, &pool, &backend)))
         return -1;
 
-    if (virStorageVolGetInfoEnsureACL(obj->conn, pool->def, vol) < 0)
+    if (virStorageVolGetInfoFlagsEnsureACL(obj->conn, pool->def, vol) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
     if (backend->refreshVol &&
@@ -2641,7 +2644,10 @@ storageVolGetInfo(virStorageVolPtr obj,
     memset(info, 0, sizeof(*info));
     info->type = vol->type;
     info->capacity = vol->target.capacity;
-    info->allocation = vol->target.allocation;
+    if (flags & VIR_STORAGE_VOL_GET_PHYSICAL)
+        info->allocation = vol->target.physical;
+    else
+        info->allocation = vol->target.allocation;
     ret = 0;
 
  cleanup:
@@ -2649,6 +2655,15 @@ storageVolGetInfo(virStorageVolPtr obj,
     return ret;
 }
 
+
+static int
+storageVolGetInfo(virStorageVolPtr obj,
+                  virStorageVolInfoPtr info)
+{
+    return storageVolGetInfoFlags(obj, info, 0);
+}
+
+
 static char *
 storageVolGetXMLDesc(virStorageVolPtr obj,
                      unsigned int flags)
@@ -2803,6 +2818,7 @@ static virStorageDriver storageDriver = {
     .storageVolWipe = storageVolWipe, /* 0.8.0 */
     .storageVolWipePattern = storageVolWipePattern, /* 0.9.10 */
     .storageVolGetInfo = storageVolGetInfo, /* 0.4.0 */
+    .storageVolGetInfoFlags = storageVolGetInfoFlags, /* 3.0.0 */
     .storageVolGetXMLDesc = storageVolGetXMLDesc, /* 0.4.0 */
     .storageVolGetPath = storageVolGetPath, /* 0.4.0 */
     .storageVolResize = storageVolResize, /* 0.9.10 */