diff --git a/hw/block/nvme-ns.h b/hw/block/nvme-ns.h
index 82340c4b2574..fb0a41f912e7 100644
--- a/hw/block/nvme-ns.h
+++ b/hw/block/nvme-ns.h
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ typedef struct NvmeZone {
 
 typedef struct NvmeNamespaceParams {
     bool     detached;
+    bool     shared;
     uint32_t nsid;
     QemuUUID uuid;
 
@@ -60,8 +61,8 @@ typedef struct NvmeNamespace {
     const uint32_t *iocs;
     uint8_t      csi;
     uint16_t     status;
+    int          attached;
 
-    NvmeSubsystem   *subsys;
     QTAILQ_ENTRY(NvmeNamespace) entry;
 
     NvmeIdNsZoned   *id_ns_zoned;
@@ -99,11 +100,6 @@ static inline uint32_t nvme_nsid(NvmeNamespace *ns)
     return 0;
 }
 
-static inline bool nvme_ns_shared(NvmeNamespace *ns)
-{
-    return !!ns->subsys;
-}
-
 static inline NvmeLBAF *nvme_ns_lbaf(NvmeNamespace *ns)
 {
     NvmeIdNs *id_ns = &ns->id_ns;
@@ -225,7 +221,7 @@ static inline void nvme_aor_dec_active(NvmeNamespace *ns)
 }
 
 void nvme_ns_init_format(NvmeNamespace *ns);
-int nvme_ns_setup(NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp);
+int nvme_ns_setup(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp);
 void nvme_ns_drain(NvmeNamespace *ns);
 void nvme_ns_shutdown(NvmeNamespace *ns);
 void nvme_ns_cleanup(NvmeNamespace *ns);
diff --git a/hw/block/nvme-subsys.h b/hw/block/nvme-subsys.h
index aafa04b84829..24132edd005c 100644
--- a/hw/block/nvme-subsys.h
+++ b/hw/block/nvme-subsys.h
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
     OBJECT_CHECK(NvmeSubsystem, (obj), TYPE_NVME_SUBSYS)
 
 #define NVME_SUBSYS_MAX_CTRLS   32
-#define NVME_SUBSYS_MAX_NAMESPACES  256
+#define NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES     256
 
 typedef struct NvmeCtrl NvmeCtrl;
 typedef struct NvmeNamespace NvmeNamespace;
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ typedef struct NvmeSubsystem {
 
     NvmeCtrl    *ctrls[NVME_SUBSYS_MAX_CTRLS];
     /* Allocated namespaces for this subsystem */
-    NvmeNamespace *namespaces[NVME_SUBSYS_MAX_NAMESPACES + 1];
+    NvmeNamespace *namespaces[NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES + 1];
 
     struct {
         char *nqn;
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ typedef struct NvmeSubsystem {
 } NvmeSubsystem;
 
 int nvme_subsys_register_ctrl(NvmeCtrl *n, Error **errp);
-int nvme_subsys_register_ns(NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp);
 
 static inline NvmeCtrl *nvme_subsys_ctrl(NvmeSubsystem *subsys,
         uint32_t cntlid)
@@ -54,7 +53,7 @@ static inline NvmeNamespace *nvme_subsys_ns(NvmeSubsystem *subsys,
         return NULL;
     }
 
-    assert(nsid && nsid <= NVME_SUBSYS_MAX_NAMESPACES);
+    assert(nsid && nsid <= NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES);
 
     return subsys->namespaces[nsid];
 }
diff --git a/hw/block/nvme.h b/hw/block/nvme.h
index 8d1806cc942f..5d05ec368f7a 100644
--- a/hw/block/nvme.h
+++ b/hw/block/nvme.h
@@ -6,17 +6,9 @@
 #include "nvme-subsys.h"
 #include "nvme-ns.h"
 
-#define NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES 256
-
 #define NVME_DEFAULT_ZONE_SIZE   (128 * MiB)
 #define NVME_DEFAULT_MAX_ZA_SIZE (128 * KiB)
 
-/*
- * Subsystem namespace list for allocated namespaces should be larger than
- * attached namespace list in a controller.
- */
-QEMU_BUILD_BUG_ON(NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES > NVME_SUBSYS_MAX_NAMESPACES);
-
 typedef struct NvmeParams {
     char     *serial;
     uint32_t num_queues; /* deprecated since 5.1 */
@@ -234,35 +226,6 @@ static inline NvmeNamespace *nvme_ns(NvmeCtrl *n, uint32_t nsid)
     return n->namespaces[nsid - 1];
 }
 
-static inline bool nvme_ns_is_attached(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns)
-{
-    int nsid;
-
-    for (nsid = 1; nsid <= n->num_namespaces; nsid++) {
-        if (nvme_ns(n, nsid) == ns) {
-            return true;
-        }
-    }
-
-    return false;
-}
-
-static inline void nvme_ns_attach(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns)
-{
-    uint32_t nsid = nvme_nsid(ns);
-    assert(nsid && nsid <= NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES);
-
-    n->namespaces[nsid - 1] = ns;
-}
-
-static inline void nvme_ns_detach(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns)
-{
-    uint32_t nsid = nvme_nsid(ns);
-    assert(nsid && nsid <= NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES);
-
-    n->namespaces[nsid - 1] = NULL;
-}
-
 static inline NvmeCQueue *nvme_cq(NvmeRequest *req)
 {
     NvmeSQueue *sq = req->sq;
@@ -291,7 +254,7 @@ typedef enum NvmeTxDirection {
     NVME_TX_DIRECTION_FROM_DEVICE = 1,
 } NvmeTxDirection;
 
-int nvme_register_namespace(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp);
+void nvme_attach_ns(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns);
 uint16_t nvme_bounce_data(NvmeCtrl *n, uint8_t *ptr, uint32_t len,
                           NvmeTxDirection dir, NvmeRequest *req);
 uint16_t nvme_bounce_mdata(NvmeCtrl *n, uint8_t *ptr, uint32_t len,
diff --git a/include/block/nvme.h b/include/block/nvme.h
index b0a4e4291611..4ac926fbc687 100644
--- a/include/block/nvme.h
+++ b/include/block/nvme.h
@@ -847,6 +847,7 @@ enum NvmeStatusCodes {
     NVME_FEAT_NOT_NS_SPEC       = 0x010f,
     NVME_FW_REQ_SUSYSTEM_RESET  = 0x0110,
     NVME_NS_ALREADY_ATTACHED    = 0x0118,
+    NVME_NS_PRIVATE             = 0x0119,
     NVME_NS_NOT_ATTACHED        = 0x011A,
     NVME_NS_CTRL_LIST_INVALID   = 0x011C,
     NVME_CONFLICTING_ATTRS      = 0x0180,
diff --git a/hw/block/nvme-ns.c b/hw/block/nvme-ns.c
index ca04ee1bacfb..7bb618f18209 100644
--- a/hw/block/nvme-ns.c
+++ b/hw/block/nvme-ns.c
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ static int nvme_ns_init(NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp)
     /* support DULBE and I/O optimization fields */
     id_ns->nsfeat |= (0x4 | 0x10);
 
-    if (nvme_ns_shared(ns)) {
+    if (ns->params.shared) {
         id_ns->nmic |= NVME_NMIC_NS_SHARED;
     }
 
@@ -387,7 +387,8 @@ static void nvme_zoned_ns_shutdown(NvmeNamespace *ns)
     assert(ns->nr_open_zones == 0);
 }
 
-static int nvme_ns_check_constraints(NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp)
+static int nvme_ns_check_constraints(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns,
+                                     Error **errp)
 {
     if (!ns->blkconf.blk) {
         error_setg(errp, "block backend not configured");
@@ -400,12 +401,32 @@ static int nvme_ns_check_constraints(NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp)
         return -1;
     }
 
+    if (ns->params.nsid > NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES) {
+        error_setg(errp, "invalid namespace id (must be between 0 and %d)",
+                   NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES);
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    if (!n->subsys) {
+        if (ns->params.detached) {
+            error_setg(errp, "detached requires that the nvme device is "
+                       "linked to an nvme-subsys device");
+            return -1;
+        }
+
+        if (ns->params.shared) {
+            error_setg(errp, "shared requires that the nvme device is "
+                       "linked to an nvme-subsys device");
+            return -1;
+        }
+    }
+
     return 0;
 }
 
-int nvme_ns_setup(NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp)
+int nvme_ns_setup(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp)
 {
-    if (nvme_ns_check_constraints(ns, errp)) {
+    if (nvme_ns_check_constraints(n, ns, errp)) {
         return -1;
     }
 
@@ -453,27 +474,62 @@ static void nvme_ns_realize(DeviceState *dev, Error **errp)
     NvmeNamespace *ns = NVME_NS(dev);
     BusState *s = qdev_get_parent_bus(dev);
     NvmeCtrl *n = NVME(s->parent);
+    NvmeSubsystem *subsys = n->subsys;
+    uint32_t nsid = ns->params.nsid;
+    int i;
 
-    if (nvme_ns_setup(ns, errp)) {
+    if (nvme_ns_setup(n, ns, errp)) {
         return;
     }
 
-    if (ns->subsys) {
-        if (nvme_subsys_register_ns(ns, errp)) {
+    if (!nsid) {
+        for (i = 1; i <= NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES; i++) {
+            if (nvme_ns(n, i) || nvme_subsys_ns(subsys, i)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            nsid = ns->params.nsid = i;
+            break;
+        }
+
+        if (!nsid) {
+            error_setg(errp, "no free namespace id");
             return;
         }
     } else {
-        if (nvme_register_namespace(n, ns, errp)) {
+        if (nvme_ns(n, nsid) || nvme_subsys_ns(subsys, nsid)) {
+            error_setg(errp, "namespace id '%d' already allocated", nsid);
             return;
         }
     }
+
+    if (subsys) {
+        subsys->namespaces[nsid] = ns;
+
+        if (ns->params.detached) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (ns->params.shared) {
+            for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(subsys->ctrls); i++) {
+                NvmeCtrl *ctrl = subsys->ctrls[i];
+
+                if (ctrl) {
+                    nvme_attach_ns(ctrl, ns);
+                }
+            }
+
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+
+    nvme_attach_ns(n, ns);
 }
 
 static Property nvme_ns_props[] = {
     DEFINE_BLOCK_PROPERTIES(NvmeNamespace, blkconf),
-    DEFINE_PROP_LINK("subsys", NvmeNamespace, subsys, TYPE_NVME_SUBSYS,
-                     NvmeSubsystem *),
     DEFINE_PROP_BOOL("detached", NvmeNamespace, params.detached, false),
+    DEFINE_PROP_BOOL("shared", NvmeNamespace, params.shared, false),
     DEFINE_PROP_UINT32("nsid", NvmeNamespace, params.nsid, 0),
     DEFINE_PROP_UUID("uuid", NvmeNamespace, params.uuid),
     DEFINE_PROP_UINT16("ms", NvmeNamespace, params.ms, 0),
diff --git a/hw/block/nvme-subsys.c b/hw/block/nvme-subsys.c
index 9fadef8cec99..283a97b79d57 100644
--- a/hw/block/nvme-subsys.c
+++ b/hw/block/nvme-subsys.c
@@ -43,34 +43,6 @@ int nvme_subsys_register_ctrl(NvmeCtrl *n, Error **errp)
     return cntlid;
 }
 
-int nvme_subsys_register_ns(NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp)
-{
-    NvmeSubsystem *subsys = ns->subsys;
-    NvmeCtrl *n;
-    uint32_t nsid = nvme_nsid(ns);
-    int i;
-
-    assert(nsid && nsid <= NVME_SUBSYS_MAX_NAMESPACES);
-
-    if (subsys->namespaces[nsid]) {
-        error_setg(errp, "namespace %d already registerd to subsy %s",
-                   nvme_nsid(ns), subsys->parent_obj.id);
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    subsys->namespaces[nsid] = ns;
-
-    for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(subsys->ctrls); i++) {
-        n = subsys->ctrls[i];
-
-        if (n && nvme_register_namespace(n, ns, errp)) {
-            return -1;
-        }
-    }
-
-    return 0;
-}
-
 static void nvme_subsys_setup(NvmeSubsystem *subsys)
 {
     const char *nqn = subsys->params.nqn ?
diff --git a/hw/block/nvme.c b/hw/block/nvme.c
index 0898ece2af31..d2dd82496790 100644
--- a/hw/block/nvme.c
+++ b/hw/block/nvme.c
@@ -93,10 +93,13 @@
  *
  * nvme namespace device parameters
  * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- * - `subsys`
- *   If given, the namespace will be attached to all controllers in the
- *   subsystem. Otherwise, `bus` must be given to attach this namespace to a
- *   specific controller as a non-shared namespace.
+ * - `shared`
+ *   When the parent nvme device (as defined explicitly by the 'bus' parameter
+ *   or implicitly by the most recently defined NvmeBus) is linked to an
+ *   nvme-subsys device, the namespace will be attached to all controllers in
+ *   the subsystem. If set to 'off' (the default), the namespace will remain a
+ *   private namespace and may only be attached to a single controller at a
+ *   time.
  *
  * - `detached`
  *   This parameter is only valid together with the `subsys` parameter. If left
@@ -4242,7 +4245,7 @@ static uint16_t nvme_identify_ns_attached_list(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeRequest *req)
             continue;
         }
 
-        if (!nvme_ns_is_attached(ctrl, ns)) {
+        if (!nvme_ns(ctrl, c->nsid)) {
             continue;
         }
 
@@ -4899,6 +4902,10 @@ static uint16_t nvme_ns_attachment(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeRequest *req)
 
     trace_pci_nvme_ns_attachment(nvme_cid(req), dw10 & 0xf);
 
+    if (!nvme_nsid_valid(n, nsid)) {
+        return NVME_INVALID_NSID | NVME_DNR;
+    }
+
     ns = nvme_subsys_ns(n->subsys, nsid);
     if (!ns) {
         return NVME_INVALID_FIELD | NVME_DNR;
@@ -4920,18 +4927,23 @@ static uint16_t nvme_ns_attachment(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeRequest *req)
         }
 
         if (attach) {
-            if (nvme_ns_is_attached(ctrl, ns)) {
+            if (nvme_ns(ctrl, nsid)) {
                 return NVME_NS_ALREADY_ATTACHED | NVME_DNR;
             }
 
-            nvme_ns_attach(ctrl, ns);
+            if (ns->attached && !ns->params.shared) {
+                return NVME_NS_PRIVATE | NVME_DNR;
+            }
+
+            nvme_attach_ns(ctrl, ns);
             __nvme_select_ns_iocs(ctrl, ns);
         } else {
-            if (!nvme_ns_is_attached(ctrl, ns)) {
+            if (!nvme_ns(ctrl, nsid)) {
                 return NVME_NS_NOT_ATTACHED | NVME_DNR;
             }
 
-            nvme_ns_detach(ctrl, ns);
+            ctrl->namespaces[nsid - 1] = NULL;
+            ns->attached--;
 
             nvme_update_dmrsl(ctrl);
         }
@@ -5825,6 +5837,12 @@ static void nvme_check_constraints(NvmeCtrl *n, Error **errp)
     if (n->namespace.blkconf.blk) {
         warn_report("drive property is deprecated; "
                     "please use an nvme-ns device instead");
+
+        if (n->subsys) {
+            error_setg(errp, "subsystem support is unavailable with legacy "
+                       "namespace ('drive' property)");
+            return;
+        }
     }
 
     if (params->max_ioqpairs < 1 ||
@@ -5887,75 +5905,6 @@ static void nvme_init_state(NvmeCtrl *n)
     n->aer_reqs = g_new0(NvmeRequest *, n->params.aerl + 1);
 }
 
-static int nvme_attach_namespace(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp)
-{
-    if (nvme_ns_is_attached(n, ns)) {
-        error_setg(errp,
-                   "namespace %d is already attached to controller %d",
-                   nvme_nsid(ns), n->cntlid);
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    nvme_ns_attach(n, ns);
-
-    return 0;
-}
-
-int nvme_register_namespace(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns, Error **errp)
-{
-    uint32_t nsid = nvme_nsid(ns);
-
-    if (nsid > NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES) {
-        error_setg(errp, "invalid namespace id (must be between 0 and %d)",
-                   NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES);
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    if (!nsid) {
-        for (int i = 1; i <= n->num_namespaces; i++) {
-            if (!nvme_ns(n, i)) {
-                nsid = ns->params.nsid = i;
-                break;
-            }
-        }
-
-        if (!nsid) {
-            error_setg(errp, "no free namespace id");
-            return -1;
-        }
-    } else {
-        if (n->namespaces[nsid - 1]) {
-            error_setg(errp, "namespace id '%d' is already in use", nsid);
-            return -1;
-        }
-    }
-
-    trace_pci_nvme_register_namespace(nsid);
-
-    /*
-     * If subsys is not given, namespae is always attached to the controller
-     * because there's no subsystem to manage namespace allocation.
-     */
-    if (!n->subsys) {
-        if (ns->params.detached) {
-            error_setg(errp,
-                       "detached needs nvme-subsys specified nvme or nvme-ns");
-            return -1;
-        }
-
-        return nvme_attach_namespace(n, ns, errp);
-    } else {
-        if (!ns->params.detached) {
-            return nvme_attach_namespace(n, ns, errp);
-        }
-    }
-
-    n->dmrsl = MIN_NON_ZERO(n->dmrsl,
-                            BDRV_REQUEST_MAX_BYTES / nvme_l2b(ns, 1));
-
-    return 0;
-}
-
 static void nvme_init_cmb(NvmeCtrl *n, PCIDevice *pci_dev)
 {
     uint64_t cmb_size = n->params.cmb_size_mb * MiB;
@@ -6185,6 +6134,18 @@ static int nvme_init_subsys(NvmeCtrl *n, Error **errp)
     return 0;
 }
 
+void nvme_attach_ns(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns)
+{
+    uint32_t nsid = ns->params.nsid;
+    assert(nsid && nsid <= NVME_MAX_NAMESPACES);
+
+    n->namespaces[nsid - 1] = ns;
+    ns->attached++;
+
+    n->dmrsl = MIN_NON_ZERO(n->dmrsl,
+                            BDRV_REQUEST_MAX_BYTES / nvme_l2b(ns, 1));
+}
+
 static void nvme_realize(PCIDevice *pci_dev, Error **errp)
 {
     NvmeCtrl *n = NVME(pci_dev);
@@ -6216,13 +6177,11 @@ static void nvme_realize(PCIDevice *pci_dev, Error **errp)
         ns = &n->namespace;
         ns->params.nsid = 1;
 
-        if (nvme_ns_setup(ns, errp)) {
+        if (nvme_ns_setup(n, ns, errp)) {
             return;
         }
 
-        if (nvme_register_namespace(n, ns, errp)) {
-            return;
-        }
+        nvme_attach_ns(n, ns);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/hw/block/trace-events b/hw/block/trace-events
index 22da06986d72..fa12e3a67a75 100644
--- a/hw/block/trace-events
+++ b/hw/block/trace-events
@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@ hd_geometry_guess(void *blk, uint32_t cyls, uint32_t heads, uint32_t secs, int t
 
 # nvme.c
 # nvme traces for successful events
-pci_nvme_register_namespace(uint32_t nsid) "nsid %"PRIu32""
 pci_nvme_irq_msix(uint32_t vector) "raising MSI-X IRQ vector %u"
 pci_nvme_irq_pin(void) "pulsing IRQ pin"
 pci_nvme_irq_masked(void) "IRQ is masked"
