diff --git a/cmd/bitrot-streaming.go b/cmd/bitrot-streaming.go
index d7d865536..ba74cac11 100644
--- a/cmd/bitrot-streaming.go
+++ b/cmd/bitrot-streaming.go
@@ -23,8 +23,11 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"hash"
 	"io"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/minio/minio/cmd/logger"
+	"github.com/minio/minio/pkg/env"
+	xioutil "github.com/minio/minio/pkg/ioutil"
 )
 
 type errHashMismatch struct {
@@ -37,7 +40,7 @@ func (err *errHashMismatch) Error() string {
 
 // Calculates bitrot in chunks and writes the hash into the stream.
 type streamingBitrotWriter struct {
-	iow       *io.PipeWriter
+	iow       io.WriteCloser
 	h         hash.Hash
 	shardSize int64
 	canClose  chan struct{} // Needed to avoid race explained in Close() call.
@@ -70,19 +73,28 @@ func (b *streamingBitrotWriter) Close() error {
 	return err
 }
 
+var (
+	ioDeadline, _ = time.ParseDuration(env.Get("MINIO_IO_DEADLINE", ""))
+)
+
 // Returns streaming bitrot writer implementation.
-func newStreamingBitrotWriter(disk StorageAPI, volume, filePath string, length int64, algo BitrotAlgorithm, shardSize int64) io.WriteCloser {
+func newStreamingBitrotWriter(disk StorageAPI, volume, filePath string, length int64, algo BitrotAlgorithm, shardSize int64, heal bool) io.Writer {
 	r, w := io.Pipe()
 	h := algo.New()
-	bw := &streamingBitrotWriter{w, h, shardSize, make(chan struct{})}
+
+	var wc io.WriteCloser = w
+	if ioDeadline > 0 && !heal {
+		wc = xioutil.NewDeadlineWriter(w, ioDeadline)
+	}
+
+	bw := &streamingBitrotWriter{wc, h, shardSize, make(chan struct{})}
 	go func() {
 		totalFileSize := int64(-1) // For compressed objects length will be unknown (represented by length=-1)
 		if length != -1 {
 			bitrotSumsTotalSize := ceilFrac(length, shardSize) * int64(h.Size()) // Size used for storing bitrot checksums.
 			totalFileSize = bitrotSumsTotalSize + length
 		}
-		err := disk.CreateFile(context.TODO(), volume, filePath, totalFileSize, r)
-		r.CloseWithError(err)
+		r.CloseWithError(disk.CreateFile(context.TODO(), volume, filePath, totalFileSize, r))
 		close(bw.canClose)
 	}()
 	return bw
diff --git a/cmd/bitrot.go b/cmd/bitrot.go
index ec478727e..e29e478bd 100644
--- a/cmd/bitrot.go
+++ b/cmd/bitrot.go
@@ -96,9 +96,9 @@ func BitrotAlgorithmFromString(s string) (a BitrotAlgorithm) {
 	return
 }
 
-func newBitrotWriter(disk StorageAPI, volume, filePath string, length int64, algo BitrotAlgorithm, shardSize int64) io.Writer {
+func newBitrotWriter(disk StorageAPI, volume, filePath string, length int64, algo BitrotAlgorithm, shardSize int64, heal bool) io.Writer {
 	if algo == HighwayHash256S {
-		return newStreamingBitrotWriter(disk, volume, filePath, length, algo, shardSize)
+		return newStreamingBitrotWriter(disk, volume, filePath, length, algo, shardSize, heal)
 	}
 	return newWholeBitrotWriter(disk, volume, filePath, algo, shardSize)
 }
diff --git a/cmd/bitrot_test.go b/cmd/bitrot_test.go
index 86d3a0b9b..54aa13508 100644
--- a/cmd/bitrot_test.go
+++ b/cmd/bitrot_test.go
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ func testBitrotReaderWriterAlgo(t *testing.T, bitrotAlgo BitrotAlgorithm) {
 
 	disk.MakeVol(context.Background(), volume)
 
-	writer := newBitrotWriter(disk, volume, filePath, 35, bitrotAlgo, 10)
+	writer := newBitrotWriter(disk, volume, filePath, 35, bitrotAlgo, 10, false)
 
 	_, err = writer.Write([]byte("aaaaaaaaaa"))
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/erasure-decode_test.go b/cmd/erasure-decode_test.go
index 30ae3f6b6..4e4f1df81 100644
--- a/cmd/erasure-decode_test.go
+++ b/cmd/erasure-decode_test.go
@@ -108,7 +108,8 @@ func TestErasureDecode(t *testing.T) {
 		buffer := make([]byte, test.blocksize, 2*test.blocksize)
 		writers := make([]io.Writer, len(disks))
 		for i, disk := range disks {
-			writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object", erasure.ShardFileSize(test.data), writeAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+			writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object",
+				erasure.ShardFileSize(test.data), writeAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), false)
 		}
 		n, err := erasure.Encode(context.Background(), bytes.NewReader(data[:]), writers, buffer, erasure.dataBlocks+1)
 		closeBitrotWriters(writers)
@@ -234,7 +235,8 @@ func TestErasureDecodeRandomOffsetLength(t *testing.T) {
 		if disk == nil {
 			continue
 		}
-		writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object", erasure.ShardFileSize(length), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+		writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object",
+			erasure.ShardFileSize(length), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), false)
 	}
 
 	// 10000 iterations with random offsets and lengths.
@@ -304,7 +306,8 @@ func benchmarkErasureDecode(data, parity, dataDown, parityDown int, size int64,
 		if disk == nil {
 			continue
 		}
-		writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object", erasure.ShardFileSize(size), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+		writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object",
+			erasure.ShardFileSize(size), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), false)
 	}
 
 	content := make([]byte, size)
diff --git a/cmd/erasure-encode_test.go b/cmd/erasure-encode_test.go
index 7daf3ce1a..8788b51ed 100644
--- a/cmd/erasure-encode_test.go
+++ b/cmd/erasure-encode_test.go
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ func TestErasureEncode(t *testing.T) {
 			if disk == OfflineDisk {
 				continue
 			}
-			writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object", erasure.ShardFileSize(int64(len(data[test.offset:]))), test.algorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+			writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object", erasure.ShardFileSize(int64(len(data[test.offset:]))), test.algorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), false)
 		}
 		n, err := erasure.Encode(context.Background(), bytes.NewReader(data[test.offset:]), writers, buffer, erasure.dataBlocks+1)
 		closeBitrotWriters(writers)
@@ -132,14 +132,14 @@ func TestErasureEncode(t *testing.T) {
 				if disk == nil {
 					continue
 				}
-				writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object2", erasure.ShardFileSize(int64(len(data[test.offset:]))), test.algorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+				writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object2", erasure.ShardFileSize(int64(len(data[test.offset:]))), test.algorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), false)
 			}
 			for j := range disks[:test.offDisks] {
 				switch w := writers[j].(type) {
 				case *wholeBitrotWriter:
 					w.disk = badDisk{nil}
 				case *streamingBitrotWriter:
-					w.iow.CloseWithError(errFaultyDisk)
+					w.iow.(*io.PipeWriter).CloseWithError(errFaultyDisk)
 				}
 			}
 			if test.offDisks > 0 {
@@ -196,7 +196,8 @@ func benchmarkErasureEncode(data, parity, dataDown, parityDown int, size int64,
 				continue
 			}
 			disk.Delete(context.Background(), "testbucket", "object", false)
-			writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object", erasure.ShardFileSize(size), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+			writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "object",
+				erasure.ShardFileSize(size), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), false)
 		}
 		_, err := erasure.Encode(context.Background(), bytes.NewReader(content), writers, buffer, erasure.dataBlocks+1)
 		closeBitrotWriters(writers)
diff --git a/cmd/erasure-heal_test.go b/cmd/erasure-heal_test.go
index 1c220f952..00bb3b5c5 100644
--- a/cmd/erasure-heal_test.go
+++ b/cmd/erasure-heal_test.go
@@ -87,7 +87,8 @@ func TestErasureHeal(t *testing.T) {
 		buffer := make([]byte, test.blocksize, 2*test.blocksize)
 		writers := make([]io.Writer, len(disks))
 		for i, disk := range disks {
-			writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "testobject", erasure.ShardFileSize(test.size), test.algorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+			writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "testobject",
+				erasure.ShardFileSize(test.size), test.algorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), true)
 		}
 		_, err = erasure.Encode(context.Background(), bytes.NewReader(data), writers, buffer, erasure.dataBlocks+1)
 		closeBitrotWriters(writers)
@@ -130,7 +131,8 @@ func TestErasureHeal(t *testing.T) {
 				continue
 			}
 			os.Remove(pathJoin(disk.String(), "testbucket", "testobject"))
-			staleWriters[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "testobject", erasure.ShardFileSize(test.size), test.algorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+			staleWriters[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, "testbucket", "testobject",
+				erasure.ShardFileSize(test.size), test.algorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), true)
 		}
 
 		// test case setup is complete - now call Heal()
diff --git a/cmd/erasure-healing.go b/cmd/erasure-healing.go
index 44a0cbdbb..c9fddec55 100644
--- a/cmd/erasure-healing.go
+++ b/cmd/erasure-healing.go
@@ -422,7 +422,8 @@ func (er erasureObjects) healObject(ctx context.Context, bucket string, object s
 					continue
 				}
 				partPath := pathJoin(tmpID, dataDir, fmt.Sprintf("part.%d", partNumber))
-				writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, minioMetaTmpBucket, partPath, tillOffset, DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+				writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, minioMetaTmpBucket, partPath,
+					tillOffset, DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), true)
 			}
 			err = erasure.Heal(ctx, readers, writers, partSize)
 			closeBitrotReaders(readers)
diff --git a/cmd/erasure-multipart.go b/cmd/erasure-multipart.go
index 11a38393e..0681a67de 100644
--- a/cmd/erasure-multipart.go
+++ b/cmd/erasure-multipart.go
@@ -476,7 +476,8 @@ func (er erasureObjects) PutObjectPart(ctx context.Context, bucket, object, uplo
 		if disk == nil {
 			continue
 		}
-		writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, minioMetaTmpBucket, tmpPartPath, erasure.ShardFileSize(data.Size()), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+		writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, minioMetaTmpBucket, tmpPartPath,
+			erasure.ShardFileSize(data.Size()), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), false)
 	}
 
 	n, err := erasure.Encode(ctx, data, writers, buffer, writeQuorum)
diff --git a/cmd/erasure-object.go b/cmd/erasure-object.go
index b2c8140ae..1e7328d7e 100644
--- a/cmd/erasure-object.go
+++ b/cmd/erasure-object.go
@@ -718,7 +718,8 @@ func (er erasureObjects) putObject(ctx context.Context, bucket string, object st
 		if disk == nil {
 			continue
 		}
-		writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, minioMetaTmpBucket, tempErasureObj, erasure.ShardFileSize(data.Size()), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize())
+		writers[i] = newBitrotWriter(disk, minioMetaTmpBucket, tempErasureObj,
+			erasure.ShardFileSize(data.Size()), DefaultBitrotAlgorithm, erasure.ShardSize(), false)
 	}
 
 	n, erasureErr := erasure.Encode(ctx, data, writers, buffer, writeQuorum)
diff --git a/cmd/iam.go b/cmd/iam.go
index b6c20b175..d24e22a14 100644
--- a/cmd/iam.go
+++ b/cmd/iam.go
@@ -577,15 +577,6 @@ func (sys *IAMSys) Init(ctx context.Context, objAPI ObjectLayer) {
 	// Hold the lock for migration only.
 	txnLk := objAPI.NewNSLock(minioMetaBucket, minioConfigPrefix+"/iam.lock")
 
-	// Initializing IAM sub-system needs a retry mechanism for
-	// the following reasons:
-	//  - Read quorum is lost just after the initialization
-	//    of the object layer.
-	//  - Write quorum not met when upgrading configuration
-	//    version is needed, migration is needed etc.
-	rquorum := InsufficientReadQuorum{}
-	wquorum := InsufficientWriteQuorum{}
-
 	// allocate dynamic timeout once before the loop
 	iamLockTimeout := newDynamicTimeout(5*time.Second, 3*time.Second)
 
@@ -620,12 +611,7 @@ func (sys *IAMSys) Init(ctx context.Context, objAPI ObjectLayer) {
 		// Migrate IAM configuration, if necessary.
 		if err := sys.doIAMConfigMigration(ctx); err != nil {
 			txnLk.Unlock()
-			if errors.Is(err, errDiskNotFound) ||
-				errors.Is(err, errConfigNotFound) ||
-				errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) ||
-				errors.As(err, &rquorum) ||
-				errors.As(err, &wquorum) ||
-				isErrBucketNotFound(err) {
+			if configRetriableErrors(err) {
 				logger.Info("Waiting for all MinIO IAM sub-system to be initialized.. possible cause (%v)", err)
 				continue
 			}
@@ -641,12 +627,7 @@ func (sys *IAMSys) Init(ctx context.Context, objAPI ObjectLayer) {
 
 	for {
 		if err := sys.store.loadAll(ctx, sys); err != nil {
-			if errors.Is(err, errDiskNotFound) ||
-				errors.Is(err, errConfigNotFound) ||
-				errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) ||
-				errors.As(err, &rquorum) ||
-				errors.As(err, &wquorum) ||
-				isErrBucketNotFound(err) {
+			if configRetriableErrors(err) {
 				logger.Info("Waiting for all MinIO IAM sub-system to be initialized.. possible cause (%v)", err)
 				time.Sleep(time.Duration(r.Float64() * float64(5*time.Second)))
 				continue
diff --git a/cmd/server-main.go b/cmd/server-main.go
index 100503c0a..d6b841d82 100644
--- a/cmd/server-main.go
+++ b/cmd/server-main.go
@@ -237,6 +237,28 @@ func newAllSubsystems() {
 	globalBucketTargetSys = NewBucketTargetSys()
 }
 
+func configRetriableErrors(err error) bool {
+	// Initializing sub-systems needs a retry mechanism for
+	// the following reasons:
+	//  - Read quorum is lost just after the initialization
+	//    of the object layer.
+	//  - Write quorum not met when upgrading configuration
+	//    version is needed, migration is needed etc.
+	rquorum := InsufficientReadQuorum{}
+	wquorum := InsufficientWriteQuorum{}
+
+	// One of these retriable errors shall be retried.
+	return errors.Is(err, errDiskNotFound) ||
+		errors.Is(err, errConfigNotFound) ||
+		errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) ||
+		errors.Is(err, errErasureWriteQuorum) ||
+		errors.Is(err, errErasureReadQuorum) ||
+		errors.As(err, &rquorum) ||
+		errors.As(err, &wquorum) ||
+		isErrBucketNotFound(err) ||
+		errors.Is(err, os.ErrDeadlineExceeded)
+}
+
 func initServer(ctx context.Context, newObject ObjectLayer) error {
 	// Once the config is fully loaded, initialize the new object layer.
 	setObjectLayer(newObject)
@@ -252,15 +274,6 @@ func initServer(ctx context.Context, newObject ObjectLayer) error {
 	// Migrating to encrypted backend should happen before initialization of any
 	// sub-systems, make sure that we do not move the above codeblock elsewhere.
 
-	// Initializing sub-systems needs a retry mechanism for
-	// the following reasons:
-	//  - Read quorum is lost just after the initialization
-	//    of the object layer.
-	//  - Write quorum not met when upgrading configuration
-	//    version is needed, migration is needed etc.
-	rquorum := InsufficientReadQuorum{}
-	wquorum := InsufficientWriteQuorum{}
-
 	r := rand.New(rand.NewSource(time.Now().UnixNano()))
 
 	lockTimeout := newDynamicTimeout(5*time.Second, 3*time.Second)
@@ -307,15 +320,7 @@ func initServer(ctx context.Context, newObject ObjectLayer) error {
 
 		txnLk.Unlock() // Unlock the transaction lock and allow other nodes to acquire the lock if possible.
 
-		// One of these retriable errors shall be retried.
-		if errors.Is(err, errDiskNotFound) ||
-			errors.Is(err, errConfigNotFound) ||
-			errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) ||
-			errors.Is(err, errErasureWriteQuorum) ||
-			errors.Is(err, errErasureReadQuorum) ||
-			errors.As(err, &rquorum) ||
-			errors.As(err, &wquorum) ||
-			isErrBucketNotFound(err) {
+		if configRetriableErrors(err) {
 			logger.Info("Waiting for all MinIO sub-systems to be initialized.. possible cause (%v)", err)
 			time.Sleep(time.Duration(r.Float64() * float64(5*time.Second)))
 			continue
@@ -333,8 +338,6 @@ func initAllSubsystems(ctx context.Context, newObject ObjectLayer) (err error) {
 	// you want to add extra context to your error. This
 	// ensures top level retry works accordingly.
 	// List buckets to heal, and be re-used for loading configs.
-	rquorum := InsufficientReadQuorum{}
-	wquorum := InsufficientWriteQuorum{}
 
 	buckets, err := newObject.ListBuckets(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -368,14 +371,7 @@ func initAllSubsystems(ctx context.Context, newObject ObjectLayer) (err error) {
 
 	// Initialize config system.
 	if err = globalConfigSys.Init(newObject); err != nil {
-		if errors.Is(err, errDiskNotFound) ||
-			errors.Is(err, errConfigNotFound) ||
-			errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) ||
-			errors.Is(err, errErasureWriteQuorum) ||
-			errors.Is(err, errErasureReadQuorum) ||
-			errors.As(err, &rquorum) ||
-			errors.As(err, &wquorum) ||
-			isErrBucketNotFound(err) {
+		if configRetriableErrors(err) {
 			return fmt.Errorf("Unable to initialize config system: %w", err)
 		}
 		// Any other config errors we simply print a message and proceed forward.
diff --git a/cmd/xl-storage-disk-id-check.go b/cmd/xl-storage-disk-id-check.go
index 36bacf283..85c0ee6e6 100644
--- a/cmd/xl-storage-disk-id-check.go
+++ b/cmd/xl-storage-disk-id-check.go
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ const (
 
 // Detects change in underlying disk.
 type xlStorageDiskIDCheck struct {
-	storage *xlStorage
+	storage StorageAPI
 	diskID  string
 
 	apiCalls     [metricLast]uint64
diff --git a/cmd/xl-storage.go b/cmd/xl-storage.go
index a7153d46e..df3bb2196 100644
--- a/cmd/xl-storage.go
+++ b/cmd/xl-storage.go
@@ -71,6 +71,13 @@ const (
 	xlStorageFormatFile = "xl.meta"
 )
 
+var alignedBuf []byte
+
+func init() {
+	alignedBuf = disk.AlignedBlock(4096)
+	_, _ = rand.Read(alignedBuf)
+}
+
 // isValidVolname verifies a volname name in accordance with object
 // layer requirements.
 func isValidVolname(volname string) bool {
@@ -282,10 +289,17 @@ func newXLStorage(ep Endpoint) (*xlStorage, error) {
 	var rnd [8]byte
 	_, _ = rand.Read(rnd[:])
 	tmpFile := ".writable-check-" + hex.EncodeToString(rnd[:]) + ".tmp"
-	if err = p.CreateFile(GlobalContext, minioMetaTmpBucket, tmpFile, 1, strings.NewReader("0")); err != nil {
+	filePath := pathJoin(p.diskPath, minioMetaTmpBucket, tmpFile)
+	w, err := disk.OpenFileDirectIO(filePath, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY|os.O_EXCL, 0666)
+	if err != nil {
 		return p, err
 	}
-	defer os.Remove(pathJoin(p.diskPath, minioMetaTmpBucket, tmpFile))
+	if _, err = w.Write(alignedBuf[:]); err != nil {
+		w.Close()
+		return p, err
+	}
+	w.Close()
+	defer os.Remove(filePath)
 
 	volumeDir, err := p.getVolDir(minioMetaTmpBucket)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -294,7 +308,7 @@ func newXLStorage(ep Endpoint) (*xlStorage, error) {
 
 	// Check if backend is readable, and optionally supports O_DIRECT.
 	if _, err = p.readAllData(volumeDir, pathJoin(volumeDir, tmpFile), true); err != nil {
-		if err != errUnsupportedDisk {
+		if !errors.Is(err, errUnsupportedDisk) {
 			return p, err
 		}
 		// error is unsupported disk, turn-off directIO for reads
@@ -1432,7 +1446,7 @@ func (s *xlStorage) CreateFile(ctx context.Context, volume, path string, fileSiz
 		return errInvalidArgument
 	}
 
-	if fileSize <= smallFileThreshold {
+	if fileSize >= 0 && fileSize <= smallFileThreshold {
 		// For streams smaller than 128KiB we simply write them as O_DSYNC (fdatasync)
 		// and not O_DIRECT to avoid the complexities of aligned I/O.
 		w, err := s.openFile(volume, path, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY|os.O_TRUNC)
@@ -1483,9 +1497,9 @@ func (s *xlStorage) CreateFile(ctx context.Context, volume, path string, fileSiz
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if written < fileSize {
+	if written < fileSize && fileSize >= 0 {
 		return errLessData
-	} else if written > fileSize {
+	} else if written > fileSize && fileSize >= 0 {
 		return errMoreData
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/xl-storage_test.go b/cmd/xl-storage_test.go
index 9635341b4..8a112cd3b 100644
--- a/cmd/xl-storage_test.go
+++ b/cmd/xl-storage_test.go
@@ -1730,7 +1730,7 @@ func TestXLStorageVerifyFile(t *testing.T) {
 	// 4) Streaming bitrot check on corrupted file
 
 	// create xlStorage test setup
-	xlStorage, path, err := newXLStorageTestSetup()
+	storage, path, err := newXLStorageTestSetup()
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Unable to create xlStorage test setup, %s", err)
 	}
@@ -1738,7 +1738,7 @@ func TestXLStorageVerifyFile(t *testing.T) {
 
 	volName := "testvol"
 	fileName := "testfile"
-	if err := xlStorage.MakeVol(context.Background(), volName); err != nil {
+	if err := storage.MakeVol(context.Background(), volName); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
@@ -1752,29 +1752,29 @@ func TestXLStorageVerifyFile(t *testing.T) {
 	h := algo.New()
 	h.Write(data)
 	hashBytes := h.Sum(nil)
-	if err := xlStorage.WriteAll(context.Background(), volName, fileName, data); err != nil {
+	if err := storage.WriteAll(context.Background(), volName, fileName, data); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	if err := xlStorage.storage.bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size, algo, hashBytes, 0); err != nil {
+	if err := storage.storage.(*xlStorage).bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size, algo, hashBytes, 0); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
 	// 2) Whole-file bitrot check on corrupted file
-	if err := xlStorage.AppendFile(context.Background(), volName, fileName, []byte("a")); err != nil {
+	if err := storage.AppendFile(context.Background(), volName, fileName, []byte("a")); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
 	// Check if VerifyFile reports the incorrect file length (the correct length is `size+1`)
-	if err := xlStorage.storage.bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size, algo, hashBytes, 0); err == nil {
+	if err := storage.storage.(*xlStorage).bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size, algo, hashBytes, 0); err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected to fail bitrot check")
 	}
 
 	// Check if bitrot fails
-	if err := xlStorage.storage.bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size+1, algo, hashBytes, 0); err == nil {
+	if err := storage.storage.(*xlStorage).bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size+1, algo, hashBytes, 0); err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected to fail bitrot check")
 	}
 
-	if err := xlStorage.Delete(context.Background(), volName, fileName, false); err != nil {
+	if err := storage.Delete(context.Background(), volName, fileName, false); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
@@ -1782,7 +1782,7 @@ func TestXLStorageVerifyFile(t *testing.T) {
 	algo = HighwayHash256S
 	shardSize := int64(1024 * 1024)
 	shard := make([]byte, shardSize)
-	w := newStreamingBitrotWriter(xlStorage, volName, fileName, size, algo, shardSize)
+	w := newStreamingBitrotWriter(storage, volName, fileName, size, algo, shardSize, false)
 	reader := bytes.NewReader(data)
 	for {
 		// Using io.Copy instead of this loop will not work for us as io.Copy
@@ -1798,13 +1798,13 @@ func TestXLStorageVerifyFile(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	w.Close()
-	if err := xlStorage.storage.bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size, algo, nil, shardSize); err != nil {
+	w.(io.Closer).Close()
+	if err := storage.storage.(*xlStorage).bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size, algo, nil, shardSize); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
 	// 4) Streaming bitrot check on corrupted file
-	filePath := pathJoin(xlStorage.String(), volName, fileName)
+	filePath := pathJoin(storage.String(), volName, fileName)
 	f, err := os.OpenFile(filePath, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_SYNC, 0644)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -1814,10 +1814,10 @@ func TestXLStorageVerifyFile(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	f.Close()
-	if err := xlStorage.storage.bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size, algo, nil, shardSize); err == nil {
+	if err := storage.storage.(*xlStorage).bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size, algo, nil, shardSize); err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected to fail bitrot check")
 	}
-	if err := xlStorage.storage.bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size+1, algo, nil, shardSize); err == nil {
+	if err := storage.storage.(*xlStorage).bitrotVerify(pathJoin(path, volName, fileName), size+1, algo, nil, shardSize); err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected to fail bitrot check")
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/ioutil/ioutil.go b/pkg/ioutil/ioutil.go
index 0ceb7295b..31771ebbc 100644
--- a/pkg/ioutil/ioutil.go
+++ b/pkg/ioutil/ioutil.go
@@ -20,8 +20,10 @@ package ioutil
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"context"
 	"io"
 	"os"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/minio/minio/pkg/disk"
 )
@@ -64,6 +66,56 @@ func WriteOnClose(w io.Writer) *WriteOnCloser {
 	return &WriteOnCloser{w, false}
 }
 
+type ioret struct {
+	n   int
+	err error
+}
+
+// DeadlineWriter deadline writer with context
+type DeadlineWriter struct {
+	io.WriteCloser
+	timeout time.Duration
+	err     error
+}
+
+// NewDeadlineWriter wraps a writer to make it respect given deadline
+// value per Write(). If there is a blocking write, the returned Writer
+// will return whenever the timer hits (the return values are n=0
+// and err=context.Canceled.)
+func NewDeadlineWriter(w io.WriteCloser, timeout time.Duration) io.WriteCloser {
+	return &DeadlineWriter{WriteCloser: w, timeout: timeout}
+}
+
+func (w *DeadlineWriter) Write(buf []byte) (int, error) {
+	if w.err != nil {
+		return 0, w.err
+	}
+
+	c := make(chan ioret, 1)
+	t := time.NewTimer(w.timeout)
+	defer t.Stop()
+
+	go func() {
+		n, err := w.WriteCloser.Write(buf)
+		c <- ioret{n, err}
+		close(c)
+	}()
+
+	select {
+	case r := <-c:
+		w.err = r.err
+		return r.n, r.err
+	case <-t.C:
+		w.err = context.Canceled
+		return 0, context.Canceled
+	}
+}
+
+// Close closer interface to close the underlying closer
+func (w *DeadlineWriter) Close() error {
+	return w.WriteCloser.Close()
+}
+
 // LimitWriter implements io.WriteCloser.
 //
 // This is implemented such that we want to restrict
diff --git a/pkg/ioutil/ioutil_test.go b/pkg/ioutil/ioutil_test.go
index c2aaee7cb..aad6066ef 100644
--- a/pkg/ioutil/ioutil_test.go
+++ b/pkg/ioutil/ioutil_test.go
@@ -18,12 +18,49 @@ package ioutil
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"context"
 	"io"
 	goioutil "io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 )
 
+type sleepWriter struct {
+	timeout time.Duration
+}
+
+func (w *sleepWriter) Write(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
+	time.Sleep(w.timeout)
+	return len(p), nil
+}
+
+func (w *sleepWriter) Close() error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func TestDeadlineWriter(t *testing.T) {
+	w := NewDeadlineWriter(&sleepWriter{timeout: 500 * time.Millisecond}, 450*time.Millisecond)
+	_, err := w.Write([]byte("1"))
+	w.Close()
+	if err != context.Canceled {
+		t.Error("DeadlineWriter shouldn't be successful - should return context.Canceled")
+	}
+	_, err = w.Write([]byte("1"))
+	if err != context.Canceled {
+		t.Error("DeadlineWriter shouldn't be successful - should return context.Canceled")
+	}
+	w = NewDeadlineWriter(&sleepWriter{timeout: 500 * time.Millisecond}, 600*time.Millisecond)
+	n, err := w.Write([]byte("abcd"))
+	w.Close()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("DeadlineWriter should succeed but failed with %s", err)
+	}
+	if n != 4 {
+		t.Errorf("DeadlineWriter should succeed but should have only written 0 bytes, but returned %d instead", n)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestCloseOnWriter(t *testing.T) {
 	writer := WriteOnClose(goioutil.Discard)
 	if writer.HasWritten() {