Abstract: An I/O request time limit value is set in a request-based, device-based, data-set-based, or workload-based time limit field, for transactions performing I/O operations to I/O devices in a data processing system. A scan routine compares the total time for the I/O request (including waiting time and retry time) against the appropriate time limit(s), and terminates the I/O request if the time limit is exceeded. If an active I/O request is interrupted as a result of an I/O error, retry is prohibited if the total I/O request time (including retry time) exceeds the appropriate time limit, or is within a threshold value of the appropriate time limit.