Methods and apparatuses for identifying types of data streams and communicating stream information to improve performance of data storage devices are disclosed. Method embodiments generally comprise identifying one or more isochronous requests among a plurality of requests which may be issued to a data storage device, assigning a completion deadline an isochronous request, and communicating the isochronous request and completion deadline information to the data storage device. Apparatus embodiments generally comprise a request identifier to identify an isochronous request, a logic module to assign a completion deadline to the isochronous request, and a communication module to communicate the isochronous request and the completion deadline to a data storage device. Alternative apparatus embodiments may include a monitor module to monitor a system process operating in the system and determine if the system process issues isochronous requests. Various embodiments may process asynchronous requests, including prioritized asynchronous requests, with the isochronous requests.