diff --git a/Makefile.target b/Makefile.target
index d844d9c979e59910d80e16d00b94fb0bcea4016b..291b3a660b53a13c5f2d1d63223b4ebd3f61cfa5 100644
--- a/Makefile.target
+++ b/Makefile.target
@@ -589,7 +589,7 @@ ifndef CONFIG_USER_ONLY
 
 OBJS=vl.o osdep.o monitor.o pci.o loader.o isa_mmio.o machine.o net-checksum.o
 OBJS+=fw_cfg.o aio.o buffered_file.o migration.o migration-tcp.o qemu-char.o
-OBJS+=net.o
+OBJS+=net.o qemu-sockets.o
 ifdef CONFIG_KVM
 OBJS+=kvm.o kvm-all.o
 endif
diff --git a/qemu-char.c b/qemu-char.c
index fa60819d66634040220d1df51a9075fdd8568808..6f9861a9fc75e892d333d18b354088b83c8d5d5f 100644
--- a/qemu-char.c
+++ b/qemu-char.c
@@ -442,7 +442,7 @@ static CharDriverState *qemu_chr_open_mux(CharDriverState *drv)
 
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
-int send_all(int fd, const uint8_t *buf, int len1)
+int send_all(int fd, const void *buf, int len1)
 {
     int ret, len;
 
@@ -487,7 +487,7 @@ static int unix_write(int fd, const uint8_t *buf, int len1)
     return len1 - len;
 }
 
-int send_all(int fd, const uint8_t *buf, int len1)
+int send_all(int fd, const void *buf, int len1)
 {
     return unix_write(fd, buf, len1);
 }
diff --git a/qemu-common.h b/qemu-common.h
index f5480dd7acd63bb224ffd20e468f5c36ef744336..b82741bc025d588e703a9bc531dedcb7cb32c75a 100644
--- a/qemu-common.h
+++ b/qemu-common.h
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
 #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#define WINVER 0x0501  /* needed for ipv6 bits */
 #include <windows.h>
 #define fsync _commit
 #define lseek _lseeki64
diff --git a/qemu-sockets.c b/qemu-sockets.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..77d9921a794ad4bc43e2c97785754bdc6036e84f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qemu-sockets.c
@@ -0,0 +1,400 @@
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <ctype.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+
+#include "qemu_socket.h"
+
+#ifndef AI_ADDRCONFIG
+# define AI_ADDRCONFIG 0
+#endif
+
+static int sockets_debug = 0;
+static const int on=1, off=0;
+
+static int inet_getport(struct addrinfo *e)
+{
+    struct sockaddr_in *i4;
+    struct sockaddr_in6 *i6;
+
+    switch (e->ai_family) {
+    case PF_INET6:
+        i6 = (void*)e->ai_addr;
+        return ntohs(i6->sin6_port);
+    case PF_INET:
+        i4 = (void*)e->ai_addr;
+        return ntohs(i4->sin_port);
+    default:
+        return 0;
+    }
+}
+
+static void inet_setport(struct addrinfo *e, int port)
+{
+    struct sockaddr_in *i4;
+    struct sockaddr_in6 *i6;
+
+    switch (e->ai_family) {
+    case PF_INET6:
+        i6 = (void*)e->ai_addr;
+        i6->sin6_port = htons(port);
+        break;
+    case PF_INET:
+        i4 = (void*)e->ai_addr;
+        i4->sin_port = htons(port);
+        break;
+    }
+}
+
+static const char *inet_strfamily(int family)
+{
+    switch (family) {
+    case PF_INET6: return "ipv6";
+    case PF_INET:  return "ipv4";
+    case PF_UNIX:  return "unix";
+    }
+    return "????";
+}
+
+static void inet_print_addrinfo(const char *tag, struct addrinfo *res)
+{
+    struct addrinfo *e;
+    char uaddr[INET6_ADDRSTRLEN+1];
+    char uport[33];
+
+    for (e = res; e != NULL; e = e->ai_next) {
+        getnameinfo((struct sockaddr*)e->ai_addr,e->ai_addrlen,
+                    uaddr,INET6_ADDRSTRLEN,uport,32,
+                    NI_NUMERICHOST | NI_NUMERICSERV);
+        fprintf(stderr,"%s: getaddrinfo: family %s, host %s, port %s\n",
+                tag, inet_strfamily(e->ai_family), uaddr, uport);
+    }
+}
+
+int inet_listen(const char *str, char *ostr, int olen,
+                int socktype, int port_offset)
+{
+    struct addrinfo ai,*res,*e;
+    char addr[64];
+    char port[33];
+    char uaddr[INET6_ADDRSTRLEN+1];
+    char uport[33];
+    const char *opts, *h;
+    int slisten,rc,pos,to,try_next;
+
+    memset(&ai,0, sizeof(ai));
+    ai.ai_flags = AI_PASSIVE | AI_ADDRCONFIG;
+    ai.ai_family = PF_UNSPEC;
+    ai.ai_socktype = socktype;
+
+    /* parse address */
+    if (str[0] == ':') {
+        /* no host given */
+        strcpy(addr,"");
+        if (1 != sscanf(str,":%32[^,]%n",port,&pos)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: portonly parse error (%s)\n",
+                    __FUNCTION__, str);
+            return -1;
+        }
+    } else if (str[0] == '[') {
+        /* IPv6 addr */
+        if (2 != sscanf(str,"[%64[^]]]:%32[^,]%n",addr,port,&pos)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: ipv6 parse error (%s)\n",
+                    __FUNCTION__, str);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        ai.ai_family = PF_INET6;
+    } else if (isdigit(str[0])) {
+        /* IPv4 addr */
+        if (2 != sscanf(str,"%64[0-9.]:%32[^,]%n",addr,port,&pos)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: ipv4 parse error (%s)\n",
+                    __FUNCTION__, str);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        ai.ai_family = PF_INET;
+    } else {
+        /* hostname */
+        if (2 != sscanf(str,"%64[^:]:%32[^,]%n",addr,port,&pos)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: hostname parse error (%s)\n",
+                    __FUNCTION__, str);
+            return -1;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* parse options */
+    opts = str + pos;
+    h = strstr(opts, ",to=");
+    to = h ? atoi(h+4) : 0;
+    if (strstr(opts, ",ipv4"))
+        ai.ai_family = PF_INET;
+    if (strstr(opts, ",ipv6"))
+        ai.ai_family = PF_INET6;
+
+    /* lookup */
+    if (port_offset)
+        snprintf(port, sizeof(port), "%d", atoi(port) + port_offset);
+    rc = getaddrinfo(strlen(addr) ? addr : NULL, port, &ai, &res);
+    if (rc != 0) {
+        fprintf(stderr,"%s: getaddrinfo(%s,%s): %s\n", __FUNCTION__,
+                addr, port, gai_strerror(rc));
+        return -1;
+    }
+    if (sockets_debug)
+        inet_print_addrinfo(__FUNCTION__, res);
+
+    /* create socket + bind */
+    for (e = res; e != NULL; e = e->ai_next) {
+	getnameinfo((struct sockaddr*)e->ai_addr,e->ai_addrlen,
+		    uaddr,INET6_ADDRSTRLEN,uport,32,
+		    NI_NUMERICHOST | NI_NUMERICSERV);
+        slisten = socket(e->ai_family, e->ai_socktype, e->ai_protocol);
+	if (slisten < 0) {
+            fprintf(stderr,"%s: socket(%s): %s\n", __FUNCTION__,
+                    inet_strfamily(e->ai_family), strerror(errno));
+	    continue;
+	}
+
+        setsockopt(slisten,SOL_SOCKET,SO_REUSEADDR,(void*)&on,sizeof(on));
+#ifdef IPV6_V6ONLY
+        if (e->ai_family == PF_INET6) {
+            /* listen on both ipv4 and ipv6 */
+            setsockopt(slisten,IPPROTO_IPV6,IPV6_V6ONLY,(void*)&off,sizeof(off));
+        }
+#endif
+
+        for (;;) {
+            if (bind(slisten, e->ai_addr, e->ai_addrlen) == 0) {
+                if (sockets_debug)
+                    fprintf(stderr,"%s: bind(%s,%s,%d): OK\n", __FUNCTION__,
+                            inet_strfamily(e->ai_family), uaddr, inet_getport(e));
+                goto listen;
+            }
+            try_next = to && (inet_getport(e) <= to + port_offset);
+            if (!try_next || sockets_debug)
+                fprintf(stderr,"%s: bind(%s,%s,%d): %s\n", __FUNCTION__,
+                        inet_strfamily(e->ai_family), uaddr, inet_getport(e),
+                        strerror(errno));
+            if (try_next) {
+                inet_setport(e, inet_getport(e) + 1);
+                continue;
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+        closesocket(slisten);
+    }
+    fprintf(stderr, "%s: FAILED\n", __FUNCTION__);
+    freeaddrinfo(res);
+    return -1;
+
+listen:
+    if (listen(slisten,1) != 0) {
+        perror("listen");
+        closesocket(slisten);
+        return -1;
+    }
+    if (ostr) {
+        if (e->ai_family == PF_INET6) {
+            snprintf(ostr, olen, "[%s]:%d%s", uaddr,
+                     inet_getport(e) - port_offset, opts);
+        } else {
+            snprintf(ostr, olen, "%s:%d%s", uaddr,
+                     inet_getport(e) - port_offset, opts);
+        }
+    }
+    freeaddrinfo(res);
+    return slisten;
+}
+
+int inet_connect(const char *str, int socktype)
+{
+    struct addrinfo ai,*res,*e;
+    char addr[64];
+    char port[33];
+    char uaddr[INET6_ADDRSTRLEN+1];
+    char uport[33];
+    int sock,rc;
+
+    memset(&ai,0, sizeof(ai));
+    ai.ai_flags = AI_CANONNAME | AI_ADDRCONFIG;
+    ai.ai_family = PF_UNSPEC;
+    ai.ai_socktype = socktype;
+
+    /* parse address */
+    if (str[0] == '[') {
+        /* IPv6 addr */
+        if (2 != sscanf(str,"[%64[^]]]:%32[^,]",addr,port)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: ipv6 parse error (%s)\n",
+                    __FUNCTION__, str);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        ai.ai_family = PF_INET6;
+    } else if (isdigit(str[0])) {
+        /* IPv4 addr */
+        if (2 != sscanf(str,"%64[0-9.]:%32[^,]",addr,port)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: ipv4 parse error (%s)\n",
+                    __FUNCTION__, str);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        ai.ai_family = PF_INET;
+    } else {
+        /* hostname */
+        if (2 != sscanf(str,"%64[^:]:%32[^,]",addr,port)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: hostname parse error (%s)\n",
+                    __FUNCTION__, str);
+            return -1;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* parse options */
+    if (strstr(str, ",ipv4"))
+        ai.ai_family = PF_INET;
+    if (strstr(str, ",ipv6"))
+        ai.ai_family = PF_INET6;
+
+    /* lookup */
+    if (0 != (rc = getaddrinfo(addr, port, &ai, &res))) {
+        fprintf(stderr,"getaddrinfo(%s,%s): %s\n", gai_strerror(rc),
+                addr, port);
+	return -1;
+    }
+    if (sockets_debug)
+        inet_print_addrinfo(__FUNCTION__, res);
+
+    for (e = res; e != NULL; e = e->ai_next) {
+	if (getnameinfo((struct sockaddr*)e->ai_addr,e->ai_addrlen,
+                        uaddr,INET6_ADDRSTRLEN,uport,32,
+                        NI_NUMERICHOST | NI_NUMERICSERV) != 0) {
+            fprintf(stderr,"%s: getnameinfo: oops\n", __FUNCTION__);
+	    continue;
+	}
+        sock = socket(e->ai_family, e->ai_socktype, e->ai_protocol);
+	if (sock < 0) {
+            fprintf(stderr,"%s: socket(%s): %s\n", __FUNCTION__,
+                    inet_strfamily(e->ai_family), strerror(errno));
+	    continue;
+	}
+        setsockopt(sock,SOL_SOCKET,SO_REUSEADDR,(void*)&on,sizeof(on));
+
+	/* connect to peer */
+	if (connect(sock,e->ai_addr,e->ai_addrlen) < 0) {
+            if (sockets_debug || NULL == e->ai_next)
+                fprintf(stderr, "%s: connect(%s,%s,%s,%s): %s\n", __FUNCTION__,
+                        inet_strfamily(e->ai_family),
+                        e->ai_canonname, uaddr, uport, strerror(errno));
+            closesocket(sock);
+	    continue;
+	}
+        if (sockets_debug)
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s: connect(%s,%s,%s,%s): OK\n", __FUNCTION__,
+                    inet_strfamily(e->ai_family),
+                    e->ai_canonname, uaddr, uport);
+        freeaddrinfo(res);
+	return sock;
+    }
+    freeaddrinfo(res);
+    return -1;
+}
+
+#ifndef _WIN32
+
+int unix_listen(const char *str, char *ostr, int olen)
+{
+    struct sockaddr_un un;
+    char *path, *opts;
+    int sock, fd, len;
+
+    sock = socket(PF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
+    if (sock < 0) {
+	perror("socket(unix)");
+	return -1;
+    }
+
+    opts = strchr(str, ',');
+    if (opts) {
+        len = opts - str;
+        path = malloc(len+1);
+        snprintf(path, len+1, "%.*s", len, str);
+    } else
+        path = strdup(str);
+
+    memset(&un, 0, sizeof(un));
+    un.sun_family = AF_UNIX;
+    if (path && strlen(path)) {
+        snprintf(un.sun_path, sizeof(un.sun_path), "%s", path);
+    } else {
+        char *tmpdir = getenv("TMPDIR");
+        snprintf(un.sun_path, sizeof(un.sun_path), "%s/qemu-socket-XXXXXX",
+                 tmpdir ? tmpdir : "/tmp");
+        /*
+         * This dummy fd usage silences the mktemp() unsecure warning.
+         * Using mkstemp() doesn't make things more secure here
+         * though.  bind() complains about existing files, so we have
+         * to unlink first and thus re-open the race window.  The
+         * worst case possible is bind() failing, i.e. a DoS attack.
+         */
+        fd = mkstemp(un.sun_path); close(fd);
+    }
+    snprintf(ostr, olen, "%s%s", un.sun_path, opts ? opts : "");
+
+    unlink(un.sun_path);
+    if (bind(sock, (struct sockaddr*) &un, sizeof(un)) < 0) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "bind(unix:%s): %s\n", un.sun_path, strerror(errno));
+        goto err;
+    }
+    if (listen(sock, 1) < 0) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "listen(unix:%s): %s\n", un.sun_path, strerror(errno));
+        goto err;
+    }
+
+    if (sockets_debug)
+        fprintf(stderr, "bind(unix:%s): OK\n", un.sun_path);
+    free(path);
+    return sock;
+
+err:
+    free(path);
+    closesocket(sock);
+    return -1;
+}
+
+int unix_connect(const char *path)
+{
+    struct sockaddr_un un;
+    int sock;
+
+    sock = socket(PF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
+    if (sock < 0) {
+	perror("socket(unix)");
+	return -1;
+    }
+
+    memset(&un, 0, sizeof(un));
+    un.sun_family = AF_UNIX;
+    snprintf(un.sun_path, sizeof(un.sun_path), "%s", path);
+    if (connect(sock, (struct sockaddr*) &un, sizeof(un)) < 0) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "connect(unix:%s): %s\n", path, strerror(errno));
+	return -1;
+    }
+
+    if (sockets_debug)
+        fprintf(stderr, "connect(unix:%s): OK\n", path);
+    return sock;
+}
+
+#else
+
+int unix_listen(const char *path, char *ostr, int olen)
+{
+    fprintf(stderr, "unix sockets are not available on windows\n");
+    return -1;
+}
+
+int unix_connect(const char *path)
+{
+    fprintf(stderr, "unix sockets are not available on windows\n");
+    return -1;
+}
+
+#endif
diff --git a/qemu_socket.h b/qemu_socket.h
index 18488ddc61c545e64181c860a37b64533c811e0e..c8ca07ea7d65a58a61dfba633f627a069e5a64ba 100644
--- a/qemu_socket.h
+++ b/qemu_socket.h
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
 #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#define WINVER 0x0501  /* needed for ipv6 bits */
 #include <windows.h>
 #include <winsock2.h>
 #include <ws2tcpip.h>
@@ -28,15 +29,24 @@ int inet_aton(const char *cp, struct in_addr *ia);
 #define socket_error() errno
 #define closesocket(s) close(s)
 
-int parse_unix_path(struct sockaddr_un *uaddr, const char *str);
-
 #endif /* !_WIN32 */
 
+/* misc helpers */
 void socket_set_nonblock(int fd);
+int send_all(int fd, const void *buf, int len1);
+
+/* New, ipv6-ready socket helper functions, see qemu-sockets.c */
+int inet_listen(const char *str, char *ostr, int olen,
+                int socktype, int port_offset);
+int inet_connect(const char *str, int socktype);
+
+int unix_listen(const char *path, char *ostr, int olen);
+int unix_connect(const char *path);
+
+/* Old, ipv4 only bits.  Don't use for new code. */
 int parse_host_port(struct sockaddr_in *saddr, const char *str);
 int parse_host_src_port(struct sockaddr_in *haddr,
                         struct sockaddr_in *saddr,
                         const char *str);
-int send_all(int fd, const uint8_t *buf, int len1);
 
 #endif /* QEMU_SOCKET_H */