diff --git a/include/io/dns-resolver.h b/include/io/dns-resolver.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2f69c08c13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/io/dns-resolver.h
@@ -0,0 +1,228 @@
+/*
+ * QEMU DNS resolver
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2016-2017 Red Hat, Inc.
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, see .
+ *
+ */
+
+#ifndef QIO_DNS_RESOLVER_H
+#define QIO_DNS_RESOLVER_H
+
+#include "qemu-common.h"
+#include "qom/object.h"
+#include "io/task.h"
+
+#define TYPE_QIO_DNS_RESOLVER "qio-dns-resolver"
+#define QIO_DNS_RESOLVER(obj) \
+ OBJECT_CHECK(QIODNSResolver, (obj), TYPE_QIO_DNS_RESOLVER)
+#define QIO_DNS_RESOLVER_CLASS(klass) \
+ OBJECT_CLASS_CHECK(QIODNSResolverClass, klass, TYPE_QIO_DNS_RESOLVER)
+#define QIO_DNS_RESOLVER_GET_CLASS(obj) \
+ OBJECT_GET_CLASS(QIODNSResolverClass, obj, TYPE_QIO_DNS_RESOLVER)
+
+typedef struct QIODNSResolver QIODNSResolver;
+typedef struct QIODNSResolverClass QIODNSResolverClass;
+
+/**
+ * QIODNSResolver:
+ *
+ * The QIODNSResolver class provides a framework for doing
+ * DNS resolution on SocketAddress objects, independently
+ * of socket creation.
+ *
+ *
+ * Resolving addresses synchronously
+ *
+ * int mylisten(SocketAddress *addr, Error **errp) {
+ * QIODNSResolver *resolver = qio_dns_resolver_get_instance();
+ * SocketAddress **rawaddrs = NULL;
+ * size_t nrawaddrs = 0;
+ * Error *err = NULL;
+ * QIOChannel **socks = NULL;
+ * size_t nsocks = 0;
+ *
+ * if (qio_dns_resolver_lookup_sync(dns, addr, &nrawaddrs,
+ * &rawaddrs, errp) < 0) {
+ * return -1;
+ * }
+ *
+ * for (i = 0; i < nrawaddrs; i++) {
+ * QIOChannel *sock = qio_channel_new();
+ * Error *local_err = NULL;
+ * qio_channel_listen_sync(sock, rawaddrs[i], &local_err);
+ * if (local_err) {
+ * error_propagate(&err, local_err);
+ * } else {
+ * socks = g_renew(QIOChannelSocket *, socks, nsocks + 1);
+ * socks[nsocks++] = sock;
+ * }
+ * qapi_free_SocketAddress(rawaddrs[i]);
+ * }
+ * g_free(rawaddrs);
+ *
+ * if (nsocks == 0) {
+ * error_propagate(errp, err);
+ * } else {
+ * error_free(err);
+ * }
+ * }
+ *
+ *
+ *
+ *
+ * Resolving addresses asynchronously
+ *
+ * typedef struct MyListenData {
+ * Error *err;
+ * QIOChannelSocket **socks;
+ * size_t nsocks;
+ * } MyListenData;
+ *
+ * void mylistenresult(QIOTask *task, void *opaque) {
+ * MyListenData *data = opaque;
+ * QIODNSResolver *resolver =
+ * QIO_DNS_RESOLVER(qio_task_get_source(task);
+ * SocketAddress **rawaddrs = NULL;
+ * size_t nrawaddrs = 0;
+ * Error *err = NULL;
+ *
+ * if (qio_task_propagate_error(task, &data->err)) {
+ * return;
+ * }
+ *
+ * qio_dns_resolver_lookup_result(resolver, task,
+ * &nrawaddrs, &rawaddrs);
+ *
+ * for (i = 0; i < nrawaddrs; i++) {
+ * QIOChannel *sock = qio_channel_new();
+ * Error *local_err = NULL;
+ * qio_channel_listen_sync(sock, rawaddrs[i], &local_err);
+ * if (local_err) {
+ * error_propagate(&err, local_err);
+ * } else {
+ * socks = g_renew(QIOChannelSocket *, socks, nsocks + 1);
+ * socks[nsocks++] = sock;
+ * }
+ * qapi_free_SocketAddress(rawaddrs[i]);
+ * }
+ * g_free(rawaddrs);
+ *
+ * if (nsocks == 0) {
+ * error_propagate(&data->err, err);
+ * } else {
+ * error_free(err);
+ * }
+ * }
+ *
+ * void mylisten(SocketAddress *addr, MyListenData *data) {
+ * QIODNSResolver *resolver = qio_dns_resolver_get_instance();
+ * qio_dns_resolver_lookup_async(dns, addr,
+ * mylistenresult, data, NULL);
+ * }
+ *
+ *
+ */
+struct QIODNSResolver {
+ Object parent;
+};
+
+struct QIODNSResolverClass {
+ ObjectClass parent;
+};
+
+
+/**
+ * qio_dns_resolver_get_instance:
+ *
+ * Get the singleton dns resolver instance. The caller
+ * does not own a reference on the returned object.
+ *
+ * Returns: the single dns resolver instance
+ */
+QIODNSResolver *qio_dns_resolver_get_instance(void);
+
+/**
+ * qio_dns_resolver_lookup_sync:
+ * @resolver: the DNS resolver instance
+ * @addr: the address to resolve
+ * @naddr: pointer to hold number of resolved addresses
+ * @addrs: pointer to hold resolved addresses
+ * @errp: pointer to NULL initialized error object
+ *
+ * This will attempt to resolve the address provided
+ * in @addr. If resolution succeeds, @addrs will be filled
+ * with all the resolved addresses. @naddrs will specify
+ * the number of entries allocated in @addrs. The caller
+ * is responsible for freeing each entry in @addrs, as
+ * well as @addrs itself. @naddrs is guaranteed to be
+ * greater than zero on success.
+ *
+ * DNS resolution will be done synchronously so execution
+ * of the caller may be blocked for an arbitrary length
+ * of time.
+ *
+ * Returns: 0 if resolution was successful, -1 on error
+ */
+int qio_dns_resolver_lookup_sync(QIODNSResolver *resolver,
+ SocketAddress *addr,
+ size_t *naddrs,
+ SocketAddress ***addrs,
+ Error **errp);
+
+/**
+ * qio_dns_resolver_lookup_async:
+ * @resolver: the DNS resolver instance
+ * @addr: the address to resolve
+ * @func: the callback to invoke on lookup completion
+ * @opaque: data blob to pass to @func
+ * @notify: the callback to free @opaque, or NULL
+ *
+ * This will attempt to resolve the address provided
+ * in @addr. The callback @func will be invoked when
+ * resolution has either completed or failed. On
+ * success, the @func should call the method
+ * qio_dns_resolver_lookup_result() to obtain the
+ * results.
+ *
+ * DNS resolution will be done asynchronously so execution
+ * of the caller will not be blocked.
+ */
+void qio_dns_resolver_lookup_async(QIODNSResolver *resolver,
+ SocketAddress *addr,
+ QIOTaskFunc func,
+ gpointer opaque,
+ GDestroyNotify notify);
+
+/**
+ * qio_dns_resolver_lookup_result:
+ * @resolver: the DNS resolver instance
+ * @task: the task object to get results for
+ * @naddr: pointer to hold number of resolved addresses
+ * @addrs: pointer to hold resolved addresses
+ *
+ * This method should be called from the callback passed
+ * to qio_dns_resolver_lookup_async() in order to obtain
+ * results. @addrs will be filled with all the resolved
+ * addresses. @naddrs will specify the number of entries
+ * allocated in @addrs. The caller is responsible for
+ * freeing each entry in @addrs, as well as @addrs itself.
+ */
+void qio_dns_resolver_lookup_result(QIODNSResolver *resolver,
+ QIOTask *task,
+ size_t *naddrs,
+ SocketAddress ***addrs);
+
+#endif /* QIO_DNS_RESOLVER_H */
diff --git a/include/qemu/sockets.h b/include/qemu/sockets.h
index 5589e6842b..5f1bab9b3e 100644
--- a/include/qemu/sockets.h
+++ b/include/qemu/sockets.h
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ int socket_set_fast_reuse(int fd);
*/
typedef void NonBlockingConnectHandler(int fd, Error *err, void *opaque);
+int inet_ai_family_from_address(InetSocketAddress *addr,
+ Error **errp);
InetSocketAddress *inet_parse(const char *str, Error **errp);
int inet_connect(const char *str, Error **errp);
int inet_connect_saddr(InetSocketAddress *saddr, Error **errp,
diff --git a/io/Makefile.objs b/io/Makefile.objs
index 9d8337d89a..12983cca79 100644
--- a/io/Makefile.objs
+++ b/io/Makefile.objs
@@ -7,4 +7,5 @@ io-obj-y += channel-tls.o
io-obj-y += channel-watch.o
io-obj-y += channel-websock.o
io-obj-y += channel-util.o
+io-obj-y += dns-resolver.o
io-obj-y += task.o
diff --git a/io/dns-resolver.c b/io/dns-resolver.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0ac6b23c02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/io/dns-resolver.c
@@ -0,0 +1,276 @@
+/*
+ * QEMU DNS resolver
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2016 Red Hat, Inc.
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, see .
+ *
+ */
+
+#include "qemu/osdep.h"
+#include "io/dns-resolver.h"
+#include "qapi/clone-visitor.h"
+#include "qemu/sockets.h"
+#include "qapi/error.h"
+#include "qemu/cutils.h"
+
+#ifndef AI_NUMERICSERV
+# define AI_NUMERICSERV 0
+#endif
+
+static QIODNSResolver *instance;
+static GOnce instance_init = G_ONCE_INIT;
+
+static gpointer qio_dns_resolve_init_instance(gpointer unused G_GNUC_UNUSED)
+{
+ instance = QIO_DNS_RESOLVER(object_new(TYPE_QIO_DNS_RESOLVER));
+ return NULL;
+}
+
+QIODNSResolver *qio_dns_resolver_get_instance(void)
+{
+ g_once(&instance_init, qio_dns_resolve_init_instance, NULL);
+ return instance;
+}
+
+static int qio_dns_resolver_lookup_sync_inet(QIODNSResolver *resolver,
+ SocketAddress *addr,
+ size_t *naddrs,
+ SocketAddress ***addrs,
+ Error **errp)
+{
+ struct addrinfo ai, *res, *e;
+ InetSocketAddress *iaddr = addr->u.inet.data;
+ char port[33];
+ char uaddr[INET6_ADDRSTRLEN + 1];
+ char uport[33];
+ int rc;
+ Error *err = NULL;
+ size_t i;
+
+ *naddrs = 0;
+ *addrs = NULL;
+
+ memset(&ai, 0, sizeof(ai));
+ ai.ai_flags = AI_PASSIVE;
+ if (iaddr->has_numeric && iaddr->numeric) {
+ ai.ai_flags |= AI_NUMERICHOST | AI_NUMERICSERV;
+ }
+ ai.ai_family = inet_ai_family_from_address(iaddr, &err);
+ ai.ai_socktype = SOCK_STREAM;
+
+ if (err) {
+ error_propagate(errp, err);
+ return -1;
+ }
+
+ if (iaddr->host == NULL) {
+ error_setg(errp, "host not specified");
+ return -1;
+ }
+ if (iaddr->port != NULL) {
+ pstrcpy(port, sizeof(port), iaddr->port);
+ } else {
+ port[0] = '\0';
+ }
+
+ rc = getaddrinfo(strlen(iaddr->host) ? iaddr->host : NULL,
+ strlen(port) ? port : NULL, &ai, &res);
+ if (rc != 0) {
+ error_setg(errp, "address resolution failed for %s:%s: %s",
+ iaddr->host, port, gai_strerror(rc));
+ return -1;
+ }
+
+ for (e = res; e != NULL; e = e->ai_next) {
+ (*naddrs)++;
+ }
+
+ *addrs = g_new0(SocketAddress *, *naddrs);
+
+ /* create socket + bind */
+ for (i = 0, e = res; e != NULL; i++, e = e->ai_next) {
+ SocketAddress *newaddr = g_new0(SocketAddress, 1);
+ InetSocketAddress *newiaddr = g_new0(InetSocketAddress, 1);
+ newaddr->u.inet.data = newiaddr;
+ newaddr->type = SOCKET_ADDRESS_KIND_INET;
+
+ getnameinfo((struct sockaddr *)e->ai_addr, e->ai_addrlen,
+ uaddr, INET6_ADDRSTRLEN, uport, 32,
+ NI_NUMERICHOST | NI_NUMERICSERV);
+
+ *newiaddr = (InetSocketAddress){
+ .host = g_strdup(uaddr),
+ .port = g_strdup(uport),
+ .has_numeric = true,
+ .numeric = true,
+ .has_to = iaddr->has_to,
+ .to = iaddr->to,
+ .has_ipv4 = false,
+ .has_ipv6 = false,
+ };
+
+ (*addrs)[i] = newaddr;
+ }
+ freeaddrinfo(res);
+ return 0;
+}
+
+
+static int qio_dns_resolver_lookup_sync_nop(QIODNSResolver *resolver,
+ SocketAddress *addr,
+ size_t *naddrs,
+ SocketAddress ***addrs,
+ Error **errp)
+{
+ *naddrs = 1;
+ *addrs = g_new0(SocketAddress *, 1);
+ (*addrs)[0] = QAPI_CLONE(SocketAddress, addr);
+
+ return 0;
+}
+
+
+int qio_dns_resolver_lookup_sync(QIODNSResolver *resolver,
+ SocketAddress *addr,
+ size_t *naddrs,
+ SocketAddress ***addrs,
+ Error **errp)
+{
+ switch (addr->type) {
+ case SOCKET_ADDRESS_KIND_INET:
+ return qio_dns_resolver_lookup_sync_inet(resolver,
+ addr,
+ naddrs,
+ addrs,
+ errp);
+
+ case SOCKET_ADDRESS_KIND_UNIX:
+ case SOCKET_ADDRESS_KIND_VSOCK:
+ return qio_dns_resolver_lookup_sync_nop(resolver,
+ addr,
+ naddrs,
+ addrs,
+ errp);
+
+ default:
+ error_setg(errp, "Unknown socket address kind");
+ return -1;
+ }
+}
+
+
+struct QIODNSResolverLookupData {
+ SocketAddress *addr;
+ SocketAddress **addrs;
+ size_t naddrs;
+};
+
+
+static void qio_dns_resolver_lookup_data_free(gpointer opaque)
+{
+ struct QIODNSResolverLookupData *data = opaque;
+ size_t i;
+
+ qapi_free_SocketAddress(data->addr);
+ for (i = 0; i < data->naddrs; i++) {
+ qapi_free_SocketAddress(data->addrs[i]);
+ }
+
+ g_free(data->addrs);
+ g_free(data);
+}
+
+
+static void qio_dns_resolver_lookup_worker(QIOTask *task,
+ gpointer opaque)
+{
+ QIODNSResolver *resolver = QIO_DNS_RESOLVER(qio_task_get_source(task));
+ struct QIODNSResolverLookupData *data = opaque;
+ Error *err = NULL;
+
+ qio_dns_resolver_lookup_sync(resolver,
+ data->addr,
+ &data->naddrs,
+ &data->addrs,
+ &err);
+ if (err) {
+ qio_task_set_error(task, err);
+ } else {
+ qio_task_set_result_pointer(task, opaque, NULL);
+ }
+
+ object_unref(OBJECT(resolver));
+}
+
+
+void qio_dns_resolver_lookup_async(QIODNSResolver *resolver,
+ SocketAddress *addr,
+ QIOTaskFunc func,
+ gpointer opaque,
+ GDestroyNotify notify)
+{
+ QIOTask *task;
+ struct QIODNSResolverLookupData *data =
+ g_new0(struct QIODNSResolverLookupData, 1);
+
+ data->addr = QAPI_CLONE(SocketAddress, addr);
+
+ task = qio_task_new(OBJECT(resolver), func, opaque, notify);
+
+ qio_task_run_in_thread(task,
+ qio_dns_resolver_lookup_worker,
+ data,
+ qio_dns_resolver_lookup_data_free);
+}
+
+
+void qio_dns_resolver_lookup_result(QIODNSResolver *resolver,
+ QIOTask *task,
+ size_t *naddrs,
+ SocketAddress ***addrs)
+{
+ struct QIODNSResolverLookupData *data =
+ qio_task_get_result_pointer(task);
+ size_t i;
+
+ *naddrs = 0;
+ *addrs = NULL;
+ if (!data) {
+ return;
+ }
+
+ *naddrs = data->naddrs;
+ *addrs = g_new0(SocketAddress *, data->naddrs);
+ for (i = 0; i < data->naddrs; i++) {
+ (*addrs)[i] = QAPI_CLONE(SocketAddress, data->addrs[i]);
+ }
+}
+
+
+static const TypeInfo qio_dns_resolver_info = {
+ .parent = TYPE_OBJECT,
+ .name = TYPE_QIO_DNS_RESOLVER,
+ .instance_size = sizeof(QIODNSResolver),
+ .class_size = sizeof(QIODNSResolverClass),
+};
+
+
+static void qio_dns_resolver_register_types(void)
+{
+ type_register_static(&qio_dns_resolver_info);
+}
+
+
+type_init(qio_dns_resolver_register_types);
diff --git a/util/qemu-sockets.c b/util/qemu-sockets.c
index b6d99cbf42..7c120c45ce 100644
--- a/util/qemu-sockets.c
+++ b/util/qemu-sockets.c
@@ -114,8 +114,8 @@ NetworkAddressFamily inet_netfamily(int family)
* outside scope of this method and not currently handled by
* callers at all.
*/
-static int inet_ai_family_from_address(InetSocketAddress *addr,
- Error **errp)
+int inet_ai_family_from_address(InetSocketAddress *addr,
+ Error **errp)
{
if (addr->has_ipv6 && addr->has_ipv4 &&
!addr->ipv6 && !addr->ipv4) {