diff --git a/db/client.cpp b/db/client.cpp
index 38b94476911..5fed03780cc 100644
--- a/db/client.cpp
+++ b/db/client.cpp
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ namespace mongo {
     /* each thread which does db operations has a Client object in TLS.
        call this when your thread starts.
     */
-    Client& Client::initThread(const char *desc, MessagingPort *mp) {
+    Client& Client::initThread(const char *desc, AbstractMessagingPort *mp) {
         assert( currentClient.get() == 0 );
         Client *c = new Client(desc, mp);
         currentClient.reset(c);
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ namespace mongo {
         return *c;
     }
 
-    Client::Client(const char *desc, MessagingPort *p) :
+    Client::Client(const char *desc, AbstractMessagingPort *p) :
         _context(0),
         _shutdown(false),
         _desc(desc),
diff --git a/db/client.h b/db/client.h
index 92bdb2f4fb2..b9d5030495e 100644
--- a/db/client.h
+++ b/db/client.h
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ namespace mongo {
     class CurOp;
     class Command;
     class Client;
-    class MessagingPort;
+    class AbstractMessagingPort;
 
     extern boost::thread_specific_ptr<Client> currentClient;
 
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ namespace mongo {
         /* each thread which does db operations has a Client object in TLS.
            call this when your thread starts.
         */
-        static Client& initThread(const char *desc, MessagingPort *mp = 0);
+        static Client& initThread(const char *desc, AbstractMessagingPort *mp = 0);
 
         ~Client();
 
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ namespace mongo {
         void gotHandshake( const BSONObj& o );
         BSONObj getRemoteID() const { return _remoteId; }
         BSONObj getHandshake() const { return _handshake; }
-        MessagingPort * port() const { return _mp; }
+        AbstractMessagingPort * port() const { return _mp; }
         ConnectionId getConnectionId() const { return _connectionId; }
 
     private:
@@ -106,9 +106,9 @@ namespace mongo {
         ReplTime _lastOp;
         BSONObj _handshake;
         BSONObj _remoteId;
-        MessagingPort * const _mp;
+        AbstractMessagingPort * const _mp;
 
-        Client(const char *desc, MessagingPort *p = 0);
+        Client(const char *desc, AbstractMessagingPort *p = 0);
 
         friend class CurOp;
 
diff --git a/db/curop.h b/db/curop.h
index 398395cd83d..efd33bd51b3 100644
--- a/db/curop.h
+++ b/db/curop.h
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ namespace mongo {
             _query.reset();
         }
 
-        void reset( const SockAddr & remote, int op ) {
+        void reset( const HostAndPort& remote, int op ) {
             reset();
             _remote = remote;
             _op = op;
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ namespace mongo {
         int _dbprofile; // 0=off, 1=slow, 2=all
         AtomicUInt _opNum;
         char _ns[Namespace::MaxNsLen+2];
-        struct SockAddr _remote;
+        HostAndPort _remote;
         CachedBSONObj _query;
         OpDebug _debug;
         ThreadSafeString _message;
diff --git a/db/db.cpp b/db/db.cpp
index 78e24147f11..948a5b6340e 100644
--- a/db/db.cpp
+++ b/db/db.cpp
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 #include "stats/snapshots.h"
 #include "../util/concurrency/task.h"
 #include "../util/version.h"
+#include "../util/message_server.h"
 #include "client.h"
 #include "restapi.h"
 #include "dbwebserver.h"
@@ -196,6 +197,64 @@ namespace mongo {
         sleepmicros( Client::recommendedYieldMicros() );
     }
 
+    class MyMessageHandler : public MessageHandler {
+    public:
+        virtual void connected( AbstractMessagingPort* p ) {
+            Client& c = Client::initThread("conn", p);
+            c.getAuthenticationInfo()->isLocalHost = p->remote().isLocalHost();
+        }
+
+        virtual void process( Message& m , AbstractMessagingPort* port , LastError * le) {
+            while ( true ) {
+                if ( inShutdown() ) {
+                    log() << "got request after shutdown()" << endl;
+                    break;
+                }
+
+                lastError.startRequest( m , le );
+
+                DbResponse dbresponse;
+                assembleResponse( m, dbresponse, port->remote() );
+
+                if ( dbresponse.response ) {
+                    port->reply(m, *dbresponse.response, dbresponse.responseTo);
+                    if( dbresponse.exhaust ) {
+                        MsgData *header = dbresponse.response->header();
+                        QueryResult *qr = (QueryResult *) header;
+                        long long cursorid = qr->cursorId;
+                        if( cursorid ) {
+                            assert( dbresponse.exhaust && *dbresponse.exhaust != 0 );
+                            string ns = dbresponse.exhaust; // before reset() free's it...
+                            m.reset();
+                            BufBuilder b(512);
+                            b.appendNum((int) 0 /*size set later in appendData()*/);
+                            b.appendNum(header->id);
+                            b.appendNum(header->responseTo);
+                            b.appendNum((int) dbGetMore);
+                            b.appendNum((int) 0);
+                            b.appendStr(ns);
+                            b.appendNum((int) 0); // ntoreturn
+                            b.appendNum(cursorid);
+                            m.appendData(b.buf(), b.len());
+                            b.decouple();
+                            DEV log() << "exhaust=true sending more" << endl;
+                            beNice();
+                            continue; // this goes back to top loop
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+
+        virtual void disconnected( AbstractMessagingPort* p ) {
+            Client * c = currentClient.get();
+            if( c ) c->shutdown();
+            globalScriptEngine->threadDone();
+        }
+
+    };
+
     /* we create one thread for each connection from an app server database.
        app server will open a pool of threads.
        todo: one day, asio...
diff --git a/db/instance.cpp b/db/instance.cpp
index ad8c7b1bb4f..afc6f9ee853 100644
--- a/db/instance.cpp
+++ b/db/instance.cpp
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ namespace mongo {
     }
 
     // Returns false when request includes 'end'
-    void assembleResponse( Message &m, DbResponse &dbresponse, const SockAddr &client ) {
+    void assembleResponse( Message &m, DbResponse &dbresponse, const HostAndPort& remote ) {
 
         // before we lock...
         int op = m.operation();
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ namespace mongo {
             currentOpP = nestedOp.get();
         }
         CurOp& currentOp = *currentOpP;
-        currentOp.reset(client,op);
+        currentOp.reset(remote,op);
 
         OpDebug& debug = currentOp.debug();
         StringBuilder& ss = debug.str;
@@ -652,7 +652,7 @@ namespace mongo {
         if ( lastError._get() )
             lastError.startRequest( toSend, lastError._get() );
         DbResponse dbResponse;
-        assembleResponse( toSend, dbResponse );
+        assembleResponse( toSend, dbResponse , HostAndPort( "localhost" , -1 ) );
         assert( dbResponse.response );
         dbResponse.response->concat(); // can get rid of this if we make response handling smarter
         response = *dbResponse.response;
@@ -664,7 +664,7 @@ namespace mongo {
         if ( lastError._get() )
             lastError.startRequest( toSend, lastError._get() );
         DbResponse dbResponse;
-        assembleResponse( toSend, dbResponse );
+        assembleResponse( toSend, dbResponse , HostAndPort( "localhost" , -1 ) );
         getDur().commitIfNeeded();
     }
 
diff --git a/db/instance.h b/db/instance.h
index e3c339210f6..7814eb0999c 100644
--- a/db/instance.h
+++ b/db/instance.h
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ namespace mongo {
         ~DbResponse() { delete response; }
     };
 
-    void assembleResponse( Message &m, DbResponse &dbresponse, const SockAddr &client = unknownAddress );
+    void assembleResponse( Message &m, DbResponse &dbresponse, const HostAndPort &client );
 
     void getDatabaseNames( vector< string > &names , const string& usePath = dbpath );
 
diff --git a/db/repl/heartbeat.cpp b/db/repl/heartbeat.cpp
index 7e38f1c8702..8331c6faef5 100644
--- a/db/repl/heartbeat.cpp
+++ b/db/repl/heartbeat.cpp
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ namespace mongo {
 
             /* we want to keep heartbeat connections open when relinquishing primary.  tag them here. */
             {
-                MessagingPort *mp = cc().port();
+                AbstractMessagingPort *mp = cc().port();
                 if( mp )
                     mp->tag |= 1;
             }
diff --git a/s/s_only.cpp b/s/s_only.cpp
index 83bceace37c..221eb5a3356 100644
--- a/s/s_only.cpp
+++ b/s/s_only.cpp
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ namespace mongo {
 
     boost::thread_specific_ptr<Client> currentClient;
 
-    Client::Client(const char *desc , MessagingPort *p) :
+    Client::Client(const char *desc , AbstractMessagingPort *p) :
         _context(0),
         _shutdown(false),
         _desc(desc),
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ namespace mongo {
     Client::~Client() {}
     bool Client::shutdown() { return true; }
 
-    Client& Client::initThread(const char *desc, MessagingPort *mp) {
+    Client& Client::initThread(const char *desc, AbstractMessagingPort *mp) {
         setThreadName(desc);
         assert( currentClient.get() == 0 );
         Client *c = new Client(desc, mp);
diff --git a/s/server.cpp b/s/server.cpp
index 0b014bf9fd5..b19667f41e0 100644
--- a/s/server.cpp
+++ b/s/server.cpp
@@ -352,6 +352,12 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 }
 
 #undef exit
+
+void mongo::exitCleanly( ExitCode code ) {
+    // TODO: do we need to add anything?
+    mongo::dbexit( code );
+}
+
 void mongo::dbexit( ExitCode rc, const char *why, bool tryToGetLock ) {
     dbexitCalled = true;
     log() << "dbexit: " << why
diff --git a/util/hostandport.h b/util/hostandport.h
index fd2729609cf..7dd09029b5e 100644
--- a/util/hostandport.h
+++ b/util/hostandport.h
@@ -70,8 +70,10 @@ namespace mongo {
 
         bool isLocalHost() const;
 
-        // @returns host:port
-        string toString() const;
+        /**
+         * @param includePort host:port if true, host otherwise
+         */
+        string toString( bool includePort=true ) const;
 
         operator string() const { return toString(); }
 
@@ -130,7 +132,10 @@ namespace mongo {
         return HostAndPort(h, cmdLine.port);
     }
 
-    inline string HostAndPort::toString() const {
+    inline string HostAndPort::toString( bool includePort ) const {
+        if ( ! includePort )
+            return _host;
+
         stringstream ss;
         ss << _host;
         if ( _port != -1 ) {
diff --git a/util/message.cpp b/util/message.cpp
index c1724916839..f5b2d5c407d 100644
--- a/util/message.cpp
+++ b/util/message.cpp
@@ -327,12 +327,12 @@ namespace mongo {
         ports.closeAll(mask);
     }
 
-    MessagingPort::MessagingPort(int _sock, const SockAddr& _far) : sock(_sock), piggyBackData(0), _bytesIn(0), _bytesOut(0), farEnd(_far), _timeout(), tag(0) {
+    MessagingPort::MessagingPort(int _sock, const SockAddr& _far) : sock(_sock), piggyBackData(0), _bytesIn(0), _bytesOut(0), farEnd(_far), _timeout() {
         _logLevel = 0;
         ports.insert(this);
     }
 
-    MessagingPort::MessagingPort( double timeout, int ll ) : _bytesIn(0), _bytesOut(0), tag(0) {
+    MessagingPort::MessagingPort( double timeout, int ll ) : _bytesIn(0), _bytesOut(0) {
         _logLevel = ll;
         ports.insert(this);
         sock = -1;
diff --git a/util/message.h b/util/message.h
index 4b80cabbe2d..4dd1aa66760 100644
--- a/util/message.h
+++ b/util/message.h
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ namespace mongo {
 
     class AbstractMessagingPort : boost::noncopyable {
     public:
+        AbstractMessagingPort() : tag(0) {}
         virtual ~AbstractMessagingPort() { }
         virtual void reply(Message& received, Message& response, MSGID responseTo) = 0; // like the reply below, but doesn't rely on received.data still being available
         virtual void reply(Message& received, Message& response) = 0;
@@ -86,7 +87,13 @@ namespace mongo {
         virtual unsigned remotePort() const = 0;
 
     private:
-        int _clientId;
+
+    public:
+        // TODO make this private with some helpers
+
+        /* ports can be tagged with various classes.  see closeAllSockets(tag). defaults to 0. */
+        unsigned tag;
+
     };
 
     class MessagingPort : public AbstractMessagingPort {
@@ -160,9 +167,6 @@ namespace mongo {
 
         static void closeAllSockets(unsigned tagMask = 0xffffffff);
 
-        /* ports can be tagged with various classes.  see closeAllSockets(tag). defaults to 0. */
-        unsigned tag;
-
         friend class PiggyBackData;
     };
 
diff --git a/util/message_server.h b/util/message_server.h
index defae0b59ed..e9e2c2c29fd 100644
--- a/util/message_server.h
+++ b/util/message_server.h
@@ -29,9 +29,21 @@ namespace mongo {
     class MessageHandler {
     public:
         virtual ~MessageHandler() {}
-
+        
+        /**
+         * called once when a socket is connected
+         */
         virtual void connected( AbstractMessagingPort* p ) = 0;
+
+        /**
+         * called every time a message comes in
+         * handler is responsible for responding to client
+         */
         virtual void process( Message& m , AbstractMessagingPort* p , LastError * err ) = 0;
+
+        /**
+         * called once when a socket is disconnected
+         */
         virtual void disconnected( AbstractMessagingPort* p ) = 0;
     };
 
diff --git a/util/message_server_port.cpp b/util/message_server_port.cpp
index cc69f898ec2..89325139cee 100644
--- a/util/message_server_port.cpp
+++ b/util/message_server_port.cpp
@@ -34,11 +34,11 @@ namespace mongo {
 
         void threadRun( MessagingPort * inPort) {
             TicketHolderReleaser connTicketReleaser( &connTicketHolder );
-            
-            assert( inPort );
 
             setThreadName( "conn" );
-
+            
+            assert( inPort );
+            inPort->_logLevel = 1;
             scoped_ptr<MessagingPort> p( inPort );
 
             string otherSide;
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ namespace mongo {
 
                 handler->connected( p.get() );
 
-                while ( 1 ) {
+                while ( ! inShutdown() ) {
                     m.reset();
                     p->clearCounters();
 
@@ -67,14 +67,25 @@ namespace mongo {
                     networkCounter.hit( p->getBytesIn() , p->getBytesOut() );
                 }
             }
-            catch ( const SocketException& ) {
-                log() << "unclean socket shutdown from: " << otherSide << endl;
+            catch ( AssertionException& e ) {
+                log() << "AssertionException in connThread, closing client connection: " << e << endl;
+                p->shutdown();
             }
-            catch ( const std::exception& e ) {
-                problem() << "uncaught exception (" << e.what() << ")(" << demangleName( typeid(e) ) <<") in PortMessageServer::threadRun, closing connection" << endl;
+            catch ( SocketException& e ) {
+                log() << "SocketException in connThread, closing client connection: " << e << endl;
+                p->shutdown();
+            }
+            catch ( const ClockSkewException & ) {
+                log() << "ClockSkewException - shutting down" << endl;
+                exitCleanly( EXIT_CLOCK_SKEW );
+            }
+            catch ( std::exception &e ) {
+                error() << "Uncaught std::exception: " << e.what() << ", terminating" << endl;
+                dbexit( EXIT_UNCAUGHT );
             }
             catch ( ... ) {
-                problem() << "uncaught exception in PortMessageServer::threadRun, closing connection" << endl;
+                error() << "Uncaught exception, terminating" << endl;
+                dbexit( EXIT_UNCAUGHT );
             }
 
             handler->disconnected( p.get() );