diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 8bee6e37..8bf81927 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -4866,7 +4866,7 @@ echo; echo
 
 CFLAGS="$static -O2 -Wall -g"
 LIBS="$antispam_libs $sunos_libs "
-OBJS="dirs.o base64.o misc.o counters.o cfg.o sig.o decoder.o hash.o parser.o parser_utils.o rules.o smtp.o bdat.o message.o attachment.o digest.o store.o archive.o tai.o import.o import_maildir.o import_mailbox.o import_pop3.o import_imap.o import_gui.o imap.o pop3.o extract.o mydomains.o $objs"
+OBJS="dirs.o base64.o misc.o counters.o cfg.o sig.o decoder.o hash.o parser.o parser_utils.o rules.o smtp.o session.o bdat.o message.o attachment.o digest.o store.o archive.o tai.o import.o import_maildir.o import_mailbox.o import_pop3.o import_imap.o import_gui.o imap.o pop3.o extract.o mydomains.o $objs"
 
 ac_config_files="$ac_config_files Makefile src/Makefile etc/Makefile util/Makefile init.d/Makefile unit_tests/Makefile contrib/imap/Makefile"
 
diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index 000184d5..cc6f09bc 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -544,7 +544,7 @@ echo; echo
 
 CFLAGS="$static -O2 -Wall -g"
 LIBS="$antispam_libs $sunos_libs "
-OBJS="dirs.o base64.o misc.o counters.o cfg.o sig.o decoder.o hash.o parser.o parser_utils.o rules.o smtp.o bdat.o message.o attachment.o digest.o store.o archive.o tai.o import.o import_maildir.o import_mailbox.o import_pop3.o import_imap.o import_gui.o imap.o pop3.o extract.o mydomains.o $objs"
+OBJS="dirs.o base64.o misc.o counters.o cfg.o sig.o decoder.o hash.o parser.o parser_utils.o rules.o smtp.o session.o bdat.o message.o attachment.o digest.o store.o archive.o tai.o import.o import_maildir.o import_mailbox.o import_pop3.o import_imap.o import_gui.o imap.o pop3.o extract.o mydomains.o $objs"
 
 AC_CONFIG_FILES([Makefile src/Makefile etc/Makefile util/Makefile init.d/Makefile unit_tests/Makefile contrib/imap/Makefile])
 AC_OUTPUT
diff --git a/src/Makefile.in b/src/Makefile.in
index fc139378..dd138fbe 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.in
+++ b/src/Makefile.in
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ libpiler.a: $(OBJS) $(SQL_OBJS)
 	ln -sf libpiler.so.$(LIBPILER_VERSION) libpiler.so.$(PILER_VERSION)
 
 piler-smtp: piler-smtp.c libpiler.a
-	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(INCDIR) $(DEFS) -o $@ $< cfg.o misc.o tai.o smtp.o dirs.o sig.o bdat.o $(LIBS) $(LIBDIR)
+	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(INCDIR) $(DEFS) -o $@ $< cfg.o misc.o tai.o smtp.o session.o dirs.o sig.o bdat.o $(LIBS) $(LIBDIR)
 
 pilerget: pilerget.c libpiler.a
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(INCDIR) $(DEFS) -o $@ $< -lpiler $(LIBS) $(LIBDIR)
diff --git a/src/piler-smtp.c b/src/piler-smtp.c
index 69e22f72..b61e9903 100644
--- a/src/piler-smtp.c
+++ b/src/piler-smtp.c
@@ -41,110 +41,6 @@ struct passwd *pwd;
 struct smtp_session *session, **sessions=NULL;
 
 
-void handle_data(struct smtp_session *session, char *readbuf, int readlen){
-   char *p, puf[MAXBUFSIZE];
-   int result;
-
-   // process BDAT stuff
-
-   if(session->protocol_state == SMTP_STATE_BDAT){
-      if(session->bad == 1){
-         // something bad happened in the BDAT processing
-         return;
-      }
-
-      process_bdat(session, readbuf, readlen);
-   }
-
-   // process DATA
-
-   else if(session->protocol_state == SMTP_STATE_DATA){
-      process_data(session, readbuf, readlen);
-   }
-
-   // process other SMTP commands
-
-   else {
-      //printf("len=%d, buf=*%s*\n\n\n", readlen, readbuf);
-
-      if(session->buflen > 0){
-         snprintf(puf, sizeof(puf)-1, "%s%s", session->buf, readbuf);
-         snprintf(readbuf, BIGBUFSIZE-1, "%s", puf);
-
-         session->buflen = 0;
-         memset(session->buf, 0, SMALLBUFSIZE);
-      }
-
-      p = readbuf;
-
-      do {
-         memset(puf, 0, sizeof(puf));
-         p = split(p, '\n', puf, sizeof(puf)-1, &result);
-
-         if(puf[0] == '\0') continue;
-
-         if(result == 1){
-            process_smtp_command(session, puf);
-
-            // if chunking is enabled and we have data after BDAT <len>
-            // then process the rest
-
-            if(session->cfg->enable_chunking == 1 && p && session->protocol_state == SMTP_STATE_BDAT){
-               process_bdat(session, p, strlen(p));
-               break;
-            }
-         }
-         else {
-            snprintf(session->buf, SMALLBUFSIZE-1, "%s", puf);
-            session->buflen = strlen(puf);
-         }
-      } while(p);
-
-   }
-
-}
-
-
-void init_smtp_session(struct smtp_session *session, int slot, int sd){
-   session->slot = slot;
-
-   session->socket = sd;
-   session->buflen = 0;
-   session->protocol_state = SMTP_STATE_INIT;
-
-   session->cfg = &cfg;
-
-   session->use_ssl = 0;  // use SSL/TLS
-   session->starttls = 0; // SSL/TLS communication is active (1) or not (0)
-   session->ctx = NULL;
-   session->ssl = NULL;
-
-   memset(session->buf, 0, SMALLBUFSIZE);
-   memset(session->remote_host, 0, INET6_ADDRSTRLEN);
-
-   reset_bdat_counters(session);
-
-   time(&(session->lasttime));
-}
-
-
-void free_smtp_session(struct smtp_session *session){
-
-   if(session){
-
-      if(session->use_ssl == 1){
-         SSL_shutdown(session->ssl);
-         SSL_free(session->ssl);
-      }
-
-      if(session->ctx) SSL_CTX_free(session->ctx);
-
-      free(session);
-   }
-}
-
-
-
 void p_clean_exit(){
    int i;
 
@@ -173,40 +69,6 @@ void fatal(char *s){
 }
 
 
-int get_session_slot(){
-   int i;
-
-   for(i=0; i<cfg.max_connections; i++){
-      if(sessions[i] == NULL) return i;
-   }
-
-   return -1;
-}
-
-
-struct smtp_session *get_session_by_socket(int socket){
-   int i;
-
-   for(i=0; i<cfg.max_connections; i++){
-      if(sessions[i] && sessions[i]->socket == socket) return sessions[i];
-   }
-
-   return NULL;
-}
-
-
-void tear_down_client(int slot){
-   syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "disconnected from %s", sessions[slot]->remote_host);
-
-   close(sessions[slot]->socket);
-
-   free_smtp_session(sessions[slot]);
-   sessions[slot] = NULL;
-
-   num_connections--;
-}
-
-
 void check_for_client_timeout(){
    time_t now;
    int i;
@@ -217,7 +79,7 @@ void check_for_client_timeout(){
       for(i=0; i<cfg.max_connections; i++){
          if(sessions[i] && now - sessions[i]->lasttime >= cfg.smtp_timeout){
             syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "client %s timeout", sessions[i]->remote_host);
-            tear_down_client(sessions[i]->slot);
+            tear_down_session(sessions, sessions[i]->slot, &num_connections);
          }
       }
    }
@@ -226,72 +88,6 @@ void check_for_client_timeout(){
 }
 
 
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBWRAP
-int is_blocked_by_tcp_wrappers(int sd){
-   struct request_info req;
-
-   request_init(&req, RQ_DAEMON, PROGNAME, RQ_FILE, sd, 0);
-
-   fromhost(&req);
-
-   if(!hosts_access(&req)){
-      send(sd, SMTP_RESP_550_ERR_YOU_ARE_BANNED_BY_LOCAL_POLICY, strlen(SMTP_RESP_550_ERR_YOU_ARE_BANNED_BY_LOCAL_POLICY), 0);
-      syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "denied connection from %s by tcp_wrappers", eval_client(&req));
-      return 1;
-   }
-
-   return 0;
-}
-#endif
-
-
-int start_new_session(int socket){
-   char smtp_banner[SMALLBUFSIZE];
-   int slot;
-
-   // Uh-oh! We have enough connections to serve already
-   if(num_connections >= cfg.max_connections){
-      syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "too many connections (%d), cannot accept socket %d", num_connections, socket);
-      send(socket, SMTP_RESP_421_ERR_ALL_PORTS_ARE_BUSY, strlen(SMTP_RESP_421_ERR_ALL_PORTS_ARE_BUSY), 0);
-      close(socket);
-      return -1;
-   }
-
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBWRAP
-   if(is_blocked_by_tcp_wrappers(socket) == 1){
-      close(socket);
-      return -1;
-   }
-#endif
-
-   slot = get_session_slot();
-
-   if(slot >= 0 && sessions[slot] == NULL){
-      sessions[slot] = malloc(sizeof(struct smtp_session));
-      if(sessions[slot]){
-         init_smtp_session(sessions[slot], slot, socket);
-         snprintf(smtp_banner, sizeof(smtp_banner)-1, SMTP_RESP_220_BANNER, cfg.hostid);
-         send(socket, smtp_banner, strlen(smtp_banner), 0);
-
-         num_connections++;
-
-         return 0;
-      }
-      else {
-         syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "ERROR: malloc() in start_new_session()");
-      }
-   }
-   else {
-      syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "ERROR: couldn't find a slot for the connection");
-   }
-
-   send(socket, SMTP_RESP_421_ERR_TMP, strlen(SMTP_RESP_421_ERR_TMP), 0);
-   close(socket);
-
-   return -1;
-}
-
-
 void initialise_configuration(){
    cfg = read_config(configfile);
 
@@ -320,6 +116,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv){
    int listenerfd, client_sockfd;
    int i, n, daemonise=0;
    int client_len = sizeof(struct sockaddr_storage);
+   ssize_t readlen;
    struct sockaddr_storage client_address;
    char hbuf[NI_MAXHOST], sbuf[NI_MAXSERV];
    char readbuf[BIGBUFSIZE];
@@ -409,7 +206,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv){
          if((events[i].events & EPOLLERR) || (events[i].events & EPOLLHUP) || (!(events[i].events & EPOLLIN))){
             syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "ERROR: epoll error");
             close(events[i].data.fd);
-            // we have to tear_down_client as well if not the listening socket?
             continue;
          }
 
@@ -447,7 +243,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv){
                   break;
                }
 
-               start_new_session(client_sockfd);
+               start_new_session(sessions, client_sockfd, &num_connections, &cfg);
             }
 
             continue;
@@ -458,12 +254,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv){
 
          else {
             int done = 0;
-            ssize_t count;
 
-            // should the following work here as well?
-            // ioctl(events[i].data.fd, FIONREAD, &bytes_to_read);
-
-            session = get_session_by_socket(events[i].data.fd);
+            session = get_session_by_socket(sessions, cfg.max_connections, events[i].data.fd);
             if(session == NULL){
                syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "ERROR: cannot find session for this socket: %d", events[i].data.fd);
                close(events[i].data.fd);
@@ -476,13 +268,13 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv){
                memset(readbuf, 0, sizeof(readbuf));
 
                if(session->use_ssl == 1)
-                  count = SSL_read(session->ssl, (char*)&readbuf[0], sizeof(readbuf)-1);
+                  readlen = SSL_read(session->ssl, (char*)&readbuf[0], sizeof(readbuf)-1);
                else
-                  count = read(events[i].data.fd, (char*)&readbuf[0], sizeof(readbuf)-1);
+                  readlen = read(events[i].data.fd, (char*)&readbuf[0], sizeof(readbuf)-1);
 
-               if(cfg.verbosity >= _LOG_DEBUG) syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "got %ld bytes to read", count);
+               if(cfg.verbosity >= _LOG_DEBUG) syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "got %ld bytes to read", readlen);
 
-               if(count == -1){
+               if(readlen == -1){
                   /* If errno == EAGAIN, that means we have read all data. So go back to the main loop. */
                   if(errno != EAGAIN){
                      syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "read");
@@ -490,27 +282,22 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv){
                   }
                   break;
                }
-               else if(count == 0){
+               else if(readlen == 0){
                   /* End of file. The remote has closed the connection. */
                   done = 1;
                   break;
                }
 
-               handle_data(session, &readbuf[0], count);
+               handle_data(session, &readbuf[0], readlen);
 
                if(session->protocol_state == SMTP_STATE_BDAT && session->bad == 1){
-                  tear_down_client(session->slot);
-                  done = 0; // to prevent the repeated tear down of connection
+                  done = 1;
                   break;
                }
             }
 
             if(done){
-               printf("Closed connection on descriptor %d\n", events[i].data.fd);
-
-               /* Closing the descriptor will make epoll remove it from the set of descriptors which are monitored. */
-               //close(events[i].data.fd);
-               tear_down_client(session->slot);
+               tear_down_session(sessions, session->slot, &num_connections);
             }
          }
 
diff --git a/src/piler.h b/src/piler.h
index 150941c6..047ae814 100644
--- a/src/piler.h
+++ b/src/piler.h
@@ -67,6 +67,12 @@ int retrieve_file_from_archive(char *filename, int mode, char **buffer, FILE *de
 void load_mydomains(struct session_data *sdata, struct __data *data, struct __config *cfg);
 int is_email_address_on_my_domains(char *email, struct __data *data);
 
+int start_new_session(struct smtp_session **sessions, int socket, int *num_connections, struct __config *cfg);
+void tear_down_session(struct smtp_session **sessions, int slot, int *num_connections);
+struct smtp_session *get_session_by_socket(struct smtp_session **sessions, int max_connections, int socket);
+void handle_data(struct smtp_session *session, char *readbuf, int readlen);
+void free_smtp_session(struct smtp_session *session);
+
 void child_sighup_handler(int sig);
 void child_main(struct child *ptr);
 pid_t child_make(struct child *ptr);
diff --git a/src/session.c b/src/session.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a7cc8497
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/session.c
@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <piler.h>
+
+
+int get_session_slot(struct smtp_session **sessions, int max_connections);
+void init_smtp_session(struct smtp_session *session, int slot, int sd, struct __config *cfg);
+
+
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBWRAP
+int is_blocked_by_tcp_wrappers(int sd){
+   struct request_info req;
+
+   request_init(&req, RQ_DAEMON, "piler", RQ_FILE, sd, 0);
+
+   fromhost(&req);
+
+   if(!hosts_access(&req)){
+      send(sd, SMTP_RESP_550_ERR_YOU_ARE_BANNED_BY_LOCAL_POLICY, strlen(SMTP_RESP_550_ERR_YOU_ARE_BANNED_BY_LOCAL_POLICY), 0);
+      syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "denied connection from %s by tcp_wrappers", eval_client(&req));
+      return 1;
+   }
+
+   return 0;
+}
+#endif
+
+
+int start_new_session(struct smtp_session **sessions, int socket, int *num_connections, struct __config *cfg){
+   char smtp_banner[SMALLBUFSIZE];
+   int slot;
+
+   /*
+    * We have enough connections to serve already
+    */
+
+   if(*num_connections >= cfg->max_connections){
+      syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "too many connections (%d), cannot accept socket %d", *num_connections, socket);
+      send(socket, SMTP_RESP_421_ERR_ALL_PORTS_ARE_BUSY, strlen(SMTP_RESP_421_ERR_ALL_PORTS_ARE_BUSY), 0);
+      close(socket);
+      return -1;
+   }
+
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBWRAP
+   if(is_blocked_by_tcp_wrappers(socket) == 1){
+      close(socket);
+      return -1;
+   }
+#endif
+
+   slot = get_session_slot(sessions, cfg->max_connections);
+
+   if(slot >= 0 && sessions[slot] == NULL){
+      sessions[slot] = malloc(sizeof(struct smtp_session));
+      if(sessions[slot]){
+         init_smtp_session(sessions[slot], slot, socket, cfg);
+         snprintf(smtp_banner, sizeof(smtp_banner)-1, SMTP_RESP_220_BANNER, cfg->hostid);
+         send(socket, smtp_banner, strlen(smtp_banner), 0);
+
+         (*num_connections)++;
+
+         return 0;
+      }
+      else {
+         syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "ERROR: malloc() in start_new_session()");
+      }
+   }
+   else {
+      syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "ERROR: couldn't find a slot for the connection");
+   }
+
+   send(socket, SMTP_RESP_421_ERR_TMP, strlen(SMTP_RESP_421_ERR_TMP), 0);
+   close(socket);
+
+   return -1;
+}
+
+
+int get_session_slot(struct smtp_session **sessions, int max_connections){
+   int i;
+
+   for(i=0; i<max_connections; i++){
+      if(sessions[i] == NULL) return i;
+   }
+
+   return -1;
+}
+
+
+struct smtp_session *get_session_by_socket(struct smtp_session **sessions, int max_connections, int socket){
+   int i;
+
+   for(i=0; i<max_connections; i++){
+      if(sessions[i] && sessions[i]->socket == socket) return sessions[i];
+   }
+
+   return NULL;
+}
+
+
+void init_smtp_session(struct smtp_session *session, int slot, int sd, struct __config *cfg){
+   session->slot = slot;
+
+   session->socket = sd;
+   session->buflen = 0;
+   session->protocol_state = SMTP_STATE_INIT;
+
+   session->cfg = cfg;
+
+   session->use_ssl = 0;  // use SSL/TLS
+   session->starttls = 0; // SSL/TLS communication is active (1) or not (0)
+   session->ctx = NULL;
+   session->ssl = NULL;
+
+   memset(session->buf, 0, SMALLBUFSIZE);
+   memset(session->remote_host, 0, INET6_ADDRSTRLEN);
+
+   reset_bdat_counters(session);
+
+   time(&(session->lasttime));
+}
+
+
+void free_smtp_session(struct smtp_session *session){
+
+   if(session){
+
+      if(session->use_ssl == 1){
+         SSL_shutdown(session->ssl);
+         SSL_free(session->ssl);
+      }
+
+      if(session->ctx) SSL_CTX_free(session->ctx);
+
+      free(session);
+   }
+}
+
+
+void tear_down_session(struct smtp_session **sessions, int slot, int *num_connections){
+   syslog(LOG_PRIORITY, "disconnected from %s", sessions[slot]->remote_host);
+
+   close(sessions[slot]->socket);
+
+   free_smtp_session(sessions[slot]);
+   sessions[slot] = NULL;
+
+   (*num_connections)--;
+}
+
+
+void handle_data(struct smtp_session *session, char *readbuf, int readlen){
+   char *p, puf[MAXBUFSIZE];
+   int result;
+
+   // process BDAT stuff
+
+   if(session->protocol_state == SMTP_STATE_BDAT){
+      if(session->bad == 1){
+         // something bad happened in the BDAT processing
+         return;
+      }
+
+      process_bdat(session, readbuf, readlen);
+   }
+
+   // process DATA
+
+   else if(session->protocol_state == SMTP_STATE_DATA){
+      process_data(session, readbuf, readlen);
+   }
+
+   // process other SMTP commands
+
+   else {
+      //printf("len=%d, buf=*%s*\n\n\n", readlen, readbuf);
+
+      if(session->buflen > 0){
+         snprintf(puf, sizeof(puf)-1, "%s%s", session->buf, readbuf);
+         snprintf(readbuf, BIGBUFSIZE-1, "%s", puf);
+
+         session->buflen = 0;
+         memset(session->buf, 0, SMALLBUFSIZE);
+      }
+
+      p = readbuf;
+
+      do {
+         memset(puf, 0, sizeof(puf));
+         p = split(p, '\n', puf, sizeof(puf)-1, &result);
+
+         if(puf[0] == '\0') continue;
+
+         if(result == 1){
+            process_smtp_command(session, puf);
+
+            // if chunking is enabled and we have data after BDAT <len>
+            // then process the rest
+
+            if(session->cfg->enable_chunking == 1 && p && session->protocol_state == SMTP_STATE_BDAT){
+               process_bdat(session, p, strlen(p));
+               break;
+            }
+         }
+         else {
+            snprintf(session->buf, SMALLBUFSIZE-1, "%s", puf);
+            session->buflen = strlen(puf);
+         }
+      } while(p);
+
+   }
+
+}
+