diff --git a/libraries/AP_HAL/utility/Socket.cpp b/libraries/AP_HAL/utility/Socket.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..96c13c6bac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libraries/AP_HAL/utility/Socket.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+/*
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program 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 General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+/*
+  simple socket handling class for systems with BSD socket API
+ */
+
+#include <AP_HAL.h>
+#if HAL_OS_SOCKETS
+
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <sys/ioctl.h>
+#include <sys/socket.h>
+#include <netinet/in.h>
+#include <netinet/tcp.h>
+#include <arpa/inet.h>
+#include <sys/select.h>
+
+#include "Socket.h"
+
+/*
+  constructor
+ */
+SocketAPM::SocketAPM(bool _datagram) :
+datagram(_datagram)
+{
+    fd = socket(AF_INET, datagram?SOCK_DGRAM:SOCK_STREAM, 0);
+}
+
+/*
+  connect the socket
+ */
+bool SocketAPM::connect(const char *address, uint16_t port)
+{
+    struct sockaddr_in sockaddr;
+    memset(&sockaddr, 0, sizeof(sockaddr));
+
+#ifdef HAVE_SOCK_SIN_LEN
+    sockaddr.sin_len = sizeof(sockaddr);
+#endif
+    sockaddr.sin_port = htons(port);
+    sockaddr.sin_family = AF_INET;
+    sockaddr.sin_addr.s_addr = inet_addr(address);
+
+    if (::connect(fd, (struct sockaddr *)&sockaddr, sizeof(sockaddr)) != 0) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+/*
+  bind the socket
+ */
+bool SocketAPM::bind(const char *address, uint16_t port)
+{
+    struct sockaddr_in sockaddr;
+    memset(&sockaddr, 0, sizeof(sockaddr));
+
+#ifdef HAVE_SOCK_SIN_LEN
+    sockaddr.sin_len = sizeof(sockaddr);
+#endif
+    sockaddr.sin_port = htons(port);
+    sockaddr.sin_family = AF_INET;
+    sockaddr.sin_addr.s_addr = inet_addr(address);
+
+    if (::bind(fd, (struct sockaddr *)&sockaddr, sizeof(sockaddr)) != 0) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+
+/*
+  set SO_REUSEADDR
+ */
+void SocketAPM::reuseaddress(void)
+{
+    int one = 1;
+    setsockopt(fd, SOL_SOCKET, SO_REUSEADDR, &one, sizeof(one));
+}
+
+/*
+  set blocking state
+ */
+void SocketAPM::set_blocking(bool blocking)
+{
+    if (blocking) {
+        fcntl(fd, F_SETFL, fcntl(fd, F_GETFL, 0) & ~O_NONBLOCK);
+    } else {
+        fcntl(fd, F_SETFL, fcntl(fd, F_GETFL, 0) | O_NONBLOCK);
+    }
+}
+
+/*
+  send some data
+ */
+ssize_t SocketAPM::send(void *buf, size_t size)
+{
+    return ::send(fd, buf, size, 0);
+}
+
+/*
+  receive some data
+ */
+ssize_t SocketAPM::recv(void *buf, size_t size, uint32_t timeout_ms)
+{
+    fd_set fds;
+    struct timeval tv;
+
+    FD_ZERO(&fds);
+    FD_SET(fd, &fds);
+
+    tv.tv_sec = timeout_ms / 1000;
+    tv.tv_usec = (timeout_ms % 1000) * 1000UL;
+
+    if (select(fd+1, &fds, NULL, NULL, &tv) != 1) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+    
+    return ::recv(fd, buf, size, 0);
+}
+
+#endif // HAL_OS_SOCKETS
diff --git a/libraries/AP_HAL/utility/Socket.h b/libraries/AP_HAL/utility/Socket.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3c332f5da9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libraries/AP_HAL/utility/Socket.h
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program 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 General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+/*
+  simple socket handling class for systems with BSD socket API
+ */
+
+#include <AP_HAL.h>
+#if HAL_OS_SOCKETS
+
+class SocketAPM {
+public:
+    SocketAPM(bool _datagram);
+    bool connect(const char *address, uint16_t port);
+    bool bind(const char *address, uint16_t port);
+    void reuseaddress();
+    void set_blocking(bool blocking);
+
+    ssize_t send(void *pkt, size_t size);
+    ssize_t recv(void *pkt, size_t size, uint32_t timeout_ms);
+
+private:
+    bool datagram;
+    int fd;
+};
+
+#endif // HAL_OS_SOCKETS