diff --git a/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/ClusterDefinitionStore.java b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/ClusterDefinitionStore.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4dc67d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/ClusterDefinitionStore.java
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+package org.onlab.onos.store.cluster.impl;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonEncoding;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonFactory;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ArrayNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ObjectNode;
+import org.onlab.onos.cluster.DefaultControllerNode;
+import org.onlab.onos.cluster.NodeId;
+import org.onlab.packet.IpPrefix;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.Iterator;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+/**
+ * Allows for reading and writing cluster definition as a JSON file.
+ */
+public class ClusterDefinitionStore {
+
+    private final File file;
+
+    /**
+     * Creates a reader/writer of the cluster definition file.
+     *
+     * @param filePath location of the definition file
+     */
+    public ClusterDefinitionStore(String filePath) {
+        file = new File(filePath);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns set of the controller nodes, including self.
+     *
+     * @return set of controller nodes
+     */
+    public Set<DefaultControllerNode> read() throws IOException {
+        Set<DefaultControllerNode> nodes = new HashSet<>();
+        ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
+        ObjectNode clusterNodeDef = (ObjectNode) mapper.readTree(file);
+        Iterator<JsonNode> it = ((ArrayNode) clusterNodeDef.get("nodes")).elements();
+        while (it.hasNext()) {
+            ObjectNode nodeDef = (ObjectNode) it.next();
+            nodes.add(new DefaultControllerNode(new NodeId(nodeDef.get("id").asText()),
+                                                IpPrefix.valueOf(nodeDef.get("ip").asText()),
+                                                nodeDef.get("tcpPort").asInt(9876)));
+        }
+        return nodes;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Writes the given set of the controller nodes.
+     *
+     * @param nodes set of controller nodes
+     */
+    public void write(Set<DefaultControllerNode> nodes) throws IOException {
+        ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
+        ObjectNode clusterNodeDef = mapper.createObjectNode();
+        ArrayNode nodeDefs = mapper.createArrayNode();
+        clusterNodeDef.set("nodes", nodeDefs);
+        for (DefaultControllerNode node : nodes) {
+            ObjectNode nodeDef = mapper.createObjectNode();
+            nodeDef.put("id", node.id().toString())
+                    .put("ip", node.ip().toString())
+                    .put("tcpPort", node.tcpPort());
+            nodeDefs.add(nodeDef);
+        }
+        mapper.writeTree(new JsonFactory().createGenerator(file, JsonEncoding.UTF8),
+                         clusterNodeDef);
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/DistributedClusterStore.java b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/DistributedClusterStore.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08a182b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/DistributedClusterStore.java
@@ -0,0 +1,362 @@
+package org.onlab.onos.store.cluster.impl;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
+import org.apache.felix.scr.annotations.Activate;
+import org.apache.felix.scr.annotations.Component;
+import org.apache.felix.scr.annotations.Deactivate;
+import org.apache.felix.scr.annotations.Service;
+import org.onlab.nio.AcceptorLoop;
+import org.onlab.nio.IOLoop;
+import org.onlab.nio.MessageStream;
+import org.onlab.onos.cluster.ClusterEvent;
+import org.onlab.onos.cluster.ClusterStore;
+import org.onlab.onos.cluster.ClusterStoreDelegate;
+import org.onlab.onos.cluster.ControllerNode;
+import org.onlab.onos.cluster.DefaultControllerNode;
+import org.onlab.onos.cluster.NodeId;
+import org.onlab.onos.store.AbstractStore;
+import org.onlab.packet.IpPrefix;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
+import java.net.Socket;
+import java.net.SocketAddress;
+import java.nio.channels.ByteChannel;
+import java.nio.channels.SelectionKey;
+import java.nio.channels.ServerSocketChannel;
+import java.nio.channels.SocketChannel;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.Timer;
+import java.util.TimerTask;
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+
+import static java.net.InetAddress.getByAddress;
+import static org.onlab.onos.cluster.ControllerNode.State;
+import static org.onlab.packet.IpPrefix.valueOf;
+import static org.onlab.util.Tools.namedThreads;
+
+/**
+ * Distributed implementation of the cluster nodes store.
+ */
+@Component(immediate = true)
+@Service
+public class DistributedClusterStore
+        extends AbstractStore<ClusterEvent, ClusterStoreDelegate>
+        implements ClusterStore {
+
+    private static final int HELLO_MSG = 1;
+    private static final int ECHO_MSG = 2;
+
+    private final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(getClass());
+
+    private static final long CONNECTION_CUSTODIAN_DELAY = 1000L;
+    private static final long CONNECTION_CUSTODIAN_FREQUENCY = 5000;
+
+    private static final long START_TIMEOUT = 1000;
+    private static final long SELECT_TIMEOUT = 50;
+    private static final int WORKERS = 3;
+    private static final int COMM_BUFFER_SIZE = 32 * 1024;
+    private static final int COMM_IDLE_TIME = 500;
+
+    private static final boolean SO_NO_DELAY = false;
+    private static final int SO_SEND_BUFFER_SIZE = COMM_BUFFER_SIZE;
+    private static final int SO_RCV_BUFFER_SIZE = COMM_BUFFER_SIZE;
+
+    private DefaultControllerNode self;
+    private final Map<NodeId, DefaultControllerNode> nodes = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+    private final Map<NodeId, State> states = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+
+    // Means to track message streams to other nodes.
+    private final Map<NodeId, TLVMessageStream> streams = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+    private final Map<SocketChannel, DefaultControllerNode> nodesByChannel = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+
+    // Executor pools for listening and managing connections to other nodes.
+    private final ExecutorService listenExecutor =
+            Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor(namedThreads("onos-comm-listen"));
+    private final ExecutorService commExecutors =
+            Executors.newFixedThreadPool(WORKERS, namedThreads("onos-comm-cluster"));
+    private final ExecutorService heartbeatExecutor =
+            Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor(namedThreads("onos-comm-heartbeat"));
+
+    private final Timer timer = new Timer("onos-comm-initiator");
+    private final TimerTask connectionCustodian = new ConnectionCustodian();
+
+    private ListenLoop listenLoop;
+    private List<CommLoop> commLoops = new ArrayList<>(WORKERS);
+
+    @Activate
+    public void activate() {
+        loadClusterDefinition();
+        startCommunications();
+        startListening();
+        startInitiating();
+        log.info("Started");
+    }
+
+    @Deactivate
+    public void deactivate() {
+        listenLoop.shutdown();
+        for (CommLoop loop : commLoops) {
+            loop.shutdown();
+        }
+        log.info("Stopped");
+    }
+
+    // Loads the cluster definition file
+    private void loadClusterDefinition() {
+//        ClusterDefinitionStore cds = new ClusterDefinitionStore("../config/cluster.json");
+//        try {
+//            Set<DefaultControllerNode> storedNodes = cds.read();
+//            for (DefaultControllerNode node : storedNodes) {
+//                nodes.put(node.id(), node);
+//            }
+//        } catch (IOException e) {
+//            log.error("Unable to read cluster definitions", e);
+//        }
+
+        // Establishes the controller's own identity.
+        IpPrefix ip = valueOf(System.getProperty("onos.ip", "127.0.1.1"));
+        self = nodes.get(new NodeId(ip.toString()));
+
+        // As a fall-back, let's make sure we at least know who we are.
+        if (self == null) {
+            self = new DefaultControllerNode(new NodeId(ip.toString()), ip);
+            nodes.put(self.id(), self);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Kicks off the IO loops.
+    private void startCommunications() {
+        for (int i = 0; i < WORKERS; i++) {
+            try {
+                CommLoop loop = new CommLoop();
+                commLoops.add(loop);
+                commExecutors.execute(loop);
+            } catch (IOException e) {
+                log.warn("Unable to start comm IO loop", e);
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Wait for the IO loops to start
+        for (CommLoop loop : commLoops) {
+            if (!loop.awaitStart(START_TIMEOUT)) {
+                log.warn("Comm loop did not start on-time; moving on...");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Starts listening for connections from peer cluster members.
+    private void startListening() {
+        try {
+            listenLoop = new ListenLoop(self.ip(), self.tcpPort());
+            listenExecutor.execute(listenLoop);
+            if (!listenLoop.awaitStart(START_TIMEOUT)) {
+                log.warn("Listen loop did not start on-time; moving on...");
+            }
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            log.error("Unable to listen for cluster connections", e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Initiates open connection request and registers the pending socket
+     * channel with the given IO loop.
+     *
+     * @param loop loop with which the channel should be registered
+     * @throws java.io.IOException if the socket could not be open or connected
+     */
+    private void openConnection(DefaultControllerNode node, CommLoop loop) throws IOException {
+        SocketAddress sa = new InetSocketAddress(getByAddress(node.ip().toOctets()), node.tcpPort());
+        SocketChannel ch = SocketChannel.open();
+        nodesByChannel.put(ch, node);
+        ch.configureBlocking(false);
+        ch.connect(sa);
+        loop.connectStream(ch);
+    }
+
+
+    // Attempts to connect to any nodes that do not have an associated connection.
+    private void startInitiating() {
+        timer.schedule(connectionCustodian, CONNECTION_CUSTODIAN_DELAY, CONNECTION_CUSTODIAN_FREQUENCY);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ControllerNode getLocalNode() {
+        return self;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Set<ControllerNode> getNodes() {
+        ImmutableSet.Builder<ControllerNode> builder = ImmutableSet.builder();
+        return builder.addAll(nodes.values()).build();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ControllerNode getNode(NodeId nodeId) {
+        return nodes.get(nodeId);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public State getState(NodeId nodeId) {
+        State state = states.get(nodeId);
+        return state == null ? State.INACTIVE : state;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ControllerNode addNode(NodeId nodeId, IpPrefix ip, int tcpPort) {
+        DefaultControllerNode node = new DefaultControllerNode(nodeId, ip, tcpPort);
+        nodes.put(nodeId, node);
+        return node;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void removeNode(NodeId nodeId) {
+        nodes.remove(nodeId);
+        streams.remove(nodeId);
+    }
+
+    // Listens and accepts inbound connections from other cluster nodes.
+    private class ListenLoop extends AcceptorLoop {
+        ListenLoop(IpPrefix ip, int tcpPort) throws IOException {
+            super(SELECT_TIMEOUT, new InetSocketAddress(getByAddress(ip.toOctets()), tcpPort));
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        protected void acceptConnection(ServerSocketChannel channel) throws IOException {
+            SocketChannel sc = channel.accept();
+            sc.configureBlocking(false);
+
+            Socket so = sc.socket();
+            so.setTcpNoDelay(SO_NO_DELAY);
+            so.setReceiveBufferSize(SO_RCV_BUFFER_SIZE);
+            so.setSendBufferSize(SO_SEND_BUFFER_SIZE);
+
+            findLeastUtilizedLoop().acceptStream(sc);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private class CommLoop extends IOLoop<TLVMessage, TLVMessageStream> {
+        CommLoop() throws IOException {
+            super(SELECT_TIMEOUT);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        protected TLVMessageStream createStream(ByteChannel byteChannel) {
+            return new TLVMessageStream(this, byteChannel, COMM_BUFFER_SIZE, COMM_IDLE_TIME);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        protected void processMessages(List<TLVMessage> messages, MessageStream<TLVMessage> stream) {
+            TLVMessageStream tlvStream = (TLVMessageStream) stream;
+            for (TLVMessage message : messages) {
+                // TODO: add type-based dispatching here...
+                log.info("Got message {}", message.type());
+
+                // FIXME: hack to get going
+                if (message.type() == HELLO_MSG) {
+                    processHello(message, tlvStream);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public TLVMessageStream acceptStream(SocketChannel channel) {
+            TLVMessageStream stream = super.acceptStream(channel);
+            try {
+                InetSocketAddress sa = (InetSocketAddress) channel.getRemoteAddress();
+                log.info("Accepted a new connection from node {}", IpPrefix.valueOf(sa.getAddress().getAddress()));
+                stream.write(createHello(self));
+
+            } catch (IOException e) {
+                log.warn("Unable to accept connection from an unknown end-point", e);
+            }
+            return stream;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public TLVMessageStream connectStream(SocketChannel channel) {
+            TLVMessageStream stream = super.connectStream(channel);
+            DefaultControllerNode node = nodesByChannel.get(channel);
+            if (node != null) {
+                log.info("Opened connection to node {}", node.id());
+                nodesByChannel.remove(channel);
+            }
+            return stream;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        protected void connect(SelectionKey key) {
+            super.connect(key);
+            TLVMessageStream stream = (TLVMessageStream) key.attachment();
+            send(stream, createHello(self));
+        }
+    }
+
+    // FIXME: pure hack for now
+    private void processHello(TLVMessage message, TLVMessageStream stream) {
+        String data = new String(message.data());
+        log.info("Processing hello with data [{}]", data);
+        String[] fields = new String(data).split(":");
+        DefaultControllerNode node = new DefaultControllerNode(new NodeId(fields[0]),
+                                                               IpPrefix.valueOf(fields[1]),
+                                                               Integer.parseInt(fields[2]));
+        stream.setNode(node);
+        nodes.put(node.id(), node);
+        streams.put(node.id(), stream);
+    }
+
+    // Sends message to the specified stream.
+    private void send(TLVMessageStream stream, TLVMessage message) {
+        try {
+            stream.write(message);
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            log.warn("Unable to send message to {}", stream.node().id());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private TLVMessage createHello(DefaultControllerNode self) {
+        return new TLVMessage(HELLO_MSG, (self.id() + ":" + self.ip() + ":" + self.tcpPort()).getBytes());
+    }
+
+    // Sweeps through all controller nodes and attempts to open connection to
+    // those that presently do not have one.
+    private class ConnectionCustodian extends TimerTask {
+        @Override
+        public void run() {
+            for (DefaultControllerNode node : nodes.values()) {
+                if (node != self && !streams.containsKey(node.id())) {
+                    try {
+                        openConnection(node, findLeastUtilizedLoop());
+                    } catch (IOException e) {
+                        log.warn("Unable to connect", e);
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Finds the least utilities IO loop.
+    private CommLoop findLeastUtilizedLoop() {
+        CommLoop leastUtilized = null;
+        int minCount = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
+        for (CommLoop loop : commLoops) {
+            int count = loop.streamCount();
+            if (count == 0) {
+                return loop;
+            }
+
+            if (count < minCount) {
+                leastUtilized = loop;
+                minCount = count;
+            }
+        }
+        return leastUtilized;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/TLVMessage.java b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/TLVMessage.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..246f8ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/TLVMessage.java
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+package org.onlab.onos.store.cluster.impl;
+
+import org.onlab.nio.AbstractMessage;
+
+import java.util.Objects;
+
+import static com.google.common.base.MoreObjects.toStringHelper;
+
+/**
+ * Base message for cluster-wide communications using TLVs.
+ */
+public class TLVMessage extends AbstractMessage {
+
+    private final int type;
+    private final byte[] data;
+
+    /**
+     * Creates an immutable TLV message.
+     *
+     * @param type   message type
+     * @param data   message data bytes
+     */
+    public TLVMessage(int type, byte[] data) {
+        this.length = data.length + TLVMessageStream.METADATA_LENGTH;
+        this.type = type;
+        this.data = data;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the message type indicator.
+     *
+     * @return message type
+     */
+    public int type() {
+        return type;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the data bytes.
+     *
+     * @return message data
+     */
+    public byte[] data() {
+        return data;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int hashCode() {
+        return Objects.hash(type, data);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean equals(Object obj) {
+        if (this == obj) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        if (obj == null || getClass() != obj.getClass()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        final TLVMessage other = (TLVMessage) obj;
+        return Objects.equals(this.type, other.type) &&
+                Objects.equals(this.data, other.data);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        return toStringHelper(this).add("type", type).add("length", length).toString();
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/TLVMessageStream.java b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/TLVMessageStream.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b003945
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onlab/onos/store/cluster/impl/TLVMessageStream.java
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+package org.onlab.onos.store.cluster.impl;
+
+import org.onlab.nio.IOLoop;
+import org.onlab.nio.MessageStream;
+import org.onlab.onos.cluster.DefaultControllerNode;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.nio.channels.ByteChannel;
+
+import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkState;
+
+/**
+ * Stream for transferring TLV messages between cluster members.
+ */
+public class TLVMessageStream extends MessageStream<TLVMessage> {
+
+    public static final int METADATA_LENGTH = 16; // 8 + 4 + 4
+
+    private static final int LENGTH_OFFSET = 12;
+    private static final long MARKER = 0xfeedcafecafefeedL;
+
+    private DefaultControllerNode node;
+
+    /**
+     * Creates a message stream associated with the specified IO loop and
+     * backed by the given byte channel.
+     *
+     * @param loop          IO loop
+     * @param byteChannel   backing byte channel
+     * @param bufferSize    size of the backing byte buffers
+     * @param maxIdleMillis maximum number of millis the stream can be idle
+     */
+    protected TLVMessageStream(IOLoop<TLVMessage, ?> loop, ByteChannel byteChannel,
+                               int bufferSize, int maxIdleMillis) {
+        super(loop, byteChannel, bufferSize, maxIdleMillis);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the node with which this stream is associated.
+     *
+     * @return controller node
+     */
+    DefaultControllerNode node() {
+        return node;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Sets the node with which this stream is affiliated.
+     *
+     * @param node controller node
+     */
+    void setNode(DefaultControllerNode node) {
+        checkState(this.node == null, "Stream is already bound to a node");
+        this.node = node;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected TLVMessage read(ByteBuffer buffer) {
+        // Do we have enough bytes to read the header? If not, bail.
+        if (buffer.remaining() < METADATA_LENGTH) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        // Peek at the length and if we have enough to read the entire message
+        // go ahead, otherwise bail.
+        int length = buffer.getInt(buffer.position() + LENGTH_OFFSET);
+        if (buffer.remaining() < length) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        // At this point, we have enough data to read a complete message.
+        long marker = buffer.getLong();
+        checkState(marker == MARKER, "Incorrect message marker");
+
+        int type = buffer.getInt();
+        length = buffer.getInt();
+
+        // TODO: add deserialization hook here
+        byte[] data = new byte[length - METADATA_LENGTH];
+        buffer.get(data);
+
+        return new TLVMessage(type, data);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void write(TLVMessage message, ByteBuffer buffer) {
+        buffer.putLong(MARKER);
+        buffer.putInt(message.type());
+        buffer.putInt(message.length());
+
+        // TODO: add serialization hook here
+        buffer.put(message.data());
+    }
+
+}