diff --git a/utils/misc/src/test/java/org/onlab/util/BlockingBooleanTest.java b/utils/misc/src/test/java/org/onlab/util/BlockingBooleanTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..087b692
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/misc/src/test/java/org/onlab/util/BlockingBooleanTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,208 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2015 Open Networking Laboratory
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.onlab.util;
+
+import org.apache.commons.lang.mutable.MutableBoolean;
+import org.junit.Ignore;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.*;
+
+/**
+ * Tests of the BlockingBoolean utility.
+ */
+public class BlockingBooleanTest  {
+
+    @Test
+    public void basics() {
+        BlockingBoolean b = new BlockingBoolean(false);
+        assertEquals(false, b.get());
+        b.set(true);
+        assertEquals(true, b.get());
+        b.set(true);
+        assertEquals(true, b.get());
+        b.set(false);
+        assertEquals(false, b.get());
+    }
+
+    private void waitChange(boolean value, int numThreads) {
+        BlockingBoolean b = new BlockingBoolean(!value);
+
+        CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(numThreads);
+        ExecutorService exec = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(numThreads);
+        for (int i = 0; i < numThreads; i++) {
+            exec.submit(() -> {
+                try {
+                    b.await(value);
+                    latch.countDown();
+                } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                    fail();
+                }
+            });
+        }
+        b.set(value);
+        try {
+            assertTrue(latch.await(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+        exec.shutdown();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void waitTrueChange() {
+        waitChange(true, 4);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void waitFalseChange() {
+        waitChange(false, 4);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void waitSame() {
+        BlockingBoolean b = new BlockingBoolean(true);
+
+        CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        ExecutorService exec = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
+        exec.submit(() -> {
+            try {
+                b.await(true);
+                latch.countDown();
+            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                fail();
+            }
+        });
+        try {
+            assertTrue(latch.await(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+        exec.shutdown();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void someWait() {
+        BlockingBoolean b = new BlockingBoolean(false);
+
+        int numThreads = 4;
+        CountDownLatch sameLatch = new CountDownLatch(numThreads / 2);
+        CountDownLatch waitLatch = new CountDownLatch(numThreads / 2);
+
+        ExecutorService exec = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(numThreads);
+        for (int i = 0; i < numThreads; i++) {
+            final boolean value = (i % 2 == 1);
+            exec.submit(() -> {
+                try {
+                    b.await(value);
+                    if (value) {
+                        waitLatch.countDown();
+                    } else {
+                        sameLatch.countDown();
+                    }
+                } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                    fail();
+                }
+            });
+        }
+        try {
+            assertTrue(sameLatch.await(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+            assertEquals(waitLatch.getCount(), numThreads / 2);
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+        b.set(true);
+        try {
+            assertTrue(waitLatch.await(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+        exec.shutdown();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void waitTimeout() {
+        BlockingBoolean b = new BlockingBoolean(true);
+
+        CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        ExecutorService exec = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
+        exec.submit(() -> {
+            try {
+                if (!b.await(false, 1, TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS)) {
+                    latch.countDown();
+                } else {
+                    fail();
+                }
+            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                fail();
+            }
+        });
+        try {
+            assertTrue(latch.await(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+        exec.shutdown();
+
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @Ignore
+    public void samePerf() {
+        int iters = 10_000;
+
+        BlockingBoolean b1 = new BlockingBoolean(false);
+        long t1 = System.nanoTime();
+        for (int i = 0; i < iters; i++) {
+            b1.set(false);
+        }
+        long t2 = System.nanoTime();
+        MutableBoolean b2 = new MutableBoolean(false);
+        for (int i = 0; i < iters; i++) {
+            b2.setValue(false);
+        }
+        long t3 = System.nanoTime();
+        System.out.println((t2 - t1) + " " + (t3 - t2) + " " + ((t2 - t1) <= (t3 - t2)));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @Ignore
+    public void changePerf() {
+        int iters = 10_000;
+
+        BlockingBoolean b1 = new BlockingBoolean(false);
+        boolean v = true;
+        long t1 = System.nanoTime();
+        for (int i = 0; i < iters; i++) {
+            b1.set(v);
+            v = !v;
+        }
+        long t2 = System.nanoTime();
+        MutableBoolean b2 = new MutableBoolean(false);
+        for (int i = 0; i < iters; i++) {
+            b2.setValue(v);
+            v = !v;
+        }
+        long t3 = System.nanoTime();
+        System.out.println((t2 - t1) + " " + (t3 - t2) + " " + ((t2 - t1) <= (t3 - t2)));
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/utils/misc/src/test/java/org/onlab/util/BoundedThreadPoolTest.java b/utils/misc/src/test/java/org/onlab/util/BoundedThreadPoolTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c6132de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/misc/src/test/java/org/onlab/util/BoundedThreadPoolTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2015 Open Networking Laboratory
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.onlab.util;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+import java.util.concurrent.Future;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.*;
+import static org.onlab.util.BoundedThreadPool.*;
+import static org.onlab.util.Tools.namedThreads;
+
+/**
+ * Test of BoundedThreadPool.
+ */
+public final class BoundedThreadPoolTest {
+
+    @Test
+    public void simpleJob() {
+        final Thread myThread = Thread.currentThread();
+        final AtomicBoolean sameThread = new AtomicBoolean(true);
+        final CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+
+        BoundedThreadPool exec = newSingleThreadExecutor(namedThreads("test"));
+        exec.submit(() -> {
+            sameThread.set(myThread.equals(Thread.currentThread()));
+            latch.countDown();
+        });
+
+        try {
+            assertTrue("Job not run", latch.await(100, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+            assertFalse("Runnable used caller thread", sameThread.get());
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        } finally {
+            exec.shutdown();
+        }
+
+        // TODO perhaps move to tearDown
+        try {
+            assertTrue(exec.awaitTermination(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private List<CountDownLatch> fillExecutor(BoundedThreadPool exec) {
+        int numThreads = exec.getMaximumPoolSize();
+        List<CountDownLatch> latches = Lists.newArrayList();
+        final CountDownLatch started = new CountDownLatch(numThreads);
+        List<CountDownLatch> finished = Lists.newArrayList();
+
+        // seed the executor's threads
+        for (int i = 0; i < numThreads; i++) {
+            final CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+            final CountDownLatch fin = new CountDownLatch(1);
+            latches.add(latch);
+            finished.add(fin);
+            exec.submit(() -> {
+                try {
+                    started.countDown();
+                    latch.await();
+                    fin.countDown();
+                } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                    fail();
+                }
+            });
+        }
+        try {
+            assertTrue(started.await(100, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+        // fill the queue
+        CountDownLatch startedBlocked = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        while (exec.getQueue().remainingCapacity() > 0) {
+            final CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+            latches.add(latch);
+            exec.submit(() -> {
+                try {
+                    startedBlocked.countDown();
+                    latch.await();
+                } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                    fail();
+                }
+            });
+        }
+
+        latches.remove(0).countDown(); // release one of the executors
+        // ... we need to do this because load is recomputed when jobs are taken
+        // Note: For this to work, 1 / numThreads must be less than the load threshold (0.2)
+
+        // verify that the old job has terminated
+        try {
+            assertTrue("Job didn't finish",
+                       finished.remove(0).await(100, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+
+        // verify that a previously blocked thread has started
+        try {
+            assertTrue(startedBlocked.await(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+
+
+        // add another job to fill the queue
+        final CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        latches.add(latch);
+        exec.submit(() -> {
+            try {
+                latch.await();
+            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                fail();
+            }
+        });
+        assertEquals(exec.getQueue().size(), maxQueueSize);
+
+        return latches;
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void releaseOneThread() {
+        maxQueueSize = 10;
+        BoundedThreadPool exec = newFixedThreadPool(4, namedThreads("test"));
+        List<CountDownLatch> latches = fillExecutor(exec);
+
+        CountDownLatch myLatch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+        ExecutorService myExec = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
+        Future<Thread> expected = myExec.submit(Thread::currentThread);
+
+        assertEquals(exec.getQueue().size(), maxQueueSize);
+        long start = System.nanoTime();
+        Future<Thread> actual = myExec.submit(() -> {
+            return exec.submit(() -> {
+                myLatch.countDown();
+                return Thread.currentThread();
+            }).get();
+        });
+
+        try {
+            assertFalse("Thread should still be blocked",
+                        myLatch.await(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+
+            latches.remove(0).countDown(); // release the first thread
+            assertFalse("Thread should still be blocked",
+                        myLatch.await(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+            latches.remove(0).countDown(); // release the second thread
+
+            assertTrue("Thread should be unblocked",
+                       myLatch.await(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS));
+            long delta = System.nanoTime() - start;
+            double load = exec.getQueue().size() / (double) maxQueueSize;
+            assertTrue("Load is greater than threshold", load <= 0.8);
+            assertTrue("Load is less than threshold", load >= 0.6);
+            assertEquals("Work done on wrong thread", expected.get(), actual.get());
+            assertTrue("Took more than one second", delta < Math.pow(10, 9));
+        } catch (InterruptedException | ExecutionException e) {
+            fail();
+        } finally {
+            latches.forEach(CountDownLatch::countDown);
+            exec.shutdown();
+        }
+
+        // TODO perhaps move to tearDown
+        try {
+            assertTrue(exec.awaitTermination(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void highLoadTimeout() {
+        maxQueueSize = 10;
+        BoundedThreadPool exec = newFixedThreadPool(2, namedThreads("test"));
+        List<CountDownLatch> latches = fillExecutor(exec);
+
+        // true if the job is executed and it is done on the test thread
+        final AtomicBoolean sameThread = new AtomicBoolean(false);
+        final Thread myThread = Thread.currentThread();
+        long start = System.nanoTime();
+        exec.submit(() -> {
+            sameThread.set(myThread.equals(Thread.currentThread()));
+        });
+
+        long delta = System.nanoTime() - start;
+        assertEquals(maxQueueSize, exec.getQueue().size());
+        assertTrue("Work done on wrong thread (or didn't happen)", sameThread.get());
+        assertTrue("Took less than one second. Actual: " + delta / 1_000_000.0 + "ms",
+                   delta > Math.pow(10, 9));
+        assertTrue("Took more than two seconds", delta < 2 * Math.pow(10, 9));
+        latches.forEach(CountDownLatch::countDown);
+        exec.shutdown();
+
+        // TODO perhaps move to tearDown
+        try {
+            assertTrue(exec.awaitTermination(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            fail();
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file