diff --git a/utils/netty/src/main/java/org/onlab/netty/messaging/Response.java b/utils/netty/src/main/java/org/onlab/netty/messaging/Response.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04675ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/netty/src/main/java/org/onlab/netty/messaging/Response.java
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+package org.onlab.netty;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;
+
+/**
+ * Response object returned when making synchronous requests.
+ * Can you used to check is a response is ready and/or wait for a response
+ * to become available.
+ *
+ * @param <T> type of response.
+ */
+public interface Response<T> {
+
+    /**
+     * Gets the response waiting for a designated timeout period.
+     * @param timeout timeout period (since request was sent out)
+     * @param tu unit of time.
+     * @return response
+     * @throws TimeoutException if the timeout expires before the response arrives.
+     */
+    public T get(long timeout, TimeUnit tu) throws TimeoutException;
+
+    /**
+     * Gets the response waiting for indefinite timeout period.
+     * @return response
+     * @throws InterruptedException if the thread is interrupted before the response arrives.
+     */
+    public T get() throws InterruptedException;
+
+    /**
+     * Checks if the response is ready without blocking.
+     * @return true if response is ready, false otherwise.
+     */
+    public boolean isReady();
+}