diff --git a/common/kvstore/kv_client.py b/common/kvstore/kv_client.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a7d207
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/kvstore/kv_client.py
@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
+# Copyright 2017-present Open Networking Foundation
+#
+# 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.
+
+from common.utils.asleep import asleep
+from structlog import get_logger
+from twisted.internet.defer import inlineCallbacks
+
+log = get_logger()
+
+class KVPair():
+    def __init__(self, key, value, index):
+        self.key = key
+        self.value = value
+        self.index = index
+
+class Event():
+    PUT = 0
+    DELETE = 1
+    CONNECTION_DOWN = 2
+
+    def __init__(self, event_type, key, value):
+        self.event_type = event_type
+        self.key = key
+        self.value = value
+
+RETRY_BACKOFF = [0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5]
+DEFAULT_TIMEOUT = 0.0
+for i in range(len(RETRY_BACKOFF)):
+    DEFAULT_TIMEOUT += RETRY_BACKOFF[i]
+
+class KVClient():
+
+    def __init__(self, kv_host, kv_port):
+        self.host = kv_host
+        self.port = kv_port
+        self.key_reservations = {}
+        self.key_watches = {}
+        self.retries = 0
+        self.retry_time = 0
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def get(self, key, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        This method returns the value of the given key in KV store.
+
+        :param key: The key whose value is requested
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: (KVPair, error) where KVPair is None if an error occurred
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def list(self, key, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        The list method returns an array of key-value pairs all of which
+        share the same key prefix.
+
+        :param key: The key prefix
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: ([]KVPair, error) where []KVPair is a list of KVPair objects
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def put(self, key, value, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        The put method writes a value to the given key in KV store.
+        Do NOT modify a reserved key in an etcd store; doing so seems
+        to nullify the TTL of the key. In other words, the key lasts
+        forever.
+
+        :param key: The key to be written to
+        :param value: The value of the key
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: error, which is set to None for a successful write
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def delete(self, key, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        The delete method removes a key from the KV store.
+
+        :param key: The key to be deleted
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: error, which is set to None for a successful deletion
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def reserve(self, key, value, ttl, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        This method acts essentially like a semaphore. The underlying mechanism
+        differs depending on the KV store: etcd uses a test-and-set transaction;
+        consul uses an acquire lock. If using etcd, do NOT write to the key
+        subsequent to the initial reservation; the TTL functionality may become
+        impaired (i.e. the reservation never expires).
+
+        :param key: The key under reservation
+        :param value: The reservation owner
+        :param ttl: The time-to-live (TTL) for the reservation. The key is unreserved
+        by the KV store when the TTL expires.
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: (key_value, error) If the key is acquired, then the value returned will
+        be the value passed in.  If the key is already acquired, then the value assigned
+        to that key will be returned.
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def renew_reservation(self, key, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        This method renews the reservation for a given key. A reservation expires
+        after the TTL (Time To Live) period specified when reserving the key.
+
+        :param key: The reserved key
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: error, which is set to None for a successful renewal
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def release_reservation(self, key, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        The release_reservation method cancels the reservation for a given key.
+
+        :param key: The reserved key
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: error, which is set to None for a successful cancellation
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def release_all_reservations(self, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        This method cancels all key reservations made previously
+        using the reserve API.
+
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: error, which is set to None for a successful cancellation
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def watch(self, key, key_change_callback, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        This method provides a watch capability for the given key. If the value of the key
+        changes or the key is deleted, then an event indicating the change is passed to
+        the given callback function.
+
+        :param key: The key to be watched
+        :param key_change_callback: The function invoked whenever the key changes
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: There is no return; key change events are passed to the callback function
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def close_watch(self, key, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+        '''
+        This method closes the watch on the given key. Once the watch is closed, key
+        change events are no longer passed to the key change callback function.
+
+        :param key: The key under watch
+        :param timeout: The length of time in seconds the method will wait for a response
+        :return: There is no return
+        '''
+        raise NotImplementedError('Method not implemented')
+
+
+    def _backoff(self, msg):
+        wait_time = RETRY_BACKOFF[min(self.retries, len(RETRY_BACKOFF) - 1)]
+        self.retry_time += wait_time
+        self.retries += 1
+        log.error(msg, next_retry_in_secs=wait_time,
+                  total_delay_in_secs = self.retry_time,
+                  retries=self.retries)
+        return asleep(wait_time)
+
+    def _clear_backoff(self):
+        if self.retries:
+            log.debug('reset-backoff', after_retries=self.retries)
+            self.retries = 0
+            self.retry_time = 0
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