diff --git a/doc/guides/prog_guide/vhost_lib.rst b/doc/guides/prog_guide/vhost_lib.rst
index a4fb1f1..5979290 100644
--- a/doc/guides/prog_guide/vhost_lib.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/prog_guide/vhost_lib.rst
@@ -116,12 +116,6 @@ The following is an overview of some key Vhost API functions:
   vhost-user driver could be vhost-user net, yet it could be something else,
   say, vhost-user SCSI.
 
-* ``rte_vhost_driver_session_start()``
-
-  This function starts the vhost session loop to handle vhost messages. It
-  starts an infinite loop, therefore it should be called in a dedicated
-  thread.
-
 * ``rte_vhost_driver_callback_register(path, vhost_device_ops)``
 
   This function registers a set of callbacks, to let DPDK applications take
@@ -149,6 +143,17 @@ The following is an overview of some key Vhost API functions:
     ``VHOST_F_LOG_ALL`` will be set/cleared at the start/end of live
     migration, respectively.
 
+* ``rte_vhost_driver_disable/enable_features(path, features))``
+
+  This function disables/enables some features. For example, it can be used to
+  disable mergeable buffers and TSO features, which both are enabled by
+  default.
+
+* ``rte_vhost_driver_start(path)``
+
+  This function triggers the vhost-user negotiation. It should be invoked at
+  the end of initializing a vhost-user driver.
+
 * ``rte_vhost_enqueue_burst(vid, queue_id, pkts, count)``
 
   Transmits (enqueues) ``count`` packets from host to guest.
@@ -157,13 +162,6 @@ The following is an overview of some key Vhost API functions:
 
   Receives (dequeues) ``count`` packets from guest, and stored them at ``pkts``.
 
-* ``rte_vhost_driver_disable/enable_features(path, features))``
-
-  This function disables/enables some features. For example, it can be used to
-  disable mergeable buffers and TSO features, which both are enabled by
-  default.
-
-
 Vhost-user Implementations
 --------------------------
 
diff --git a/doc/guides/rel_notes/release_17_05.rst b/doc/guides/rel_notes/release_17_05.rst
index 2efe292..8f06fc4 100644
--- a/doc/guides/rel_notes/release_17_05.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/rel_notes/release_17_05.rst
@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@ New Features
   * Enable Vhost PMD's MTU get feature.
   * Get max MTU value from host in Virtio PMD
 
+* **Made the vhost lib be a generic vhost-user lib.**
+
+  Now it could be used to implement any other vhost-user drivers, such
+  as, vhost-user SCSI.
+
 
 Resolved Issues
 ---------------
@@ -157,6 +162,9 @@ API Changes
    * The vhost struct ``virtio_net_device_ops`` is renamed to
      ``vhost_device_ops``
 
+   * The vhost API ``rte_vhost_driver_session_start`` is removed. Instead,
+     ``rte_vhost_driver_start`` should be used.
+
 
 ABI Changes
 -----------
diff --git a/drivers/net/vhost/rte_eth_vhost.c b/drivers/net/vhost/rte_eth_vhost.c
index 97a765f..e6c0758 100644
--- a/drivers/net/vhost/rte_eth_vhost.c
+++ b/drivers/net/vhost/rte_eth_vhost.c
@@ -127,9 +127,6 @@ struct internal_list {
 
 static pthread_mutex_t internal_list_lock = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
 
-static rte_atomic16_t nb_started_ports;
-static pthread_t session_th;
-
 static struct rte_eth_link pmd_link = {
 		.link_speed = 10000,
 		.link_duplex = ETH_LINK_FULL_DUPLEX,
@@ -743,42 +740,6 @@ struct vhost_xstats_name_off {
 	return vid;
 }
 
-static void *
-vhost_driver_session(void *param __rte_unused)
-{
-	/* start event handling */
-	rte_vhost_driver_session_start();
-
-	return NULL;
-}
-
-static int
-vhost_driver_session_start(void)
-{
-	int ret;
-
-	ret = pthread_create(&session_th,
-			NULL, vhost_driver_session, NULL);
-	if (ret)
-		RTE_LOG(ERR, PMD, "Can't create a thread\n");
-
-	return ret;
-}
-
-static void
-vhost_driver_session_stop(void)
-{
-	int ret;
-
-	ret = pthread_cancel(session_th);
-	if (ret)
-		RTE_LOG(ERR, PMD, "Can't cancel the thread\n");
-
-	ret = pthread_join(session_th, NULL);
-	if (ret)
-		RTE_LOG(ERR, PMD, "Can't join the thread\n");
-}
-
 static int
 eth_dev_start(struct rte_eth_dev *dev)
 {
@@ -1083,10 +1044,10 @@ struct vhost_xstats_name_off {
 		goto error;
 	}
 
-	/* We need only one message handling thread */
-	if (rte_atomic16_add_return(&nb_started_ports, 1) == 1) {
-		if (vhost_driver_session_start())
-			goto error;
+	if (rte_vhost_driver_start(iface_name) < 0) {
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, PMD, "Failed to start driver for %s\n",
+			iface_name);
+		goto error;
 	}
 
 	return data->port_id;
@@ -1213,9 +1174,6 @@ struct vhost_xstats_name_off {
 
 	eth_dev_close(eth_dev);
 
-	if (rte_atomic16_sub_return(&nb_started_ports, 1) == 0)
-		vhost_driver_session_stop();
-
 	rte_free(vring_states[eth_dev->data->port_id]);
 	vring_states[eth_dev->data->port_id] = NULL;
 
diff --git a/examples/tep_termination/main.c b/examples/tep_termination/main.c
index 738f2d2..24c62cd 100644
--- a/examples/tep_termination/main.c
+++ b/examples/tep_termination/main.c
@@ -1263,7 +1263,13 @@ static inline void __attribute__((always_inline))
 			"failed to register vhost driver callbacks.\n");
 	}
 
-	rte_vhost_driver_session_start();
+	if (rte_vhost_driver_start(dev_basename) < 0) {
+		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+			"failed to start vhost driver.\n");
+	}
+
+	RTE_LCORE_FOREACH_SLAVE(lcore_id)
+		rte_eal_wait_lcore(lcore_id);
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/examples/vhost/main.c b/examples/vhost/main.c
index 4395306..64b3eea 100644
--- a/examples/vhost/main.c
+++ b/examples/vhost/main.c
@@ -1545,9 +1545,16 @@ static inline void __attribute__((always_inline))
 			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
 				"failed to register vhost driver callbacks.\n");
 		}
+
+		if (rte_vhost_driver_start(file) < 0) {
+			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+				"failed to start vhost driver.\n");
+		}
 	}
 
-	rte_vhost_driver_session_start();
+	RTE_LCORE_FOREACH_SLAVE(lcore_id)
+		rte_eal_wait_lcore(lcore_id);
+
 	return 0;
 
 }
diff --git a/lib/librte_vhost/fd_man.c b/lib/librte_vhost/fd_man.c
index c7a4490..2ceacc9 100644
--- a/lib/librte_vhost/fd_man.c
+++ b/lib/librte_vhost/fd_man.c
@@ -210,8 +210,8 @@
  * will wait until the flag is reset to zero(which indicates the callback is
  * finished), then it could free the context after fdset_del.
  */
-void
-fdset_event_dispatch(struct fdset *pfdset)
+void *
+fdset_event_dispatch(void *arg)
 {
 	int i;
 	struct pollfd *pfd;
@@ -221,9 +221,10 @@
 	int fd, numfds;
 	int remove1, remove2;
 	int need_shrink;
+	struct fdset *pfdset = arg;
 
 	if (pfdset == NULL)
-		return;
+		return NULL;
 
 	while (1) {
 
@@ -294,4 +295,6 @@
 		if (need_shrink)
 			fdset_shrink(pfdset);
 	}
+
+	return NULL;
 }
diff --git a/lib/librte_vhost/fd_man.h b/lib/librte_vhost/fd_man.h
index d319cac..90d34db 100644
--- a/lib/librte_vhost/fd_man.h
+++ b/lib/librte_vhost/fd_man.h
@@ -64,6 +64,6 @@ int fdset_add(struct fdset *pfdset, int fd,
 
 void *fdset_del(struct fdset *pfdset, int fd);
 
-void fdset_event_dispatch(struct fdset *pfdset);
+void *fdset_event_dispatch(void *arg);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/lib/librte_vhost/rte_vhost_version.map b/lib/librte_vhost/rte_vhost_version.map
index 70c28f7..4395fa5 100644
--- a/lib/librte_vhost/rte_vhost_version.map
+++ b/lib/librte_vhost/rte_vhost_version.map
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ DPDK_2.0 {
 	rte_vhost_dequeue_burst;
 	rte_vhost_driver_callback_register;
 	rte_vhost_driver_register;
-	rte_vhost_driver_session_start;
 	rte_vhost_enable_guest_notification;
 	rte_vhost_enqueue_burst;
 
@@ -35,6 +34,7 @@ DPDK_17.05 {
 	rte_vhost_driver_enable_features;
 	rte_vhost_driver_get_features;
 	rte_vhost_driver_set_features;
+	rte_vhost_driver_start;
 	rte_vhost_get_mem_table;
 	rte_vhost_get_mtu;
 	rte_vhost_get_negotiated_features
diff --git a/lib/librte_vhost/rte_virtio_net.h b/lib/librte_vhost/rte_virtio_net.h
index 11b204d..627708d 100644
--- a/lib/librte_vhost/rte_virtio_net.h
+++ b/lib/librte_vhost/rte_virtio_net.h
@@ -250,8 +250,19 @@ void rte_vhost_log_used_vring(int vid, uint16_t vring_idx,
 /* Register callbacks. */
 int rte_vhost_driver_callback_register(const char *path,
 	struct vhost_device_ops const * const ops);
-/* Start vhost driver session blocking loop. */
-int rte_vhost_driver_session_start(void);
+
+/**
+ *
+ * Start the vhost-user driver.
+ *
+ * This function triggers the vhost-user negotiation.
+ *
+ * @param path
+ *  The vhost-user socket file path
+ * @return
+ *  0 on success, -1 on failure
+ */
+int rte_vhost_driver_start(const char *path);
 
 /**
  * Get the MTU value of the device if set in QEMU.
diff --git a/lib/librte_vhost/socket.c b/lib/librte_vhost/socket.c
index 31b868d..b056a17 100644
--- a/lib/librte_vhost/socket.c
+++ b/lib/librte_vhost/socket.c
@@ -58,8 +58,9 @@
  */
 struct vhost_user_socket {
 	char *path;
-	int listenfd;
 	int connfd;
+	struct sockaddr_un un;
+	int socket_fd;
 	bool is_server;
 	bool reconnect;
 	bool dequeue_zero_copy;
@@ -94,7 +95,7 @@ struct vhost_user {
 
 static void vhost_user_server_new_connection(int fd, void *data, int *remove);
 static void vhost_user_read_cb(int fd, void *dat, int *remove);
-static int vhost_user_create_client(struct vhost_user_socket *vsocket);
+static int vhost_user_start_client(struct vhost_user_socket *vsocket);
 
 static struct vhost_user vhost_user = {
 	.fdset = {
@@ -266,22 +267,23 @@ struct vhost_user {
 		free(conn);
 
 		if (vsocket->reconnect)
-			vhost_user_create_client(vsocket);
+			vhost_user_start_client(vsocket);
 	}
 }
 
 static int
-create_unix_socket(const char *path, struct sockaddr_un *un, bool is_server)
+create_unix_socket(struct vhost_user_socket *vsocket)
 {
 	int fd;
+	struct sockaddr_un *un = &vsocket->un;
 
 	fd = socket(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
 	if (fd < 0)
 		return -1;
 	RTE_LOG(INFO, VHOST_CONFIG, "vhost-user %s: socket created, fd: %d\n",
-		is_server ? "server" : "client", fd);
+		vsocket->is_server ? "server" : "client", fd);
 
-	if (!is_server && fcntl(fd, F_SETFL, O_NONBLOCK)) {
+	if (!vsocket->is_server && fcntl(fd, F_SETFL, O_NONBLOCK)) {
 		RTE_LOG(ERR, VHOST_CONFIG,
 			"vhost-user: can't set nonblocking mode for socket, fd: "
 			"%d (%s)\n", fd, strerror(errno));
@@ -291,25 +293,21 @@ struct vhost_user {
 
 	memset(un, 0, sizeof(*un));
 	un->sun_family = AF_UNIX;
-	strncpy(un->sun_path, path, sizeof(un->sun_path));
+	strncpy(un->sun_path, vsocket->path, sizeof(un->sun_path));
 	un->sun_path[sizeof(un->sun_path) - 1] = '\0';
 
-	return fd;
+	vsocket->socket_fd = fd;
+	return 0;
 }
 
 static int
-vhost_user_create_server(struct vhost_user_socket *vsocket)
+vhost_user_start_server(struct vhost_user_socket *vsocket)
 {
-	int fd;
 	int ret;
-	struct sockaddr_un un;
+	int fd = vsocket->socket_fd;
 	const char *path = vsocket->path;
 
-	fd = create_unix_socket(path, &un, vsocket->is_server);
-	if (fd < 0)
-		return -1;
-
-	ret = bind(fd, (struct sockaddr *)&un, sizeof(un));
+	ret = bind(fd, (struct sockaddr *)&vsocket->un, sizeof(vsocket->un));
 	if (ret < 0) {
 		RTE_LOG(ERR, VHOST_CONFIG,
 			"failed to bind to %s: %s; remove it and try again\n",
@@ -322,7 +320,6 @@ struct vhost_user {
 	if (ret < 0)
 		goto err;
 
-	vsocket->listenfd = fd;
 	ret = fdset_add(&vhost_user.fdset, fd, vhost_user_server_new_connection,
 		  NULL, vsocket);
 	if (ret < 0) {
@@ -441,20 +438,15 @@ struct vhost_user_reconnect_list {
 }
 
 static int
-vhost_user_create_client(struct vhost_user_socket *vsocket)
+vhost_user_start_client(struct vhost_user_socket *vsocket)
 {
-	int fd;
 	int ret;
-	struct sockaddr_un un;
+	int fd = vsocket->socket_fd;
 	const char *path = vsocket->path;
 	struct vhost_user_reconnect *reconn;
 
-	fd = create_unix_socket(path, &un, vsocket->is_server);
-	if (fd < 0)
-		return -1;
-
-	ret = vhost_user_connect_nonblock(fd, (struct sockaddr *)&un,
-					  sizeof(un));
+	ret = vhost_user_connect_nonblock(fd, (struct sockaddr *)&vsocket->un,
+					  sizeof(vsocket->un));
 	if (ret == 0) {
 		vhost_user_add_connection(fd, vsocket);
 		return 0;
@@ -477,7 +469,7 @@ struct vhost_user_reconnect_list {
 		close(fd);
 		return -1;
 	}
-	reconn->un = un;
+	reconn->un = vsocket->un;
 	reconn->fd = fd;
 	reconn->vsocket = vsocket;
 	pthread_mutex_lock(&reconn_list.mutex);
@@ -627,11 +619,10 @@ struct vhost_user_reconnect_list {
 				goto out;
 			}
 		}
-		ret = vhost_user_create_client(vsocket);
 	} else {
 		vsocket->is_server = true;
-		ret = vhost_user_create_server(vsocket);
 	}
+	ret = create_unix_socket(vsocket);
 	if (ret < 0) {
 		free(vsocket->path);
 		free(vsocket);
@@ -687,8 +678,8 @@ struct vhost_user_reconnect_list {
 
 		if (!strcmp(vsocket->path, path)) {
 			if (vsocket->is_server) {
-				fdset_del(&vhost_user.fdset, vsocket->listenfd);
-				close(vsocket->listenfd);
+				fdset_del(&vhost_user.fdset, vsocket->socket_fd);
+				close(vsocket->socket_fd);
 				unlink(path);
 			} else if (vsocket->reconnect) {
 				vhost_user_remove_reconnect(vsocket);
@@ -751,8 +742,28 @@ struct vhost_device_ops const *
 }
 
 int
-rte_vhost_driver_session_start(void)
+rte_vhost_driver_start(const char *path)
 {
-	fdset_event_dispatch(&vhost_user.fdset);
-	return 0;
+	struct vhost_user_socket *vsocket;
+	static pthread_t fdset_tid;
+
+	pthread_mutex_lock(&vhost_user.mutex);
+	vsocket = find_vhost_user_socket(path);
+	pthread_mutex_unlock(&vhost_user.mutex);
+
+	if (!vsocket)
+		return -1;
+
+	if (fdset_tid == 0) {
+		int ret = pthread_create(&fdset_tid, NULL, fdset_event_dispatch,
+				     &vhost_user.fdset);
+		if (ret < 0)
+			RTE_LOG(ERR, VHOST_CONFIG,
+				"failed to create fdset handling thread");
+	}
+
+	if (vsocket->is_server)
+		return vhost_user_start_server(vsocket);
+	else
+		return vhost_user_start_client(vsocket);
 }
