diff --git a/include/spdk/rpc.h b/include/spdk/rpc.h
index 1dce7febb..7a02abcdc 100644
--- a/include/spdk/rpc.h
+++ b/include/spdk/rpc.h
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@
 
 #include "spdk/jsonrpc.h"
 
-int spdk_rpc_initialize(void);
-int spdk_rpc_finish(void);
-void spdk_rpc_config_text(FILE *fp);
+int spdk_rpc_listen(const char *listen_addr);
+void spdk_rpc_accept(void);
+void spdk_rpc_close(void);
 
 typedef void (*spdk_rpc_method_handler)(struct spdk_jsonrpc_server_conn *conn,
 					const struct spdk_json_val *params,
diff --git a/lib/event/subsystems/rpc/rpc.c b/lib/event/subsystems/rpc/rpc.c
index b6ab4ea6e..a3a3fc3ae 100644
--- a/lib/event/subsystems/rpc/rpc.c
+++ b/lib/event/subsystems/rpc/rpc.c
@@ -33,25 +33,125 @@
 
 #include "spdk/stdinc.h"
 
+#include "spdk/conf.h"
+#include "spdk/env.h"
+#include "spdk/log.h"
 #include "spdk/rpc.h"
 
 #include "spdk_internal/event.h"
 
+#define RPC_SELECT_INTERVAL	4000 /* 4ms */
+#define RPC_DEFAULT_LISTEN_ADDR	"127.0.0.1:5260"
+
+static struct spdk_poller *g_rpc_poller = NULL;
+
+static int
+enable_rpc(void)
+{
+	struct spdk_conf_section	*sp;
+
+	sp = spdk_conf_find_section(NULL, "Rpc");
+	if (sp == NULL) {
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	return spdk_conf_section_get_boolval(sp, "Enable", false);
+}
+
+static const char *
+rpc_get_listen_addr(void)
+{
+	struct spdk_conf_section *sp;
+	const char *val;
+
+	sp = spdk_conf_find_section(NULL, "Rpc");
+	if (sp == NULL) {
+		return RPC_DEFAULT_LISTEN_ADDR;
+	}
+
+	val = spdk_conf_section_get_val(sp, "Listen");
+	if (val == NULL) {
+		val = RPC_DEFAULT_LISTEN_ADDR;
+	}
+
+	return val;
+}
+
+static void
+spdk_rpc_subsystem_poll(void *arg)
+{
+	spdk_rpc_accept();
+}
+
+static void
+spdk_rpc_subsystem_setup(void *arg)
+{
+	const char *listen_addr;
+	int rc;
+
+	/* Unregister the poller */
+	spdk_poller_unregister(&g_rpc_poller, NULL);
+
+	if (!enable_rpc()) {
+		return;
+	}
+
+	listen_addr = rpc_get_listen_addr();
+	if (listen_addr == NULL) {
+		listen_addr = RPC_DEFAULT_LISTEN_ADDR;
+	}
+
+	/* Listen on the requested address */
+	rc = spdk_rpc_listen(listen_addr);
+	if (rc != 0) {
+		SPDK_ERRLOG("Unable to start RPC service at %s\n", listen_addr);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	/* Register a poller to periodically check for RPCs */
+	spdk_poller_register(&g_rpc_poller, spdk_rpc_subsystem_poll, NULL, spdk_env_get_current_core(),
+			     RPC_SELECT_INTERVAL);
+}
+
 static void
 spdk_rpc_subsystem_initialize(void)
 {
-	int rc;
+	/*
+	 * Defer setup of the RPC service until the reactor has started.  This
+	 *  allows us to detect the RPC listen socket as a suitable proxy for determining
+	 *  when the SPDK application has finished initialization and ready for logins
+	 *  or RPC commands.
+	 */
+	spdk_poller_register(&g_rpc_poller, spdk_rpc_subsystem_setup, NULL, spdk_env_get_current_core(), 0);
 
-	rc = spdk_rpc_initialize();
-
-	spdk_subsystem_init_next(rc);
+	spdk_subsystem_init_next(0);
 }
 
 static int
 spdk_rpc_subsystem_finish(void)
 {
-	return spdk_rpc_finish();
+	spdk_rpc_close();
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static void
+spdk_rpc_subsystem_config_text(FILE *fp)
+{
+	fprintf(fp,
+		"\n"
+		"[Rpc]\n"
+		"  # Defines whether to enable configuration via RPC.\n"
+		"  # Default is disabled.  Note that the RPC interface is not\n"
+		"  # authenticated, so users should be careful about enabling\n"
+		"  # RPC in non-trusted environments.\n"
+		"  Enable %s\n"
+		"  # Listen address for the RPC service.\n"
+		"  # May be an IP address or an absolute path to a Unix socket.\n"
+		"  Listen %s\n",
+		enable_rpc() ? "Yes" : "No", rpc_get_listen_addr());
 }
 
 SPDK_SUBSYSTEM_REGISTER(spdk_rpc, spdk_rpc_subsystem_initialize,
-			spdk_rpc_subsystem_finish, spdk_rpc_config_text)
+			spdk_rpc_subsystem_finish,
+			spdk_rpc_subsystem_config_text)
diff --git a/lib/rpc/rpc.c b/lib/rpc/rpc.c
index 22a862ca6..1801d82b0 100644
--- a/lib/rpc/rpc.c
+++ b/lib/rpc/rpc.c
@@ -36,20 +36,13 @@
 #include "spdk/queue.h"
 #include "spdk/rpc.h"
 #include "spdk/env.h"
-#include "spdk/conf.h"
 #include "spdk/log.h"
 #include "spdk/string.h"
 
-#include "spdk_internal/event.h"
-
-#define RPC_SELECT_INTERVAL	4000 /* 4ms */
-#define RPC_DEFAULT_LISTEN_ADDR	"127.0.0.1:5260"
 #define RPC_DEFAULT_PORT	"5260"
 
 static struct sockaddr_un g_rpc_listen_addr_unix = {};
 
-static struct spdk_poller *g_rpc_poller = NULL;
-
 static struct spdk_jsonrpc_server *g_jsonrpc_server = NULL;
 
 struct spdk_rpc_method {
@@ -60,61 +53,6 @@ struct spdk_rpc_method {
 
 static SLIST_HEAD(, spdk_rpc_method) g_rpc_methods = SLIST_HEAD_INITIALIZER(g_rpc_methods);
 
-static void
-spdk_rpc_server_do_work(void *arg)
-{
-	spdk_jsonrpc_server_poll(g_jsonrpc_server);
-}
-
-static int
-enable_rpc(void)
-{
-	struct spdk_conf_section	*sp;
-
-	sp = spdk_conf_find_section(NULL, "Rpc");
-	if (sp == NULL) {
-		return 0;
-	}
-
-	return spdk_conf_section_get_boolval(sp, "Enable", false);
-}
-
-static const char *
-rpc_get_listen_addr(void)
-{
-	struct spdk_conf_section *sp;
-	const char *val;
-
-	sp = spdk_conf_find_section(NULL, "Rpc");
-	if (sp == NULL) {
-		return 0;
-	}
-
-	val = spdk_conf_section_get_val(sp, "Listen");
-	if (val == NULL) {
-		val = RPC_DEFAULT_LISTEN_ADDR;
-	}
-
-	return val;
-}
-
-void
-spdk_rpc_register_method(const char *method, spdk_rpc_method_handler func)
-{
-	struct spdk_rpc_method *m;
-
-	m = calloc(1, sizeof(struct spdk_rpc_method));
-	assert(m != NULL);
-
-	m->name = strdup(method);
-	assert(m->name != NULL);
-
-	m->func = func;
-
-	/* TODO: use a hash table or sorted list */
-	SLIST_INSERT_HEAD(&g_rpc_methods, m, slist);
-}
-
 static void
 spdk_jsonrpc_handler(
 	struct spdk_jsonrpc_server_conn *conn,
@@ -136,27 +74,14 @@ spdk_jsonrpc_handler(
 	spdk_jsonrpc_send_error_response(conn, id, SPDK_JSONRPC_ERROR_METHOD_NOT_FOUND, "Method not found");
 }
 
-static void
-spdk_rpc_setup(void *arg)
+int
+spdk_rpc_listen(const char *listen_addr)
 {
 	struct addrinfo		hints;
 	struct addrinfo		*res;
-	const char		*listen_addr;
 
 	memset(&g_rpc_listen_addr_unix, 0, sizeof(g_rpc_listen_addr_unix));
 
-	/* Unregister the one-shot setup poller */
-	spdk_poller_unregister(&g_rpc_poller, NULL);
-
-	if (!enable_rpc()) {
-		return;
-	}
-
-	listen_addr = rpc_get_listen_addr();
-	if (!listen_addr) {
-		return;
-	}
-
 	if (listen_addr[0] == '/') {
 		int rc;
 
@@ -167,7 +92,7 @@ spdk_rpc_setup(void *arg)
 		if (rc < 0 || (size_t)rc >= sizeof(g_rpc_listen_addr_unix.sun_path)) {
 			SPDK_ERRLOG("RPC Listen address Unix socket path too long\n");
 			g_rpc_listen_addr_unix.sun_path[0] = '\0';
-			return;
+			return -1;
 		}
 
 		unlink(g_rpc_listen_addr_unix.sun_path);
@@ -183,13 +108,13 @@ spdk_rpc_setup(void *arg)
 		tmp = strdup(listen_addr);
 		if (!tmp) {
 			SPDK_ERRLOG("Out of memory\n");
-			return;
+			return -1;
 		}
 
 		if (spdk_parse_ip_addr(tmp, &host, &port) < 0) {
 			free(tmp);
 			SPDK_ERRLOG("Invalid listen address '%s'\n", listen_addr);
-			return;
+			return -1;
 		}
 
 		if (port == NULL) {
@@ -204,7 +129,7 @@ spdk_rpc_setup(void *arg)
 		if (getaddrinfo(host, port, &hints, &res) != 0) {
 			free(tmp);
 			SPDK_ERRLOG("Unable to look up RPC listen address '%s'\n", listen_addr);
-			return;
+			return -1;
 		}
 
 		g_jsonrpc_server = spdk_jsonrpc_server_listen(res->ai_family, res->ai_protocol,
@@ -217,58 +142,44 @@ spdk_rpc_setup(void *arg)
 
 	if (g_jsonrpc_server == NULL) {
 		SPDK_ERRLOG("spdk_jsonrpc_server_listen() failed\n");
-		return;
-	}
-
-	/* Register the periodic rpc_server_do_work */
-	spdk_poller_register(&g_rpc_poller, spdk_rpc_server_do_work, NULL, spdk_env_get_current_core(),
-			     RPC_SELECT_INTERVAL);
-}
-
-int
-spdk_rpc_initialize(void)
-{
-	/*
-	 * Defer setup of the RPC service until the reactor has started.  This
-	 *  allows us to detect the RPC listen socket as a suitable proxy for determining
-	 *  when the SPDK application has finished initialization and ready for logins
-	 *  or RPC commands.
-	 */
-	spdk_poller_register(&g_rpc_poller, spdk_rpc_setup, NULL, spdk_env_get_current_core(), 0);
-
-	return 0;
-}
-
-int
-spdk_rpc_finish(void)
-{
-	if (g_rpc_listen_addr_unix.sun_path[0]) {
-		/* Delete the Unix socket file */
-		unlink(g_rpc_listen_addr_unix.sun_path);
-	}
-
-	spdk_poller_unregister(&g_rpc_poller, NULL);
-
-	if (g_jsonrpc_server) {
-		spdk_jsonrpc_server_shutdown(g_jsonrpc_server);
+		return -1;
 	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
 void
-spdk_rpc_config_text(FILE *fp)
+spdk_rpc_accept(void)
 {
-	fprintf(fp,
-		"\n"
-		"[Rpc]\n"
-		"  # Defines whether to enable configuration via RPC.\n"
-		"  # Default is disabled.  Note that the RPC interface is not\n"
-		"  # authenticated, so users should be careful about enabling\n"
-		"  # RPC in non-trusted environments.\n"
-		"  Enable %s\n"
-		"  # Listen address for the RPC service.\n"
-		"  # May be an IP address or an absolute path to a Unix socket.\n"
-		"  Listen %s\n",
-		enable_rpc() ? "Yes" : "No", rpc_get_listen_addr());
+	spdk_jsonrpc_server_poll(g_jsonrpc_server);
+}
+
+void
+spdk_rpc_register_method(const char *method, spdk_rpc_method_handler func)
+{
+	struct spdk_rpc_method *m;
+
+	m = calloc(1, sizeof(struct spdk_rpc_method));
+	assert(m != NULL);
+
+	m->name = strdup(method);
+	assert(m->name != NULL);
+
+	m->func = func;
+
+	/* TODO: use a hash table or sorted list */
+	SLIST_INSERT_HEAD(&g_rpc_methods, m, slist);
+}
+
+void
+spdk_rpc_close(void)
+{
+	if (g_rpc_listen_addr_unix.sun_path[0]) {
+		/* Delete the Unix socket file */
+		unlink(g_rpc_listen_addr_unix.sun_path);
+	}
+
+	if (g_jsonrpc_server) {
+		spdk_jsonrpc_server_shutdown(g_jsonrpc_server);
+	}
 }