diff --git a/orderer/kafka/util.go b/orderer/kafka/util.go
index bba74d1aaea..ad31b5021f7 100644
--- a/orderer/kafka/util.go
+++ b/orderer/kafka/util.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package kafka
 import (
 	"github.com/Shopify/sarama"
 	"github.com/hyperledger/fabric/orderer/localconfig"
+	ab "github.com/hyperledger/fabric/protos/orderer"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -41,6 +42,36 @@ func newBrokerConfig(conf *config.TopLevel) *sarama.Config {
 	return brokerConfig
 }
 
+func newConnectMessage() *ab.KafkaMessage {
+	return &ab.KafkaMessage{
+		Type: &ab.KafkaMessage_Connect{
+			Connect: &ab.KafkaMessageConnect{
+				Payload: nil,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func newRegularMessage(payload []byte) *ab.KafkaMessage {
+	return &ab.KafkaMessage{
+		Type: &ab.KafkaMessage_Regular{
+			Regular: &ab.KafkaMessageRegular{
+				Payload: payload,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func newTimeToCutMessage(blockNumber uint64) *ab.KafkaMessage {
+	return &ab.KafkaMessage{
+		Type: &ab.KafkaMessage_TimeToCut{
+			TimeToCut: &ab.KafkaMessageTimeToCut{
+				BlockNumber: blockNumber,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 func newMsg(payload []byte, topic string) *sarama.ProducerMessage {
 	return &sarama.ProducerMessage{
 		Topic: topic,
diff --git a/protos/orderer/ab.pb.go b/protos/orderer/ab.pb.go
index 49742fc361b..723b92e9ad4 100644
--- a/protos/orderer/ab.pb.go
+++ b/protos/orderer/ab.pb.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ Package orderer is a generated protocol buffer package.
 It is generated from these files:
 	orderer/ab.proto
 	orderer/configuration.proto
+	orderer/kafka.proto
 
 It has these top-level messages:
 	BroadcastResponse
@@ -20,6 +21,10 @@ It has these top-level messages:
 	CreationPolicy
 	ChainCreators
 	KafkaBrokers
+	KafkaMessage
+	KafkaMessageRegular
+	KafkaMessageTimeToCut
+	KafkaMessageConnect
 */
 package orderer
 
diff --git a/protos/orderer/configuration.pb.go b/protos/orderer/configuration.pb.go
index f9e2e69d0c5..196169c2085 100644
--- a/protos/orderer/configuration.pb.go
+++ b/protos/orderer/configuration.pb.go
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ func (*ConsensusType) ProtoMessage()               {}
 func (*ConsensusType) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor1, []int{0} }
 
 type BatchSize struct {
-	// Simply specified as messages for now, in the future we may want to allow this to be specified by size in bytes
+	// Simply specified as messages for now, in the future we may want to allow
+	// this to be specified by size in bytes
 	Messages uint32 `protobuf:"varint,1,opt,name=messages" json:"messages,omitempty"`
 }
 
@@ -33,12 +34,16 @@ func (m *BatchSize) String() string            { return proto.CompactTextString(
 func (*BatchSize) ProtoMessage()               {}
 func (*BatchSize) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor1, []int{1} }
 
-// When submitting a new chain configuration transaction to create a new chain, the first configuration item must of of type
-// Orderer with Key CreationPolicy and contents of a Marshaled CreationPolicy.  The policy should be set to the policy which
-// was supplied by the ordering service for the client's chain creation.  The digest should be the hash of the concatenation
-// of the remaining ConfigurationItem bytes.  The signatures of the configuration item should satisfy the policy for chain creation
+// When submitting a new chain configuration transaction to create a new chain,
+// the first configuration item must be of type Orderer with Key CreationPolicy
+// and contents of a Marshaled CreationPolicy. The policy should be set to the
+// policy which was supplied by the ordering service for the client's chain
+// creation. The digest should be the hash of the concatenation of the remaining
+// ConfigurationItem bytes. The signatures of the configuration item should
+// satisfy the policy for chain creation.
 type CreationPolicy struct {
-	// The name of the policy which should be used to validate the creation of this chain
+	// The name of the policy which should be used to validate the creation of
+	// this chain
 	Policy string `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=policy" json:"policy,omitempty"`
 	// The hash of the concatenation of remaining configuration item bytes
 	Digest []byte `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=digest,proto3" json:"digest,omitempty"`
@@ -50,7 +55,8 @@ func (*CreationPolicy) ProtoMessage()               {}
 func (*CreationPolicy) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor1, []int{2} }
 
 type ChainCreators struct {
-	// A list of policies, any of which may be specified as the chain creation policy in a chain creation request
+	// A list of policies, any of which may be specified as the chain creation
+	// policy in a chain creation request
 	Policies []string `protobuf:"bytes,1,rep,name=policies" json:"policies,omitempty"`
 }
 
@@ -59,7 +65,11 @@ func (m *ChainCreators) String() string            { return proto.CompactTextStr
 func (*ChainCreators) ProtoMessage()               {}
 func (*ChainCreators) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor1, []int{3} }
 
+// Carries a list of bootstrap brokers, i.e. this is not the exclusive set of
+// brokers an ordering service
 type KafkaBrokers struct {
+	// Each broker here should be identified using the (IP|host):port notation,
+	// e.g. 127.0.0.1:7050, or localhost:7050 are valid entries
 	Brokers []string `protobuf:"bytes,1,rep,name=brokers" json:"brokers,omitempty"`
 }
 
diff --git a/protos/orderer/kafka.pb.go b/protos/orderer/kafka.pb.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2d1194a68d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/protos/orderer/kafka.pb.go
@@ -0,0 +1,223 @@
+// Code generated by protoc-gen-go.
+// source: orderer/kafka.proto
+// DO NOT EDIT!
+
+package orderer
+
+import proto "github.com/golang/protobuf/proto"
+import fmt "fmt"
+import math "math"
+
+// Reference imports to suppress errors if they are not otherwise used.
+var _ = proto.Marshal
+var _ = fmt.Errorf
+var _ = math.Inf
+
+type KafkaMessage struct {
+	// Types that are valid to be assigned to Type:
+	//	*KafkaMessage_Regular
+	//	*KafkaMessage_TimeToCut
+	//	*KafkaMessage_Connect
+	Type isKafkaMessage_Type `protobuf_oneof:"Type"`
+}
+
+func (m *KafkaMessage) Reset()                    { *m = KafkaMessage{} }
+func (m *KafkaMessage) String() string            { return proto.CompactTextString(m) }
+func (*KafkaMessage) ProtoMessage()               {}
+func (*KafkaMessage) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor2, []int{0} }
+
+type isKafkaMessage_Type interface {
+	isKafkaMessage_Type()
+}
+
+type KafkaMessage_Regular struct {
+	Regular *KafkaMessageRegular `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=regular,oneof"`
+}
+type KafkaMessage_TimeToCut struct {
+	TimeToCut *KafkaMessageTimeToCut `protobuf:"bytes,2,opt,name=time_to_cut,json=timeToCut,oneof"`
+}
+type KafkaMessage_Connect struct {
+	Connect *KafkaMessageConnect `protobuf:"bytes,3,opt,name=connect,oneof"`
+}
+
+func (*KafkaMessage_Regular) isKafkaMessage_Type()   {}
+func (*KafkaMessage_TimeToCut) isKafkaMessage_Type() {}
+func (*KafkaMessage_Connect) isKafkaMessage_Type()   {}
+
+func (m *KafkaMessage) GetType() isKafkaMessage_Type {
+	if m != nil {
+		return m.Type
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (m *KafkaMessage) GetRegular() *KafkaMessageRegular {
+	if x, ok := m.GetType().(*KafkaMessage_Regular); ok {
+		return x.Regular
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (m *KafkaMessage) GetTimeToCut() *KafkaMessageTimeToCut {
+	if x, ok := m.GetType().(*KafkaMessage_TimeToCut); ok {
+		return x.TimeToCut
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (m *KafkaMessage) GetConnect() *KafkaMessageConnect {
+	if x, ok := m.GetType().(*KafkaMessage_Connect); ok {
+		return x.Connect
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// XXX_OneofFuncs is for the internal use of the proto package.
+func (*KafkaMessage) XXX_OneofFuncs() (func(msg proto.Message, b *proto.Buffer) error, func(msg proto.Message, tag, wire int, b *proto.Buffer) (bool, error), func(msg proto.Message) (n int), []interface{}) {
+	return _KafkaMessage_OneofMarshaler, _KafkaMessage_OneofUnmarshaler, _KafkaMessage_OneofSizer, []interface{}{
+		(*KafkaMessage_Regular)(nil),
+		(*KafkaMessage_TimeToCut)(nil),
+		(*KafkaMessage_Connect)(nil),
+	}
+}
+
+func _KafkaMessage_OneofMarshaler(msg proto.Message, b *proto.Buffer) error {
+	m := msg.(*KafkaMessage)
+	// Type
+	switch x := m.Type.(type) {
+	case *KafkaMessage_Regular:
+		b.EncodeVarint(1<<3 | proto.WireBytes)
+		if err := b.EncodeMessage(x.Regular); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	case *KafkaMessage_TimeToCut:
+		b.EncodeVarint(2<<3 | proto.WireBytes)
+		if err := b.EncodeMessage(x.TimeToCut); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	case *KafkaMessage_Connect:
+		b.EncodeVarint(3<<3 | proto.WireBytes)
+		if err := b.EncodeMessage(x.Connect); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	case nil:
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("KafkaMessage.Type has unexpected type %T", x)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func _KafkaMessage_OneofUnmarshaler(msg proto.Message, tag, wire int, b *proto.Buffer) (bool, error) {
+	m := msg.(*KafkaMessage)
+	switch tag {
+	case 1: // Type.regular
+		if wire != proto.WireBytes {
+			return true, proto.ErrInternalBadWireType
+		}
+		msg := new(KafkaMessageRegular)
+		err := b.DecodeMessage(msg)
+		m.Type = &KafkaMessage_Regular{msg}
+		return true, err
+	case 2: // Type.time_to_cut
+		if wire != proto.WireBytes {
+			return true, proto.ErrInternalBadWireType
+		}
+		msg := new(KafkaMessageTimeToCut)
+		err := b.DecodeMessage(msg)
+		m.Type = &KafkaMessage_TimeToCut{msg}
+		return true, err
+	case 3: // Type.connect
+		if wire != proto.WireBytes {
+			return true, proto.ErrInternalBadWireType
+		}
+		msg := new(KafkaMessageConnect)
+		err := b.DecodeMessage(msg)
+		m.Type = &KafkaMessage_Connect{msg}
+		return true, err
+	default:
+		return false, nil
+	}
+}
+
+func _KafkaMessage_OneofSizer(msg proto.Message) (n int) {
+	m := msg.(*KafkaMessage)
+	// Type
+	switch x := m.Type.(type) {
+	case *KafkaMessage_Regular:
+		s := proto.Size(x.Regular)
+		n += proto.SizeVarint(1<<3 | proto.WireBytes)
+		n += proto.SizeVarint(uint64(s))
+		n += s
+	case *KafkaMessage_TimeToCut:
+		s := proto.Size(x.TimeToCut)
+		n += proto.SizeVarint(2<<3 | proto.WireBytes)
+		n += proto.SizeVarint(uint64(s))
+		n += s
+	case *KafkaMessage_Connect:
+		s := proto.Size(x.Connect)
+		n += proto.SizeVarint(3<<3 | proto.WireBytes)
+		n += proto.SizeVarint(uint64(s))
+		n += s
+	case nil:
+	default:
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("proto: unexpected type %T in oneof", x))
+	}
+	return n
+}
+
+type KafkaMessageRegular struct {
+	Payload []byte `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=payload,proto3" json:"payload,omitempty"`
+}
+
+func (m *KafkaMessageRegular) Reset()                    { *m = KafkaMessageRegular{} }
+func (m *KafkaMessageRegular) String() string            { return proto.CompactTextString(m) }
+func (*KafkaMessageRegular) ProtoMessage()               {}
+func (*KafkaMessageRegular) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor2, []int{1} }
+
+type KafkaMessageTimeToCut struct {
+	BlockNumber uint64 `protobuf:"varint,1,opt,name=block_number,json=blockNumber" json:"block_number,omitempty"`
+}
+
+func (m *KafkaMessageTimeToCut) Reset()                    { *m = KafkaMessageTimeToCut{} }
+func (m *KafkaMessageTimeToCut) String() string            { return proto.CompactTextString(m) }
+func (*KafkaMessageTimeToCut) ProtoMessage()               {}
+func (*KafkaMessageTimeToCut) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor2, []int{2} }
+
+type KafkaMessageConnect struct {
+	Payload []byte `protobuf:"bytes,1,opt,name=payload,proto3" json:"payload,omitempty"`
+}
+
+func (m *KafkaMessageConnect) Reset()                    { *m = KafkaMessageConnect{} }
+func (m *KafkaMessageConnect) String() string            { return proto.CompactTextString(m) }
+func (*KafkaMessageConnect) ProtoMessage()               {}
+func (*KafkaMessageConnect) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) { return fileDescriptor2, []int{3} }
+
+func init() {
+	proto.RegisterType((*KafkaMessage)(nil), "orderer.KafkaMessage")
+	proto.RegisterType((*KafkaMessageRegular)(nil), "orderer.KafkaMessageRegular")
+	proto.RegisterType((*KafkaMessageTimeToCut)(nil), "orderer.KafkaMessageTimeToCut")
+	proto.RegisterType((*KafkaMessageConnect)(nil), "orderer.KafkaMessageConnect")
+}
+
+func init() { proto.RegisterFile("orderer/kafka.proto", fileDescriptor2) }
+
+var fileDescriptor2 = []byte{
+	// 266 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
+	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x09, 0x6e, 0x88, 0x02, 0xff, 0x7c, 0x91, 0x3f, 0x4b, 0xc4, 0x30,
+	0x18, 0xc6, 0xaf, 0x7a, 0x5c, 0x31, 0xed, 0xd4, 0x43, 0xe8, 0x20, 0xa2, 0x9d, 0x1c, 0x24, 0x01,
+	0x5d, 0xc4, 0x49, 0xee, 0x96, 0x03, 0xd1, 0x21, 0x74, 0x72, 0x29, 0x49, 0xfa, 0x5e, 0xaf, 0xf4,
+	0x4f, 0x4a, 0x9a, 0x0c, 0xfd, 0x8e, 0x7e, 0x28, 0x69, 0x9a, 0x82, 0x48, 0xbd, 0xf1, 0x79, 0xf2,
+	0x7b, 0x79, 0x9e, 0x37, 0x2f, 0xda, 0x4a, 0x95, 0x83, 0x02, 0x45, 0x2a, 0x76, 0xac, 0x18, 0xee,
+	0x94, 0xd4, 0x32, 0xf2, 0x9d, 0x99, 0x7c, 0x7b, 0x28, 0x7c, 0x1f, 0x1f, 0x3e, 0xa0, 0xef, 0x59,
+	0x01, 0xd1, 0x0b, 0xf2, 0x15, 0x14, 0xa6, 0x66, 0x2a, 0xf6, 0xee, 0xbc, 0x87, 0xe0, 0xe9, 0x06,
+	0x3b, 0x16, 0xff, 0xe6, 0xe8, 0xc4, 0x1c, 0x56, 0x74, 0xc6, 0xa3, 0x37, 0x14, 0xe8, 0xb2, 0x81,
+	0x4c, 0xcb, 0x4c, 0x18, 0x1d, 0x5f, 0xd8, 0xe9, 0xdb, 0xc5, 0xe9, 0xb4, 0x6c, 0x20, 0x95, 0x7b,
+	0xa3, 0x0f, 0x2b, 0x7a, 0xa5, 0x67, 0x31, 0x66, 0x0b, 0xd9, 0xb6, 0x20, 0x74, 0x7c, 0x79, 0x26,
+	0x7b, 0x3f, 0x31, 0x63, 0xb6, 0xc3, 0x77, 0x1b, 0xb4, 0x4e, 0x87, 0x0e, 0x12, 0x82, 0xb6, 0x0b,
+	0x2d, 0xa3, 0x18, 0xf9, 0x1d, 0x1b, 0x6a, 0xc9, 0x72, 0xbb, 0x54, 0x48, 0x67, 0x99, 0xbc, 0xa2,
+	0xeb, 0xc5, 0x62, 0xd1, 0x3d, 0x0a, 0x79, 0x2d, 0x45, 0x95, 0xb5, 0xa6, 0xe1, 0x30, 0x7d, 0xc6,
+	0x9a, 0x06, 0xd6, 0xfb, 0xb4, 0xd6, 0xdf, 0x30, 0x57, 0xeb, 0xff, 0xb0, 0x1d, 0xfe, 0x7a, 0x2c,
+	0x4a, 0x7d, 0x32, 0x1c, 0x0b, 0xd9, 0x90, 0xd3, 0xd0, 0x81, 0xaa, 0x21, 0x2f, 0x40, 0x91, 0x23,
+	0xe3, 0xaa, 0x14, 0xc4, 0x1e, 0xa7, 0x27, 0x6e, 0x69, 0xbe, 0xb1, 0xfa, 0xf9, 0x27, 0x00, 0x00,
+	0xff, 0xff, 0x9c, 0x1e, 0x0b, 0x94, 0xc3, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00,
+}
diff --git a/protos/orderer/kafka.proto b/protos/orderer/kafka.proto
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bff6567f08c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/protos/orderer/kafka.proto
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/*
+Copyright IBM Corp. 2016 All Rights Reserved.
+
+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.
+*/
+
+syntax = "proto3";
+
+option go_package = "github.com/hyperledger/fabric/protos/orderer";
+
+package orderer;
+
+message KafkaMessage {
+    oneof Type {
+        KafkaMessageRegular regular = 1;
+        KafkaMessageTimeToCut time_to_cut = 2;
+        KafkaMessageConnect connect = 3;
+    }
+}
+
+message KafkaMessageRegular {
+    bytes payload = 1;
+}
+
+message KafkaMessageTimeToCut {
+    uint64 block_number = 1;
+}
+
+message KafkaMessageConnect {
+    bytes payload = 1;
+}