diff --git a/napalm_logs/base.py b/napalm_logs/base.py
index d0382a90..58f74196 100644
--- a/napalm_logs/base.py
+++ b/napalm_logs/base.py
@@ -25,11 +25,11 @@
 
 # Import napalm-logs pkgs
 import napalm_logs.config as CONFIG
+from napalm_logs.listener import get_listener
 # processes
 from napalm_logs.auth import NapalmLogsAuthProc
 from napalm_logs.device import NapalmLogsDeviceProc
 from napalm_logs.server import NapalmLogsServerProc
-from napalm_logs.listener import NapalmLogsListenerProc
 from napalm_logs.publisher import NapalmLogsPublisherProc
 # exceptions
 from napalm_logs.exceptions import BindException
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class NapalmLogs:
     def __init__(self,
                  address='0.0.0.0',
                  port=514,
-                 protocol='udp',
+                 listener='udp',
                  transport='zmq',
                  publish_address='0.0.0.0',
                  publish_port=49017,
@@ -62,14 +62,14 @@ def __init__(self,
 
         :param address: The address to bind the syslog client. Default: 0.0.0.0.
         :param port: Listen port. Default: 514.
-        :param protocol: Listen protocol. Default: udp.
+        :param listener: Listen type. Default: udp.
         :param publish_address: The address to bing when publishing the OC
                                  objects. Default: 0.0.0.0.
         :param publish_port: Publish port. Default: 49017.
         '''
         self.address = address
         self.port = port
-        self.protocol = protocol
+        self.listener = listener
         self.publish_address = publish_address
         self.publish_port = publish_port
         self.auth_address = auth_address
@@ -315,12 +315,14 @@ def _start_auth_proc(self, auth_skt):
         )
         return proc
 
-    def _start_lst_proc(self, address, port, protocol, pipe):
+    def _start_lst_proc(self, address, port, listener, pipe):
         '''
         Start the listener process.
         '''
         log.debug('Starting the listener process')
-        listener = NapalmLogsListenerProc(address, port, protocol, pipe)
+        # Get the correct listener class
+        listener_class = get_listener(self.listener)
+        listener = listener_class(address, port, pipe)
         proc = Process(target=listener.start)
         proc.start()
         log.debug('Started listener process as {pname} with PID {pid}'.format(
@@ -437,7 +439,7 @@ def start_engine(self):
         # start listener process
         self._processes.append(self._start_lst_proc(self.address,
                                                     self.port,
-                                                    self.protocol,
+                                                    self.listener,
                                                     lst_pipe))
 
     def stop_engine(self):
diff --git a/napalm_logs/config/__init__.py b/napalm_logs/config/__init__.py
index 7f1d3f0c..3660b92c 100644
--- a/napalm_logs/config/__init__.py
+++ b/napalm_logs/config/__init__.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 CONFIG_FILE = os.path.join(ROOT_DIR, 'etc', 'napalm', 'logs')
 ADDRESS = '0.0.0.0'
 PORT = 514
-PROTOCOL = 'udp'
+LISTENER = 'udp'
 PUBLISH_ADDRESS = '0.0.0.0'
 PUBLISH_PORT = 49017
 AUTH_ADDRESS = '0.0.0.0'
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@
 LOG_FORMAT = '%(asctime)s,%(msecs)03.0f [%(name)-17s][%(levelname)-8s] %(message)s'
 LOG_FILE = os.path.join(ROOT_DIR, 'var', 'log', 'napalm', 'logs')
 LOG_FILE_CLI_OPTIONS = ('cli', 'screen')
-KAFKA_TOPIC = "napalm-logs"
+KAFKA_LISTENER_TOPIC = "syslog.net"
+KAFKA_PUBLISHER_TOPIC = "napalm-logs"
 
 LOGGING_LEVEL = {
     'debug': logging.DEBUG,
diff --git a/napalm_logs/exceptions.py b/napalm_logs/exceptions.py
index 92766aa5..1a87c3c5 100644
--- a/napalm_logs/exceptions.py
+++ b/napalm_logs/exceptions.py
@@ -23,6 +23,13 @@ class BindException(NapalmLogsException):
     pass
 
 
+class ListenerException(NapalmLogsException):
+    '''
+    Exception raised when encountering an exception in a listener process
+    '''
+    pass
+
+
 class ConfigurationException(NapalmLogsException):
     '''
     Exception thrown when the user configuration is not correct.
diff --git a/napalm_logs/listener/__init__.py b/napalm_logs/listener/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5a34cfa2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/napalm_logs/listener/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+'''
+napalm-logs pluggable listener.
+'''
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
+# Import napalm-logs pkgs
+from napalm_logs.listener.base import ListenerBase
+from napalm_logs.listener.kafka import KafkaListener
+from napalm_logs.listener.tcp import TCPListener
+from napalm_logs.listener.udp import UDPListener
+from napalm_logs.listener.kafka import HAS_KAFKA
+
+LISTENER_LOOKUP = {
+    'tcp': TCPListener,
+    'udp': UDPListener,
+    '*': UDPListener  # default listener
+}
+
+if HAS_KAFKA:
+    LISTENER_LOOKUP['kafka'] = KafkaListener
+
+def get_listener(name):
+    '''
+    Return the listener class.
+    '''
+    return LISTENER_LOOKUP.get(name, LISTENER_LOOKUP['*'])
+
+__all__ = (
+    'get_listener',
+)
diff --git a/napalm_logs/listener/base.py b/napalm_logs/listener/base.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c2f6b208
--- /dev/null
+++ b/napalm_logs/listener/base.py
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+'''
+napalm-logs listener base.
+'''
+
+
+class ListenerBase:
+    '''
+    The base class for the listener.
+    '''
+    def __init__(self, addr, port):
+        pass
+
+    def start(self):
+        pass
+
+    def publish(self, obj):
+        pass
+
+    def stop(self):
+        pass
diff --git a/napalm_logs/listener/kafka.py b/napalm_logs/listener/kafka.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..51621abe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/napalm_logs/listener/kafka.py
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+'''
+Kafka listener for napalm-logs.
+'''
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
+# Import stdlib
+import json
+import time
+import signal
+import logging
+
+# Import third party libs
+try:
+    import kafka
+    HAS_KAFKA = True
+except ImportError as err:
+    HAS_KAFKA = False
+
+# Import napalm-logs pkgs
+from napalm_logs.listener.base import ListenerBase
+from napalm_logs.config import KAFKA_LISTENER_TOPIC
+from napalm_logs.exceptions import ListenerException
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class KafkaListener(ListenerBase):
+    '''
+    Kafka listener class.
+    '''
+    def __init__(self, address, port, pipe):
+        self.address = address
+        self.port = port
+        self.pipe = pipe
+        self.topic = KAFKA_LISTENER_TOPIC
+        self.__up = False
+
+    def _exit_gracefully(self, signum, _):
+        log.debug('Caught signal in listener process')
+        self.stop()
+
+    def start(self):
+        '''
+        Start listening for messages  
+        '''
+        # Start suicide polling thread
+        signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, self._exit_gracefully)
+        self.__up = True
+        try:
+            self.consumer = kafka.KafkaConsumer(bootstrap_servers='{}:{}'.format(self.address, self.port),
+                                                group_id='napalm-logs')
+        except kafka.errors.NoBrokersAvailable as err:
+            log.error(err, exc_info=True)
+            raise ListenerException(err)
+        self.consumer.subscribe(topics=[self.topic])
+        while self.__up:
+            try:
+                msg = next(self.consumer)
+            except ValueError as error:
+                if self.__up is False:
+                    return
+                else:
+                    msg = 'Received kafka error: {}'.format(error)
+                    log.error(msg, exc_info=True)
+                    raise NapalmLogsExit(msg)
+            log_source = msg.key
+            decoded = json.loads(msg.value)
+            log_message = decoded.get('message')
+            log.debug('[{2}] Received {0} from {1}. Adding in the queue'.format(log_message, log_source, time.time()))
+            self.pipe.send((log_message, log_source))
+
+    def stop(self):
+        log.info('Stopping listener process')
+        self.__up = False
+        self.consumer.unsubscribe()
+        self.consumer.close()
+        self.pipe.close()
diff --git a/napalm_logs/listener.py b/napalm_logs/listener/tcp.py
similarity index 56%
rename from napalm_logs/listener.py
rename to napalm_logs/listener/tcp.py
index f6044f6c..d273a3bb 100644
--- a/napalm_logs/listener.py
+++ b/napalm_logs/listener/tcp.py
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 '''
-Listener worker process
+Syslog TCP listener for napalm-logs.
 '''
 from __future__ import absolute_import
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 # Import pythond stdlib
-import os
 import time
 import signal
 import socket
@@ -14,29 +13,25 @@
 import threading
 
 # Import third party libs
-import zmq
-import umsgpack
 
 # Import napalm-logs pkgs
 from napalm_logs.config import TIMEOUT
-from napalm_logs.config import LST_IPC_URL
 from napalm_logs.config import BUFFER_SIZE
-from napalm_logs.proc import NapalmLogsProc
+from napalm_logs.listener.base import ListenerBase
 # exceptions
-from napalm_logs.exceptions import BindException
+from napalm_logs.exceptions import ListenerException
 from napalm_logs.exceptions import NapalmLogsExit
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-class NapalmLogsListenerProc(NapalmLogsProc):
+class TCPListener(ListenerBase):
     '''
-    Listener sub-process class.
+    TCP syslog listener class
     '''
-    def __init__(self, address, port, protocol, pipe):
+    def __init__(self, address, port, pipe):
         self.address = address
         self.port = port
-        self.protocol = protocol
         self.pipe = pipe
         self.__up = False
 
@@ -44,14 +39,6 @@ def _exit_gracefully(self, signum, _):
         log.debug('Caught signal in listener process')
         self.stop()
 
-    def _setup_ipc(self):
-        '''
-        Setup the IPC publisher.
-        '''
-        ctx = zmq.Context()
-        self.pub = ctx.socket(zmq.PUSH)
-        self.pub.bind(LST_IPC_URL)
-
     def _open_socket(self, socket_type):
         '''
         Open the socket to listen for messages on
@@ -79,47 +66,24 @@ def _tcp_connection(self, conn, addr):
         log.debug('Closing connection with {}'.format(addr))
         conn.close()
 
-    def start_tcp(self):
+    def start(self):
         '''
-        Start listening for messages on TCP and queue them
+        Start listening for messages
         '''
+        signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, self._exit_gracefully)
+        self.__up = True
         self.skt = self._open_socket(socket.SOCK_STREAM)
         try:
             self.skt.bind((self.address, self.port))
         except socket.error as msg:
             error_string = 'Unable to bind to port {} on {}: {}'.format(self.port, self.address, msg)
             log.error(error_string, exc_info=True)
-            raise BindException(error_string)
+            raise ListenerException(error_string)
 
         while self.__up:
             self.skt.listen(1)
             try:
                 conn, addr = self.skt.accept()
-            except socket.error as error:
-                if self.__up is False:
-                    return
-                else:
-                     msg = 'Received listener socket error: {}'.format(error)
-                     log.error(msg, exc_info=True)
-                     raise NapalmLogsExit(msg)
-            thread = threading.Thread(target=self._tcp_connection, args=(conn, addr,))
-            thread.start()
-
-    def start_udp(self):
-        '''
-        Start listening for messages on UDP and queue them
-        '''
-        self.skt = self._open_socket(socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
-        try:
-            self.skt.bind((self.address, self.port))
-        except socket.error as msg:
-            error_string = 'Unable to bind to port {} on {}: {}'.format(self.port, self.address, msg)
-            log.error(error_string, exc_info=True)
-            raise BindException(error_string)
-
-        while self.__up:
-            try:
-                msg, addr = self.skt.recvfrom(BUFFER_SIZE)
             except socket.error as error:
                 if self.__up is False:
                     return
@@ -127,23 +91,8 @@ def start_udp(self):
                     msg = 'Received listener socket error: {}'.format(error)
                     log.error(msg, exc_info=True)
                     raise NapalmLogsExit(msg)
-            log.debug('[{2}] Received {0} from {1}. Adding in the queue'.format(msg, addr, time.time()))
-            self.pipe.send((msg, addr[0]))
-
-    def start(self):
-        '''
-        Start listening for messages on the appropriate protocol
-        '''
-        # self._setup_ipc()
-        # Start suicide polling thread
-        thread = threading.Thread(target=self._suicide_when_without_parent, args=(os.getppid(),))
-        thread.start()
-	signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, self._exit_gracefully)
-        self.__up = True
-        if self.protocol == 'tcp':
-             self.start_tcp()
-        else:
-            self.start_udp()
+            thread = threading.Thread(target=self._tcp_connection, args=(conn, addr,))
+            thread.start()
 
     def stop(self):
         log.info('Stopping listener process')
diff --git a/napalm_logs/listener/udp.py b/napalm_logs/listener/udp.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e6a8f40b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/napalm_logs/listener/udp.py
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+'''
+Syslog UDP listener for napalm-logs.
+'''
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
+# Import pythond stdlib
+import time
+import signal
+import socket
+import logging
+
+# Import third party libs
+
+# Import napalm-logs pkgs
+from napalm_logs.config import BUFFER_SIZE
+from napalm_logs.listener.base import ListenerBase
+# exceptions
+from napalm_logs.exceptions import ListenerException
+from napalm_logs.exceptions import NapalmLogsExit
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class UDPListener(ListenerBase):
+    '''
+    UDP syslog listener class
+    '''
+    def __init__(self, address, port, pipe):
+        self.address = address
+        self.port = port
+        self.pipe = pipe
+        self.__up = False
+
+    def _exit_gracefully(self, signum, _):
+        log.debug('Caught signal in listener process')
+        self.stop()
+
+    def _open_socket(self, socket_type):
+        '''
+        Open the socket to listen for messages on
+        '''
+        if ':' in self.address:
+            skt = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET6, socket_type)
+        else:
+            skt = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket_type)
+        return skt
+
+    def start(self):
+        '''
+        Start listening for messages
+        '''
+        signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, self._exit_gracefully)
+        self.__up = True
+        self.skt = self._open_socket(socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
+        try:
+            self.skt.bind((self.address, self.port))
+        except socket.error as msg:
+            error_string = 'Unable to bind to port {} on {}: {}'.format(self.port, self.address, msg)
+            log.error(error_string, exc_info=True)
+            raise ListenerException(error_string)
+
+        while self.__up:
+            try:
+                msg, addr = self.skt.recvfrom(BUFFER_SIZE)
+            except socket.error as error:
+                if self.__up is False:
+                    return
+                else:
+                    msg = 'Received listener socket error: {}'.format(error)
+                    log.error(msg, exc_info=True)
+                    raise NapalmLogsExit(msg)
+            log.debug('[{2}] Received {0} from {1}. Adding in the queue'.format(msg, addr, time.time()))
+            self.pipe.send((msg, addr[0]))
+
+    def stop(self):
+        log.info('Stopping listener process')
+        self.__up = False
+        self.skt.close()
+        self.pipe.close()
diff --git a/napalm_logs/scripts/cli.py b/napalm_logs/scripts/cli.py
index 97655758..58791e5a 100644
--- a/napalm_logs/scripts/cli.py
+++ b/napalm_logs/scripts/cli.py
@@ -106,10 +106,10 @@ def prepare(self):
             help=('Listener bind port. Default: {0}'.format(defaults.PORT))
         )
         self.add_option(
-            '--protocol',
-            dest='protocol',
-            choices=['tcp', 'udp'],
-            help=('Listener bind protocol. Default: {0}'.format(defaults.PROTOCOL))
+            '--listener',
+            dest='listener',
+            choices=['kafka', 'tcp', 'udp'],
+            help=('Listener type. Default: {0}'.format(defaults.LISTENER))
         )
         self.add_option(
             '-t', '--transport',
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ def parse(self, log, screen_handler):
         cfg = {
             'address': self.options.address or file_cfg.get('address') or defaults.ADDRESS,
             'port': self.options.port or file_cfg.get('port') or defaults.PORT,
-            'protocol': self.options.protocol or file_cfg.get('protocol') or defaults.PROTOCOL,
+            'listener': self.options.listener or file_cfg.get('listener') or defaults.LISTENER,
             'transport': self.options.transport or file_cfg.get('transport'),
             'publish_address': self.options.publish_address or file_cfg.get('publish_address')\
                                or defaults.PUBLISH_ADDRESS,
diff --git a/napalm_logs/transport/kafka.py b/napalm_logs/transport/kafka.py
index 0899013d..ce8175af 100644
--- a/napalm_logs/transport/kafka.py
+++ b/napalm_logs/transport/kafka.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 # Import napalm-logs pkgs
 from napalm_logs.exceptions import NapalmLogsException
 from napalm_logs.transport.base import TransportBase
-from napalm_logs.config import KAFKA_TOPIC
+from napalm_logs.config import KAFKA_PUBLISHER_TOPIC
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class KafkaTransport(TransportBase):
     '''
     def __init__(self, addr, port):
         self.bootstrap_servers = '{addr}:{port}'.format(addr=addr, port=port)
-        self.topic = KAFKA_TOPIC
+        self.topic = KAFKA_PUBLISHER_TOPIC
 
     def start(self):
         try: