diff --git a/cluster.go b/cluster.go
index cc97604..9028ff1 100644
--- a/cluster.go
+++ b/cluster.go
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ func newProximityCache() *proximityCache {
 // Cluster holds the information about the state of the network. It is the main interface to the distributed network of Nodes.
 type Cluster struct {
 	self               *Node
+	transport          Transport
 	table              *routingTable
 	leafset            *leafSet
 	neighborhoodset    *neighborhoodSet
@@ -200,9 +201,10 @@ func (c *Cluster) SetNetworkTimeout(timeout int) {
 }
 
 // NewCluster creates a new instance of a connection to the network and intialises the state tables and channels it requires.
-func NewCluster(self *Node, credentials Credentials) *Cluster {
+func NewCluster(self *Node, credentials Credentials, transport Transport) *Cluster {
 	return &Cluster{
 		self:               self,
+		transport:          transport,
 		table:              newRoutingTable(self),
 		leafset:            newLeafSet(self),
 		neighborhoodset:    newNeighborhoodSet(self),
@@ -259,7 +261,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) RegisterCallback(app Application) {
 func (c *Cluster) Listen() error {
 	portstr := strconv.Itoa(c.self.Port)
 	c.debug("Listening on port %d", c.self.Port)
-	ln, err := net.Listen("tcp", ":"+portstr)
+	ln, err := c.transport.Listen(":" + portstr)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -514,7 +516,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) send(msg Message, destination *Node) error {
 // SendToIP sends a message directly to an IP using the Wendy networking logic.
 func (c *Cluster) SendToIP(msg Message, address string) error {
 	c.debug("Sending message %s", string(msg.Value))
-	conn, err := net.DialTimeout("tcp", address, time.Duration(c.getNetworkTimeout())*time.Second)
+	conn, err := c.transport.DialTimeout(address, time.Duration(c.getNetworkTimeout())*time.Second)
 	if err != nil {
 		c.debug(err.Error())
 		return deadNodeError
diff --git a/integration_test.go b/integration_test.go
index c976078..0caf407 100644
--- a/integration_test.go
+++ b/integration_test.go
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func makeCluster(idBytes string) (*Cluster, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	node := NewNode(id, "127.0.0.1", "127.0.0.1", "testing", 0)
-	cluster := NewCluster(node, nil)
+	cluster := NewCluster(node, nil, NewTCPTransport())
 	cluster.SetHeartbeatFrequency(10)
 	cluster.SetNetworkTimeout(1)
 	cluster.SetLogLevel(LogLevelDebug)
diff --git a/transport.go b/transport.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..95fe6ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/transport.go
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package wendy
+
+import (
+	"net"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// Transport represents a low-level network interface
+type Transport interface {
+	Listen(laddr string) (net.Listener, error)
+	DialTimeout(addr string, timeout time.Duration) (net.Conn, error)
+}
diff --git a/transport_tcp.go b/transport_tcp.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff28930
--- /dev/null
+++ b/transport_tcp.go
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+package wendy
+
+import (
+	"net"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// NewTCPTransport returns a new TCP transport
+func NewTCPTransport() Transport {
+	return &tcpTransport{}
+}
+
+type tcpTransport struct {
+}
+
+func (t *tcpTransport) Listen(laddr string) (net.Listener, error) {
+	return net.Listen("tcp", laddr)
+}
+
+func (t *tcpTransport) DialTimeout(addr string, timeout time.Duration) (net.Conn, error) {
+	return net.DialTimeout("tcp", addr, timeout)
+}
diff --git a/transport_tcp_test.go b/transport_tcp_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9d7d7e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/transport_tcp_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+package wendy
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"io"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestTCPTransport(t *testing.T) {
+	baton := make(chan struct{}, 1)
+
+	go func() {
+		transport := NewTCPTransport()
+		l, err := transport.Listen("0.0.0.0:2999")
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		defer l.Close()
+
+		baton <- struct{}{}
+
+		conn, err := l.Accept()
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		defer conn.Close()
+
+		<-baton
+
+		var buf [1024]byte
+		n, err := conn.Read(buf[:])
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+
+		if !bytes.Equal(buf[:n], []byte("Hello Word")) {
+			t.Fatalf("expected %q instead of %q", "Hello World", buf[:n])
+		}
+
+		err = conn.Close()
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+
+		baton <- struct{}{}
+	}()
+
+	func() {
+		transport := NewTCPTransport()
+		<-baton
+
+		conn, err := transport.DialTimeout("127.0.0.1:2999", 10*time.Second)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		defer conn.Close()
+
+		_, err = io.WriteString(conn, "Hello World")
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+
+		baton <- struct{}{}
+
+		err = conn.Close()
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	<-baton
+}