diff --git a/daemon/common.hpp b/daemon/common.hpp
index 3d1a53a..18a33c9 100644
--- a/daemon/common.hpp
+++ b/daemon/common.hpp
@@ -24,6 +24,9 @@
 #include <vector>
 #include <list>
 #include <set>
+#include <sstream>
+#include <istream>
+#include <fstream>
 
 #include "core/logger.hpp"
 
diff --git a/daemon/mgmt/config-file.cpp b/daemon/mgmt/config-file.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a55650e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/daemon/mgmt/config-file.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2014 Named Data Networking Project
+ * See COPYING for copyright and distribution information.
+ */
+
+
+#include "config-file.hpp"
+
+#include <boost/property_tree/info_parser.hpp>
+
+namespace nfd {
+
+NFD_LOG_INIT("ConfigFile");
+
+ConfigFile::ConfigFile()
+{
+
+}
+
+void
+ConfigFile::addSectionHandler(const std::string& sectionName,
+                              OnConfig subscriber)
+{
+  m_subscriptions[sectionName] = subscriber;
+}
+
+void
+ConfigFile::parse(const char* filename, bool isDryRun)
+{
+  std::ifstream inputFile;
+  inputFile.open(filename);
+  if (!inputFile.is_open())
+    {
+      std::string msg = "Failed to read configuration file: ";
+      msg += filename;
+      throw Error(filename);
+    }
+  parse(inputFile, isDryRun, filename);
+  inputFile.close();
+}
+
+void
+ConfigFile::parse(const std::string& input, bool isDryRun, const char* filename)
+{
+  std::istringstream inputStream(input);
+  parse(inputStream, isDryRun, filename);
+}
+
+
+void
+ConfigFile::parse(std::istream& input, bool isDryRun, const char* filename)
+{
+  try
+    {
+      boost::property_tree::read_info(input, m_global);
+    }
+  catch (const boost::property_tree::info_parser_error& error)
+    {
+      std::stringstream msg;
+      msg << "Failed to parse configuration file";
+      if (filename != 0)
+        {
+          msg << " " << filename;
+        }
+      msg << " " << error.message() << " line " << error.line();
+      throw Error(msg.str());
+    }
+
+  process(isDryRun, filename);
+}
+
+void
+ConfigFile::process(bool isDryRun, const char* filename)
+{
+  // NFD_LOG_DEBUG("processing..." << ((isDryRun)?("dry run"):("")));
+
+  if (m_global.begin() == m_global.end())
+    {
+      std::string msg = "Error processing configuration file";
+      if (filename != 0)
+        {
+          msg += ": ";
+          msg += filename;
+        }
+      msg += " no data";
+      throw Error(msg);
+    }
+
+  for (ConfigSection::const_iterator i = m_global.begin(); i != m_global.end(); ++i)
+    {
+      const std::string& sectionName = i->first;
+      const ConfigSection& section = i->second;
+
+      SubscriptionTable::iterator subscriberIt = m_subscriptions.find(sectionName);
+      if (subscriberIt != m_subscriptions.end())
+        {
+          OnConfig subscriber = subscriberIt->second;
+          subscriber(section, isDryRun);
+        }
+      else
+        {
+          std::string msg = "Error processing configuration file";
+          if (filename != 0)
+            {
+              msg += " ";
+              msg += filename;
+            }
+          msg += " no module subscribed for section: " + sectionName;
+          throw Error(msg);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+}
+
diff --git a/daemon/mgmt/config-file.hpp b/daemon/mgmt/config-file.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b72e7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/daemon/mgmt/config-file.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2014 Named Data Networking Project
+ * See COPYING for copyright and distribution information.
+ */
+
+#ifndef NFD_MGMT_CONFIG_FILE_HPP
+#define NFD_MGMT_CONFIG_FILE_HPP
+
+#include "common.hpp"
+
+#include <boost/property_tree/ptree.hpp>
+
+namespace nfd {
+
+typedef boost::property_tree::ptree ConfigSection;
+
+/// \brief callback for config file sections
+typedef function<void(const ConfigSection&, bool)> OnConfig;
+
+class ConfigFile
+{
+public:
+
+  class Error : public std::runtime_error
+  {
+  public:
+    Error(const std::string& what)
+      : std::runtime_error(what)
+    {
+
+    }
+  };
+
+  ConfigFile();
+
+  /// \brief setup notification of configuration file sections
+  void
+  addSectionHandler(const std::string& sectionName,
+                    OnConfig subscriber);
+
+
+  /**
+   * \param filename file to parse
+   * \param isDryRun true if performing a dry run of configuration, false otherwise
+   * \throws ConfigFile::Error if file not found
+   * \throws ConfigFile::Error if parse error
+   */
+  void
+  parse(const char* filename, bool isDryRun=false);
+
+  /**
+   * \param input configuration (as a string) to parse
+   * \param isDryRun true if performing a dry run of configuration, false otherwise
+   * \param filename optional convenience argument to provide more detailed error messages (if available)
+   * \throws ConfigFile::Error if file not found
+   * \throws ConfigFile::Error if parse error
+   */
+  void
+  parse(const std::string& input, bool isDryRun=false, const char* filename=0);
+
+  /**
+   * \param input stream to parse
+   * \param isDryRun true if performing a dry run of configuration, false otherwise
+   * \param filename optional convenience argument to provide more detailed error messages (if available)
+   * \throws ConfigFile::Error if parse error
+   */
+  void
+  parse(std::istream& input, bool isDryRun=false, const char* filename=0);
+
+private:
+
+  void
+  process(bool isDryRun, const char* filename);
+
+private:
+
+  typedef std::map<std::string, OnConfig> SubscriptionTable;
+
+  SubscriptionTable m_subscriptions;
+
+  ConfigSection m_global;
+};
+
+} // namespace nfd
+
+
+#endif // NFD_MGMT_CONFIG_FILE_HPP
+
diff --git a/tests/mgmt/config-file.cpp b/tests/mgmt/config-file.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf275e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/mgmt/config-file.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,347 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2014 Named Data Networking Project
+ * See COPYING for copyright and distribution information.
+ */
+
+
+#include "mgmt/config-file.hpp"
+
+#include <boost/test/unit_test.hpp>
+
+namespace nfd {
+
+NFD_LOG_INIT("ConfigFileTest");
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE(MgmtConfigFile)
+
+// a
+// {
+//    akey "avalue"
+// }
+// b
+// {
+//   bkey "bvalue"
+// }
+
+const std::string CONFIG =
+"a\n"
+"{\n"
+"        akey \"avalue\"\n"
+"}\n"
+"b\n"
+"{\n"
+"        bkey \"bvalue\"\n"
+"}\n";
+
+
+// a
+// {
+//    akey "avalue"
+// }
+// b
+//
+//   bkey "bvalue"
+// }
+
+const std::string MALFORMED_CONFIG =
+"a\n"
+"{\n"
+"        akey \"avalue\"\n"
+"}\n"
+"b\n"
+"\n"
+"        bkey \"bvalue\"\n"
+"}\n";
+
+// counts of the respective section counts in config_example.info
+
+const int CONFIG_N_A_SECTIONS = 1;
+const int CONFIG_N_B_SECTIONS = 1;
+
+class DummySubscriber
+{
+public:
+
+  DummySubscriber(ConfigFile& config,
+                  int nASections,
+                  int nBSections,
+                  bool expectDryRun)
+    : m_nASections(nASections),
+      m_nBSections(nBSections),
+      m_nRemainingACallbacks(nASections),
+      m_nRemainingBCallbacks(nBSections),
+      m_expectDryRun(expectDryRun)
+  {
+
+  }
+
+  void
+  onA(const ConfigSection& section, bool isDryRun)
+  {
+    // NFD_LOG_DEBUG("a");
+    BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(isDryRun, m_expectDryRun);
+    --m_nRemainingACallbacks;
+  }
+
+
+  void
+  onB(const ConfigSection& section, bool isDryRun)
+  {
+    // NFD_LOG_DEBUG("b");
+    BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(isDryRun, m_expectDryRun);
+    --m_nRemainingBCallbacks;
+  }
+
+  bool
+  allCallbacksFired() const
+  {
+    return m_nRemainingACallbacks == 0 &&
+      m_nRemainingBCallbacks == 0;
+  }
+
+  bool
+  noCallbacksFired() const
+  {
+    return m_nRemainingACallbacks == m_nASections &&
+      m_nRemainingBCallbacks == m_nBSections;
+  }
+
+  virtual
+  ~DummySubscriber()
+  {
+
+  }
+
+private:
+  int m_nASections;
+  int m_nBSections;
+  int m_nRemainingACallbacks;
+  int m_nRemainingBCallbacks;
+  bool m_expectDryRun;
+};
+
+class DummyAllSubscriber : public DummySubscriber
+{
+public:
+  DummyAllSubscriber(ConfigFile& config, bool expectDryRun=false)
+    : DummySubscriber(config,
+                      CONFIG_N_A_SECTIONS,
+                      CONFIG_N_B_SECTIONS,
+                      expectDryRun)
+  {
+    config.addSectionHandler("a", bind(&DummySubscriber::onA, this, _1, _2));
+    config.addSectionHandler("b", bind(&DummySubscriber::onB, this, _1, _2));
+  }
+
+  virtual
+  ~DummyAllSubscriber()
+  {
+
+  }
+};
+
+class DummyOneSubscriber : public DummySubscriber
+{
+public:
+  DummyOneSubscriber(ConfigFile& config,
+                     const std::string& sectionName,
+                     bool expectDryRun=false)
+    : DummySubscriber(config,
+                      (sectionName == "a"),
+                      (sectionName == "b"),
+                      expectDryRun)
+  {
+    if (sectionName == "a")
+      {
+        config.addSectionHandler(sectionName, bind(&DummySubscriber::onA, this, _1, _2));
+      }
+    else if (sectionName == "b")
+      {
+        config.addSectionHandler(sectionName, bind(&DummySubscriber::onB, this, _1, _2));
+      }
+    else
+      {
+        BOOST_FAIL("Test setup error: "
+                   << "Unexpected section name "
+                   <<"\"" << sectionName << "\"");
+      }
+
+  }
+
+  virtual
+  ~DummyOneSubscriber()
+  {
+
+  }
+};
+
+class DummyNoSubscriber : public DummySubscriber
+{
+public:
+  DummyNoSubscriber(ConfigFile& config, bool expectDryRun)
+    : DummySubscriber(config, 0, 0, expectDryRun)
+  {
+
+  }
+
+  virtual
+  ~DummyNoSubscriber()
+  {
+
+  }
+};
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigStream)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file);
+  std::ifstream input;
+
+  input.open("tests/mgmt/config_example.info");
+  BOOST_REQUIRE(input.is_open());
+
+  file.parse(input);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.allCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigStreamEmptyStream)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file);
+
+  std::ifstream input;
+
+  BOOST_CHECK_THROW(file.parse(input), ConfigFile::Error);
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.noCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigString)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file);
+
+  file.parse(CONFIG);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.allCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigStringEmpty)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK_THROW(file.parse(std::string()), ConfigFile::Error);
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.noCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigStringMalformed)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK_THROW(file.parse(MALFORMED_CONFIG), ConfigFile::Error);
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.noCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigStringDryRun)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file, true);
+
+  file.parse(CONFIG, true);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.allCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigFilename)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file);
+
+  file.parse("tests/mgmt/config_example.info");
+
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.allCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigFilenameNoFile)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK_THROW(file.parse("i_made_this_up.info"), ConfigFile::Error);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.noCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigFilenameMalformed)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK_THROW(file.parse("tests/mgmt/config_malformed.info"), ConfigFile::Error);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.noCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigStreamDryRun)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file, true);
+  std::ifstream input;
+
+  input.open("tests/mgmt/config_example.info");
+  BOOST_REQUIRE(input.is_open());
+
+  file.parse(input, true);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.allCallbacksFired());
+
+  input.close();
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigFilenameDryRun)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub(file, true);
+
+  file.parse("tests/mgmt/config_example.info", true);
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub.allCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigReplaceSubscriber)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub1(file);
+  DummyAllSubscriber sub2(file);
+
+  file.parse(CONFIG);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub1.noCallbacksFired());
+  BOOST_CHECK(sub2.allCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigUncoveredSections)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+
+  BOOST_CHECK_THROW(file.parse(CONFIG), ConfigFile::Error);
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(OnConfigCoveredByPartialSubscribers)
+{
+  ConfigFile file;
+  DummyOneSubscriber subA(file, "a");
+  DummyOneSubscriber subB(file, "b");
+
+  file.parse(CONFIG);
+
+  BOOST_CHECK(subA.allCallbacksFired());
+  BOOST_CHECK(subB.allCallbacksFired());
+}
+
+} // namespace nfd
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE_END()
diff --git a/tests/mgmt/config_example.info b/tests/mgmt/config_example.info
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d61691f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/mgmt/config_example.info
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+a
+{
+        akey "avalue"
+}
+
+b
+{
+        bkey "bvalue"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/mgmt/config_malformed.info b/tests/mgmt/config_malformed.info
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d3a1f9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/mgmt/config_malformed.info
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+a
+{
+        akey "avalue"
+}
+
+b
+
+        bkey "bvalue"
+}
\ No newline at end of file