diff --git a/README b/README
index 580c1635..d57a34ca 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -219,7 +219,9 @@ The options recognised are as follows:
 
 
 "btcd" : This is an array of bitcoind(s) with the options url, auth  and pass
-which match the configured bitcoind. This is mandatory in pool mode.
+which match the configured bitcoind. This is mandatory in pool mode. The
+optional boolean field notify tells ckpool this btcd is using the notifier
+and does not need to be polled for block changes.
 
 "proxy" : This is an array in the same format as btcd above but is used in
 proxy and passthrough mode to set the upstream pool and is mandatory.
@@ -230,8 +232,9 @@ proxy and passthrough mode to set the upstream pool and is mandatory.
 blocks.
 
 "blockpoll" : This is the frequency in milliseconds for how often to check for
-new network blocks and is 5000 by default. It is intended to be a backup only
-for when the notifier is not set up or a sanity check for it.
+new network blocks and is 100 by default. It is intended to be a backup only
+for when the notifier is not set up and only polls if the "notify" field is
+not set on a btcd.
 
 "update_interval" : This is the frequency that stratum updates are sent out to
 miners and is set to 30 seconds by default to help perpetuate transactions for
diff --git a/ckpool.conf b/ckpool.conf
index c3b8662b..62424d30 100644
--- a/ckpool.conf
+++ b/ckpool.conf
@@ -3,17 +3,19 @@
 	{
 		"url" : "localhost:8332",
 		"auth" : "user",
-		"pass" : "pass"
+		"pass" : "pass",
+		"notify" : true
 	},
 	{
 		"url" : "backup:8332",
 		"auth" : "user",
-		"pass" : "pass"
+		"pass" : "pass",
+		"notify" : false
 	}
 ],
 "btcaddress" : "14BMjogz69qe8hk9thyzbmR5pg34mVKB1e",
 "btcsig" : "/mined by ck/",
-"blockpoll" : 5000,
+"blockpoll" : 100,
 "update_interval" : 30,
 "serverurl" : "ckpool.org:3333",
 "mindiff" : 1,
diff --git a/src/ckpool.c b/src/ckpool.c
index 2146d658..4b384464 100644
--- a/src/ckpool.c
+++ b/src/ckpool.c
@@ -888,6 +888,21 @@ static void json_get_int(int *store, json_t *val, const char *res)
 	*store = json_integer_value(entry);
 }
 
+static void json_get_bool(bool *store, json_t *val, const char *res)
+{
+	json_t *entry = json_object_get(val, res);
+
+	if (!entry) {
+		LOGDEBUG("Json did not find entry %s", res);
+		return;
+	}
+	if (!json_is_boolean(entry)) {
+		LOGWARNING("Json entry %s is not a boolean", res);
+		return;
+	}
+	*store = json_is_true(entry);
+}
+
 static void parse_btcds(ckpool_t *ckp, json_t *arr_val, int arr_size)
 {
 	json_t *val;
@@ -897,11 +912,13 @@ static void parse_btcds(ckpool_t *ckp, json_t *arr_val, int arr_size)
 	ckp->btcdurl = ckzalloc(sizeof(char *) * arr_size);
 	ckp->btcdauth = ckzalloc(sizeof(char *) * arr_size);
 	ckp->btcdpass = ckzalloc(sizeof(char *) * arr_size);
+	ckp->btcdnotify = ckzalloc(sizeof(bool *) * arr_size);
 	for (i = 0; i < arr_size; i++) {
 		val = json_array_get(arr_val, i);
 		json_get_string(&ckp->btcdurl[i], val, "url");
 		json_get_string(&ckp->btcdauth[i], val, "auth");
 		json_get_string(&ckp->btcdpass[i], val, "pass");
+		json_get_bool(&ckp->btcdnotify[i], val, "notify");
 	}
 }
 
@@ -1207,10 +1224,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	ckp.donaddress = "14BMjogz69qe8hk9thyzbmR5pg34mVKB1e";
 	if (!ckp.btcaddress)
 		ckp.btcaddress = ckp.donaddress;
-	/* Default blockpoll is sanity check only when notifier is not used or
-	 * fails */
 	if (!ckp.blockpoll)
-		ckp.blockpoll = 5000;
+		ckp.blockpoll = 100;
 	if (!ckp.update_interval)
 		ckp.update_interval = 30;
 	if (!ckp.mindiff)
diff --git a/src/ckpool.h b/src/ckpool.h
index b1cd43fa..16a2f998 100644
--- a/src/ckpool.h
+++ b/src/ckpool.h
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ struct server_instance {
 	char *url;
 	char *auth;
 	char *pass;
+	bool notify;
 	connsock_t cs;
 
 	void *data; // Private data
@@ -143,6 +144,7 @@ struct ckpool_instance {
 	char **btcdurl;
 	char **btcdauth;
 	char **btcdpass;
+	bool *btcdnotify;
 	int blockpoll; // How frequently in ms to poll bitcoind for block updates
 
 	/* Difficulty settings */
diff --git a/src/generator.c b/src/generator.c
index b119857b..50757137 100644
--- a/src/generator.c
+++ b/src/generator.c
@@ -122,6 +122,8 @@ struct proxy_instance {
 
 typedef struct proxy_instance proxy_instance_t;
 
+static ckmsgq_t *srvchk;	// Server check message queue
+
 static bool server_alive(ckpool_t *ckp, server_instance_t *si, bool pinging)
 {
 	char *userpass = NULL;
@@ -252,6 +254,8 @@ reconnect:
 	}
 
 retry:
+	ckmsgq_add(srvchk, si);
+
 	do {
 		selret = wait_read_select(us->sockd, 5);
 		if (!selret && !ping_main(ckp)) {
@@ -299,10 +303,12 @@ retry:
 			clear_gbtbase(gbt);
 		}
 	} else if (cmdmatch(buf, "getbest")) {
-		if (!get_bestblockhash(cs, hash)) {
+		if (si->notify)
+			send_unix_msg(sockd, "notify");
+		else if (!get_bestblockhash(cs, hash)) {
 			LOGINFO("No best block hash support from %s:%s",
 				cs->url, cs->port);
-			send_unix_msg(sockd, "Failed");
+			send_unix_msg(sockd, "failed");
 		} else {
 			if (unlikely(!started)) {
 				started = true;
@@ -311,15 +317,17 @@ retry:
 			send_unix_msg(sockd, hash);
 		}
 	} else if (cmdmatch(buf, "getlast")) {
-		int height = get_blockcount(cs);
+		int height;
 
-		if (height == -1) {
-			send_unix_msg(sockd,  "Failed");
+		if (si->notify)
+			send_unix_msg(sockd, "notify");
+		else if ((height = get_blockcount(cs)) == -1) {
+			send_unix_msg(sockd,  "failed");
 			goto reconnect;
 		} else {
 			LOGDEBUG("Height: %d", height);
 			if (!get_blockhash(cs, height, hash)) {
-				send_unix_msg(sockd, "Failed");
+				send_unix_msg(sockd, "failed");
 				goto reconnect;
 			} else {
 				if (unlikely(!started)) {
@@ -340,6 +348,8 @@ retry:
 			send_unix_msg(sockd, "true");
 		else
 			send_unix_msg(sockd, "false");
+	} else if (cmdmatch(buf, "fallback")) {
+		goto reconnect;
 	} else if (cmdmatch(buf, "loglevel")) {
 		sscanf(buf, "loglevel=%d", &ckp->loglevel);
 	} else if (cmdmatch(buf, "ping")) {
@@ -1460,6 +1470,8 @@ retry:
 				LOGWARNING("Block rejected locally.");
 		} else
 			LOGNOTICE("No backup btcd to send block to ourselves");
+	} else if (cmdmatch(buf, "fallback")) {
+		goto reconnect;
 	} else if (cmdmatch(buf, "loglevel")) {
 		sscanf(buf, "loglevel=%d", &ckp->loglevel);
 	} else if (cmdmatch(buf, "ping")) {
@@ -1497,6 +1509,7 @@ static int server_mode(ckpool_t *ckp, proc_instance_t *pi)
 		si->url = ckp->btcdurl[i];
 		si->auth = ckp->btcdauth[i];
 		si->pass = ckp->btcdpass[i];
+		si->notify = ckp->btcdnotify[i];
 	}
 
 	ret = gen_loop(pi);
@@ -1612,6 +1625,51 @@ static int proxy_mode(ckpool_t *ckp, proc_instance_t *pi)
 	return ret;
 }
 
+/* Tell the watchdog what the current server instance is and decide if we
+ * should check to see if the higher priority servers are alive and fallback */
+static void server_watchdog(ckpool_t *ckp, server_instance_t *cursi)
+{
+	static time_t last_t = 0;
+	bool alive = false;
+	time_t now_t;
+	int i, srvs;
+
+	/* Rate limit to checking only once every 5 seconds */
+	now_t = time(NULL);
+	if (now_t <= last_t + 5)
+		return;
+
+	last_t = now_t;
+
+	/* Is this the highest priority server already? */
+	if (cursi == ckp->servers[0])
+		return;
+
+	if (ckp->proxy)
+		srvs = ckp->proxies;
+	else
+		srvs = ckp->btcds;
+	for (i = 0; i < srvs; i++) {
+		server_instance_t *si = ckp->servers[i];
+
+		/* Have we reached the current server? */
+		if (si == cursi)
+			return;
+
+		if (ckp->proxy) {
+			proxy_instance_t *proxi = si->data;
+			connsock_t *cs = proxi->cs;
+
+			alive = proxy_alive(ckp, si, proxi, cs, true);
+		} else
+			alive = server_alive(ckp, si, true);
+		if (alive)
+			break;
+	}
+	if (alive)
+		send_proc(ckp->generator, "fallback");
+}
+
 int generator(proc_instance_t *pi)
 {
 	ckpool_t *ckp = pi->ckp;
@@ -1619,6 +1677,8 @@ int generator(proc_instance_t *pi)
 
 	LOGWARNING("%s generator starting", ckp->name);
 
+	srvchk = create_ckmsgq(ckp, "srvchk", &server_watchdog);
+
 	if (ckp->proxy)
 		ret = proxy_mode(ckp, pi);
 	else
diff --git a/src/stratifier.c b/src/stratifier.c
index 779c3d05..67863df0 100644
--- a/src/stratifier.c
+++ b/src/stratifier.c
@@ -1211,7 +1211,9 @@ static void *blockupdate(void *arg)
 	while (42) {
 		dealloc(buf);
 		buf = send_recv_generator(ckp, request, GEN_LAX);
-		if (buf && strcmp(buf, lastswaphash) && !cmdmatch(buf, "failed")) {
+		if (buf && cmdmatch(buf, "notify"))
+			cksleep_ms(5000);
+		else if (buf && strcmp(buf, lastswaphash) && !cmdmatch(buf, "failed")) {
 			LOGNOTICE("Block hash changed to %s", buf);
 			update_base(ckp, GEN_PRIORITY);
 		} else